FARC hostage liberation coordinator Piedad Cordoba announced Thursday that she has received the coordinates of the location where the FARC will release hostages Pablo Emilio Moncayo and Josue Daniel Calvo. The Colombian senator said that the release will not occur until after the congressional elections.
“There is no possibility that the liberation will be this Sunday, or even Monday. But now that we have the coordinates in our hands, the liberation will go ahead. I don’t think there’s any going back now,” Cordoba said.
The “Colombians for Peace” leader made the announcement at a press conference, accompanied by Moncayo’s and Calvo’s families.
Cordoba said she will not reveal the coordinates until the Brazilian rescue helicopter is “in the air.”
Brazil will aid in the logistical coordination of the operation. A delegate from the Brazilian air force is expected to arrive in Colombia today to discuss the details of the humanitarian mission.
“It’s clear that the ball is in the government’s court, and we cannot rescue anybody in the middle of a shoot-out,” Cordoba said, referring to the FARC’s request that all police and military operations be suspended in the area during the liberation.
The Colombian government maintain that police and military operations cannot be suspended around the time of the congressional elections on March 14.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe previously complained that the FARC were postponing the release until close to the national elections in order to discredit the government.
Colombia will hold its congressional elections this Sunday March 14.
Negotiations for Moncayo and Calvo’s release have been ongoing since the FARC first announced that it would release the hostages in April 2009. Both are Colombian soldiers.
Following reports that Calvo is gravely ill, the government called on the guerrilla organization to release him earlier, and not to endanger his life
In addition to the hostages, the FARC will also release the remains of policeman Julian Guevara, who died in 2006 after eight years in captivity.