BOGOTA: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he would not allow FARC rebels to make a media circus of the release of a US citizen they captured last month after the group “flagrantly violated” a promise to end kidnappings before peace talks began.
In an irate address, Santos said he would deprive the FARC of any media benefit from the capture of Kevin Scott Sutay as he trekked across a dangerous jungle stretch of eastern Colombia. Santos also refused to allow former Senator Piedad Cordoba to participate in the handover.
The president did not specify what the media restrictions would be but it’s possible there will be no coverage of the release until Sutay returns to Bogota or a local airport. The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, said on Friday that as a gesture of goodwill it would free Sutay to Cordoba, a leftist politician who has been involved in numerous high-profile captive releases, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Santos’ refusal to allow Cordoba to head the mission, which the FARC had specifically requested, may complicate efforts to release Sutay, who defied police warnings not to venture cross-country alone. The government and FARC have been engaged in peace talks in Cuba since November.
The liberation of dozens of FARC captives over the years has drawn huge media interest, angering Santos as press coverage of the event often gives the insurgent group’s profile a boost on the international stage.
“These gentlemen of the FARC, violating in a flagrant way the commitment they made at the start of peace talks, are holding hostage a North American citizen - and they didn’t kidnap him before, they kidnapped him recently without any justification or reason.”
FARC rebels deprived of media benefit
