WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US State Department on Wednesday called for Marxist FARC guerrillas to free immediately all hostages it holds, five years after three US nationals fell into FARC rebel hands.
"Today marks the fifth anniversary of the kidnapping of Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes, and Keith Stansell by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Foreign Terrorist Organization designated by US law," said State Department spokesman Scott McCormack.
The spokesman said the US "contractors" were "conducting a joint US-Colombian aerial counternarcotics reconnaissance mission on February 13, 2003, when their aircraft made an emergency landing due to mechanical failure."
"The United States calls on the FARC to immediately release all hostages so they may be returned safely to their families," McCormack added, stressing the United States "firmly supports the Government of Colombia in its efforts to achieve the safe recovery of all of the hostages, some of whom have now been held for ten years."
Tens of thousands of protestors rallied in several Colombian cities and in 125 capitals worldwide on February 4, demanding an end to violence and calling on the FARC to release its hostages.
The FARC, accused of drug trafficking and holding some 750 people hostage in its jungle hideouts, is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and the Colombian government. Its other high-profile detainees include Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.
The guerrilla group has been fighting the Bogota government since the 1960s.
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