The Swiss was held, in the company of a Brazilian, since march 20, last. The two former hostages are in good health.
A swiss citizen held hostage for nearly three months in Colombia has been released, announced on Thursday evening the federal Department of foreign affairs (FDFA). The latter thanked the colombian authorities and in particular the army of his successful intervention.
The Swiss and a Brazilian, who had been taken hostage on march 20, were freed by the colombian army on Thursday, said the DFA in a statement, but did not want to give more details on the identity of persons for reasons of data protection. An investigation has been opened into the circumstances of the hostage-taking. The hostages are in good health, said the DFA.
According to the colombian army, the two men had been abducted by fighters of the “moving column Dagoberto Ramos”, dissidents of the revolutionary armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who have rejected the peace agreement signed in 2016 by the marxist guerilla group. They were recovered during a military operation in the department of Cauca (south-west), one of the areas most affected by the violence of the armed groups that are financed in part by drug trafficking.
“Arrived at the cemetery”
During a press conference, held hostage to switzerland, a retiree of the judicial sector, explained that he had been abducted at the same time as the Brazilian, while conducting a sightseeing trip by road on the Pacific coast. They had been intercepted in the municipality of Corinto, in Cauca department, so they went to Bogota. One of their captors had threatened them with his weapon, while they dined in a restaurant.
“He told us that we had arrived at the cemetery,” added the ex-hostage in switzerland in Spanish. They were abducted with their two dogs, and taken to a rural house, where was held for their release. The dissidents of the FARC, estimated to be around 2300 armed men, operating without a unified command and are financed by drug trafficking, as well as by the illegal extraction of ore.
(TTY/NXP)
Published: 18.06.2020, 23: 23-
