Colombian rebels free hostage soldier - Red Cross

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Colombian rebels free hostage soldier - Red Cross
33 mins ago

Colombian rebels released a kidnapped soldier to a humanitarian mission in the remote southern jungle, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Sunday.

In the first of two planned handovers, guerrillas freed Josue Daniel Calvo, a soldier held for nearly a year since he was wounded in combat and captured by the FARC, Latin America's longest-running insurgency.

The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, planned to release the second of the 23 police and soldiers it held to the Red Cross team and leftist Senator Piedad Cordoba on Tuesday. "In the hours of the afternoon today in a rural part of Meta State, the soldier Jose Daniel Calvo was handed over by the FARC," the Red Cross said in a statement.

The release is the latest unilateral handover by the FARC, which calls it a goodwill gesture. But broader peace talks appear unlikely with President Alvaro Uribe, whose U.S.-backed campaign has battered the FARC to its weakest position in decades.

Read more: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100328/tpl-uk-colombia-hostages-81f3b62.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Colombian soldier freed by rebels

Colombian soldier freed by rebels

A Colombian soldier who was held by Colombian rebels for more than 11 months was released Sunday.

Josue Daniel Calvo was reunited with his family on a tarmac in the city of Villavicencio, where the helicopter that retrieved him touched down.

The young soldier was released to a humanitarian mission led by Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordoba.

Calvo became dizzy and sick on the helicopter ride, but was in better health than they expected, Cordoba said at a news conference.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/28/colombian-soldier-freed-by-rebels/

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Red Cross: Colombian rebels freed captive soldier
(AP) – 45 minutes ago

VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia — Colombian rebels released a soldier to the International Red Cross on Sunday after holding him for almost a year in captivity.

Red Cross spokesman Adolfo Beteta said 23-year-old Pvt. Josue Daniel Calvo was in the hands of the humanitarian group and heading home.

Beteta spoke to reporters at the airport in the city of Villavicencio, where a Brazilian helicopter emblazoned with the Red Cross logo took off earlier Sunday bound for the undisclosed hand-over point in the Colombian jungle.

He said officials "have no worrying news" about the health of Calvo, who according to the rebels has been suffering from an unknown ailment. He was captured on April 20, 2009, by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

More:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gWbfNgB4cU_Ot9C2KIyRIXSPG-dgD9ENQ2P80

[AlphaCentauri]

2. Lula and those Brazilian socialist have ties to the FARC I can perceive it

:sarcasm: