Two Dutchmen were kidnapped in the northeast of Colombia on Monday, the country’s ombudsman announced. According to local media, the victims were journalists.
The Ombudsman’s Office tweeted that the reported journalists were “retained” in El Tarra, a municipality in the mainly lawless region of Catatumbo, Norte de Santander in the northeast of the country.
The Ombudsman did not disclose the identity of the alleged kidnappers. However, according to weekly Semana, rebels of the country’s last-standing ELN rebel group were responsible.
In its initial tweet, the Ombudsman’s Office demanded “the immediate release of two Dutchmen retained today in El Tarra, Norte de Santander.”
In a second tweet, the ombudsman said it was working together with local human rights officials “to resolve the situation of the Dutchmen in Norte de Santander.”
Weekly Semana reported that the two victims were journalists of the public television program “Spoorloos,” a television program that facilitates the reunification of adopted Dutch citizens with their birth families.
According to the National Police, the victims are the host of the television program, Derk Bolt, and his cameraman, Eugenio Follender.
The television program has frequently reported on Colombia as the Netherlands is home to hundreds of Colombian-born citizens who were adopted by Dutch couples.
According to the weekly, the journalists are in the hands of guerrilla group ELN, the dominant illegal armed group in the area around El Tarra.
Colombia’s illegal armed groups’ areas of influence
The ELN is currently engaged in peace talks with the Colombian government in the Ecuadorean capital of Quito, but has so far refused to renounce kidnapping, one of its revenue sources.
The guerrilla group last year briefly held a Spanish and two Colombian journalists hostage in the same Catatumbo region.
Spanish journalist ‘not kidnapped’ as ELN set to release two RCN journalists
The group later expressed its regret and blamed the journalists of not being “prudent.”
ELN ‘regrets’ ‘unplanned’ kidnapping of ‘imprudent’ journalists
The ELN did not immediately respond to the allegation it was behind the alleged kidnapping.
Dutch public television also did not immediately confirm the incident.