Colombian hostage freed after nearly 7-year ordeal

[alienlovechild 75]

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Former hostage Sigifredo Lopez landed in the Colombian city of Palmira to a hero's welcome Thursday afternoon, free after nearly seven years of captivity by Marxist rebels in the jungle.

The former regional legislator was abducted April 11, 2002, by rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known as FARC.

Lopez's release was the sixth unilateral one by the rebels in a week, but few of the kidnappings were as dramatic as the one in which Lopez and 11 other lawmakers were taken.

He is the only one of that group who remains alive.

The rebels had been training for months. At a FARC camp, they practiced in Colombian army and police uniforms and made mock-ups of the regional parliament in Cali with plastic tarps and sticks.

A rebel camera was rolling as the 20-strong commando group drove a bus to Cali, Colombia's third-largest city. Salsa music was blaring. Watch the FARC footage of the dramatic abduction of Lopez and other lawmakers »

They were posing as government soldiers. Motorcycle outriders cleared the way.

Once they reached the parliament building, they faked a bomb alert.

The bus pulled out in front of the building, and the video shows people running from the perceived threat.

On the video, an unseen rebel is heard to say, "For the deputies, we have a special vehicle."

Twelve congressmen took their seats, believing the military was shepherding them to safety. Minutes passed, and one politician asked where they are headed.

A few minutes later, the muffled reply can be heard: "Ladies and gentlemen. We are the FARC."

In 2003, Lopez and some of the other hostages appeared in a proof-of-life video. One of his colleagues simply wrote, "Until when?" on his hand and held it up to camera.

Another, Jairo Hoyos, sent a prophetic plea to the president: "Mister President. Those who are about to die salute you."

Eleven of the congressmen were killed in captivity in June 2007. The FARC said they died in cross-fire during a military rescue mission. The Colombian army rejects that assertion.

When the bodies were recovered three months later, autopsies showed most had been shot multiple times in the back.

Lopez was the sole survivor. On Thursday night, he may be able to tell the rest of the world what happened that day.

Colombian Sen. Piedad Cordoba has brokered the releases with the help of the the International Committee of the Red Cross and a group called Colombians for Peace. Brazil also has helped, providing the aircraft used in the releases.

The FARC, the largest and oldest guerrilla group in Colombia, announced the releases December 21 and designated Cordoba as the coordinator. Some analysts see these releases as a first step toward an eventual peace accord. Others suggest this is just another sign that government military gains combined with a tough right-wing political line are gradually beating the FARC into submission.

Colombia has said the rebels are still holding about 700 captives

The government has said the FARC's military force has been severely compromised in recent months, but authorities still accuse it of trafficking huge quantities of cocaine to finance its decades-old insurgency.

Security analysts said FARC, established in the early 1960s, has about 9,000 to 12,000 armed guerillas and several thousand supporters, mostly in rural areas.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/02/...lombia.hostage/

[Jasman0717 9]

Seven years That sucks