EL UNIVERSAL

Consuelo González de Perdomo and Clara Rojas regained their freedom following a number of years in captivity.

The two women, the symbol of hundreds of hostages held by the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), were released in the jungle of Guaviare Department by the guerrilla group, under an operation sponsored by Venezuela.
 
Rojas (44), who was about to turn six years in captivity, looked slim but in good shape, with her hair tied up and wearing gold nail polish. Kidnapped in 2001, González (57), looked as if she had put on some weight, with her grayish hair well trimmed and wearing silver earrings.

Both wore casual clothes and while in the helicopter via Santo Domingo, southwestern Táchira state, they changed their clothes for sports suits.

Rojas told Radio Caracol they walked for some 20 days from the rebel camp where they were held to the place where they were freed.

Rojas said other hostages held by the FARC, such as Jorge Eduardo Gechem Turbay, Gloria de Polanco, Alan Jara, colonel Mendieta and sergeant Delgado, were "very sad back there. Saying goodbye to the people who were in captivity together with us was a heart-broking experience."

"You cannot lower your guard, President (Hugo Chávez). The people who remain here in captivity asked me to convey this message to you. You helped us to go back to life," a smiling González told the Venezuelan ruler over the phone.
 
The two politicians were taken by helicopter to an airport in Santo Domingo, Táchira state, and then to Caracas.

Some women members of the FARC kissed good Rojas and González before the two politicians departed. The members of the guerrilla group escorting the two women wished a Happy New Year to the rescue team before going back into the forest.

Colombia authorized the operation after the FARC provided to Chávez the coordinates of the place where Rojas and González would be released, in Guaviare department.

The humanitarian mission included Venezuelan Minister of the Interior and Justice Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, Colombian opposition senator Piedad Córdoba and Cuban Ambassador to Venezuela Germán Sánchez Otero, among others.

Rodríguez Chacín praised the FARC "because they made this gesture that means only the starting point of the road." "Other people will be released, (FARC troops in jail) will be freed. This is a road leading us to peace in Colombia, which means peace in Venezuela."

According to Sánchez Otero, the move was "the beginning of a process that is certainly going to continue."

Later on, a triumphant President Chávez welcomed Rojas and González at the presidential palace of Miraflores, after the two women met with their relatives at the Simón Bolívar International Airport, in coastal Vargas state, north Caracas.

Chávez welcomed Rojas and González, embraced them, and kissed them, after a short ceremony where the Presidential Guard paid honors and the anthems of Venezuela and Colombia were played.

Rojas thanked the Venezuelan people "for everything you have done for us to come back to freedom. Thank you so much."

"We are going to continue seeking (the release of other hostages). We cannot doom these people (hostages), like someone said 'let them rot there,'" Chávez said.

A first attempt to release Rojas and González failed last December 31, when the Colombian government disclosed a thesis -which was confirmed later- that the FARC did not have Emmanuel, Rojas' son born in captivity, in their hands.

Translated by Maryflor Suárez R.
msuarez@eluniversal.com

Read the special feature about the humanitarian swap in Colombia at:
http://www.eluniversal.com/CHCol_indexEng.shtml