BOGOTA: Colombian police staged a raid in northern La Guajira province early yesterday and rescued two Spanish tourists held captive by an unidentified group for nearly a month, police sources said.
Maria Concepcion Marlaska, 43, and Angel Fernandez Sanchez, 49, were seized on May 17 while traveling to the popular tourist destination of Cabo de la Vela on Colombia’s northern peninsula.
The two were freed in an operation near the city of Maicao on a stretch of land which juts into the Caribbean Sea and borders northwestern Venezuela. A police source said they were in good health.
The abduction may have been the work of common criminals, security sources say.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the country’s biggest rebel group, last month denied accusations that it was holding the tourists, but Spanish news reports said the kidnappers had identified themselves as members of the Marxist-led guerrilla group when they contacted the family of the victims to demand a ransom.
The FARC and the Colombian government began talks in November to try to end a war that began with the FARC’s formation in 1964 as a communist agrarian reform group.
The FARC last year halted the taking of hostages and the group has repeatedly said the order was being followed by the entire rebel force.
The group has a history of kidnapping to raise money for its struggle against the government, but rebel leaders called a stop to the practice to encourage the peace process.
It is not unusual for criminals to claim kidnappings or other actions in the group’s name.
