FARC releases soldiers, but 405 civilians remain detained.
The rescue operation for the hostages, who had been held captive by the guerrilla group for over 13 years, was commanded by 22 Brazilian military personnel.
247 with international agencies - The last soldiers and police officers detained by the FARC have been released and are now heading to Villavicencio airport to meet their respective families.
The operation was carried out by 22 Brazilian soldiers. Officials from the Colombian Red Cross and former senator Piedad Córdoba, president of the NGO Colombianos por la Paz and spokesperson for the FARC, participated in the rescue.
Police officers and soldiers César Augusto Masso, Luiz Antonio Beltrán, Carlos José Duarte, Jorge Romero Romero, Jorge Trujillo Solarte, José Libardo Forero, Luis Arturo Arcia, Robinson Salcedo Guarín, Wilson Rojas Medina, and Luis Alfredo Moreno were released. Most of them had been held captive for 13 or 14 years (kidnapped in 1998 and 1999).
The operation was considered a success, but according to the NGO País Libre, there are still 405 civilians kidnapped by the FARC, about whom there is no news. Relatives took advantage of the release of the military prisoners to ask that the civilians not be forgotten and that the guerrillas present a list with the names of those who may be in their power or that they inform the location where they were killed and buried.