President Juan Manuel Santos says he was tempted to delay the FARC’s release of hostages after the kidnapping of two workers in Cauca on Wednesday, Caracol reports Thursday.
The two contractors of a paper company based in Tambo, Cauca, were originally taken hostage with a third man who managed to escape and alert authorities, according to El Liberal.
“I was tempted to suspend the release of the hostages, because it is totally unacceptable that the FARC are on the one hand freeing hostages in a gesture of generosity, and on the other kidnapping compatriots,” stated the head of state.
Santos said, however, that “we are not going to suspend the releases, [because] I do not want to frustrate the excitement and the hope that their families have.”
He criticized the “double morals” of the FARC, reiterating that “we demand the release of all the hostages,” reports AFP.
Santos added that the government will work to recover the two kidnapped workers, Freddy Cuenca and Orlando Valdez, as soon as possible.