CruelVerdad
23rd February 2003, 00:07
No immediate response was available from either the United States or the Colombian government!
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Colombian rebels claim to hold
Americans
Saturday, February 22, 2003 Posted: 12:32 PM EST (1732 GMT)
BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) --
Colombia's largest rebel group
has said the lives of three U.S.
citizens it is holding prisoner are
at risk if the government does
not immediately halt military
operations in rebel-held territory.
In a communiqué received Saturday by a
Colombian journalist with contacts among
the rebels, the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia -- known by their
Spanish acronym FARC -- acknowledged
for the first time that they had captured
three Americans who survived a plane
crash February 13 in rebel-held territory.
The rebels also claimed responsibility for
shooting down the plane, which they said
had been on a mission to spy on them.
Colombian and U.S. military forces have
blamed the crash on mechanical
problems.
"We can only guarantee the life and physical integrity of the three official gringos in
our power if the Colombian military immediately suspends military operations and
overflights in the area," said the communiqué, which was datelined "The mountains
of Colombia, February 21."
Since the crash, more than 2,000 Colombia soldiers have been scouring the rugged
terrain in the southern part of the country in search of the Americans, whom the
communiqué identified as CIA agents.
U.S. planes, including AWACS, have been flying overhead to help direct the search
for the men, who were among five people -- four from the United States and one
Colombian -- aboard the Cessna 208, contracted by the U.S. Defense Department.
The Colombian army said rescuers reached the site within half an hour of the crash,
and found the executed bodies of the other two men -- a Colombian and an
American -- near the wreckage of the incinerated plane.
The group had been on an intelligence mission en route from the capital to
Florencia, in Colombia's Caqueta Department, a region known to harbor FARC
guerrillas, the Colombian armed forces said.
No immediate response was available from either the United States or the
Colombian government.
* -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *CNN.com
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Colombian rebels claim to hold
Americans
Saturday, February 22, 2003 Posted: 12:32 PM EST (1732 GMT)
BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) --
Colombia's largest rebel group
has said the lives of three U.S.
citizens it is holding prisoner are
at risk if the government does
not immediately halt military
operations in rebel-held territory.
In a communiqué received Saturday by a
Colombian journalist with contacts among
the rebels, the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia -- known by their
Spanish acronym FARC -- acknowledged
for the first time that they had captured
three Americans who survived a plane
crash February 13 in rebel-held territory.
The rebels also claimed responsibility for
shooting down the plane, which they said
had been on a mission to spy on them.
Colombian and U.S. military forces have
blamed the crash on mechanical
problems.
"We can only guarantee the life and physical integrity of the three official gringos in
our power if the Colombian military immediately suspends military operations and
overflights in the area," said the communiqué, which was datelined "The mountains
of Colombia, February 21."
Since the crash, more than 2,000 Colombia soldiers have been scouring the rugged
terrain in the southern part of the country in search of the Americans, whom the
communiqué identified as CIA agents.
U.S. planes, including AWACS, have been flying overhead to help direct the search
for the men, who were among five people -- four from the United States and one
Colombian -- aboard the Cessna 208, contracted by the U.S. Defense Department.
The Colombian army said rescuers reached the site within half an hour of the crash,
and found the executed bodies of the other two men -- a Colombian and an
American -- near the wreckage of the incinerated plane.
The group had been on an intelligence mission en route from the capital to
Florencia, in Colombia's Caqueta Department, a region known to harbor FARC
guerrillas, the Colombian armed forces said.
No immediate response was available from either the United States or the
Colombian government.
* -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *CNN.com