FARC

(Newser) - France's PM said today the country will take in freed Colombian rebels as part of an exchange for the 46 hostages the rebel group FARC is holding, including a former presidential candidate who holds dual French-Colombian citizenship. The offer came hours after FARC agreed to release three hostages—a former...

(Newser) - American hostages and a French-Colombian politician are apparently still alive in South America years after they were kidnapped by Marxist rebels, according to dramatic tapes just released by the Colombian government. Three American security contractors whose plane went down in 2003 are seen looking haggard against a jungle backdrop. Politician...

(Newser) - Venezuela's volatile President Hugo Chavez says he is freezing ties with neighboring Colombia, insulted by Bogota's decision to ditch Chavez as a negotiator with Marxist guerrillas who have been holding hostages for years. Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe accused Chavez of favoring the rebels and overstepping his authority. Chavez called the...

(Newser) - The US Justice Department was unable to gain a conviction against Colombian rebel leader Ricardo Palmera, Reuters reports, with a judge declaring a mistrial yesterday after jurors deadlocked on a drug-trafficking charge. Palmera, captured in Colombia in 2004, was convicted in July in a 2003 kidnapping of American contractors, but...