Rodrigo Granda, known as the "Foreign Minister" of the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), departed from Cuba to Venezuela, where he is making efforts to facilitate a humanitarian swap of hostages for fighters -a process where Venezuelan ruler Hugo Chávez is playing a role as a mediator, Efe reported.

Colombian High Commissioner for Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo said President Álvaro Uribe's government does not have "any information about any concrete progress, but some meaningful facts have been noticed."

In an interview with Bogotá-based Caracol radio station, Uribe's aide explained that Granda has traveled several times between Havana and Caracas.

Granda was imprisoned last June 4 following a request from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Uribe. Bogotá then authorized Granda to travel to Cuba on June 18 to help find a humanitarian swap of 45 hostages held by the FARC.

The group of hostages include former Colombian independent presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt -who is also a French citizen- and three US nationals. They are to be swapped for some 500 FARC troops who are currently in jail.

Granda "has traveled to Venezuela to help lay the bridges for communication," said Restrepo.