Colombian President Alvaro Uribe will appeal to his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy to help him recapture the former FARC “foreign minister” Rodrigo Granda, when the heads of state meet at the G8 summit in Canada on Friday.
“Tomorrow at the G8 I will ask for help in recapturing him,” Uribe said in reference to the FARC kingpin, who was released at Sarkozy’s request in 2007, in order to secure the liberation of French-Colombian hostage, Ingrid Betancourt.
“When I was a presidential candidate, I said I would agree to a humanitarian agreement, if and when a peace process ensuring the cessation of hostilities was begun. They didn’t want it ” Uribe said.
“When I entered the presidency, the Catholic church, The United Nations and The Red Cross all advised me to agree to the release,” Uribe continued.
Uribe admitted that Granda’s release, along with 150 other FARC insurgents, had failed to improve relations between the Colombian government and the rebel group.
Uribe has repeatedly voiced his opposition to the exchaneg and accused France of turning its back on Colombia, following the mission.
A humanitarian agreement refers to the exchange of FARC hostages for encarcerated guerrillas.