A Colombian FARC rebel has offered to release French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt and other guerrilla captives in exchange for protection from extradition, President Alvaro Uribe said today.
Efforts to negotiate with the Farc over its hostages, who have been held for as long as a decade in jungle camps, are stalled. But the rebels have been weakened by recent deaths of three commanders and desertions fuelled by government bounties.
Uribe said Colombia's intelligence agency, DAS, has responded by offering the guerrilla protection from extradition should the hostages be freed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc. But he gave few details or names.
"We sent a note to the guerrilla who offered to hand over Ingrid Betancourt and other kidnap victims," he said. "The DAS director send it with my authorization, saying there will be no extradition if this goes through. We hope this is true."
Two top guerrilla commanders have been extradited to the United States. The Farc wants them included in any deal to swap hostages for imprisoned rebel fighters.
Betancourt, a former presidential candidate, was kidnapped more than five years ago while campaigning. She is the Farc hostage with the highest profile. Others include three US defence contractors kidnapped in 2003.
Latin America's longest-running insurgency, the Farc has been weakened after billions of dollars in U.S. aid helped troops retake areas once under rebel control and drive them back into jungles and mountains.
To entice rebels to surrender, Uribe has already offered cash bounties, reduced sentences and residency overseas in countries such as France to guerrillas who come in from the jungles with kidnap victims they are guarding.