Relatives of a child born to a hostage mother and a guerrilla father will undergo DNA testing on Tuesday to determine whether the child is still a captive -- or in a Bogota orphanage, as Colombia's president has charged.
The whereabouts of Emmanuel Rojas could be key to the release of three hostages the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) promised on Dec. 18, but which has stalled despite international efforts, including those of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
In a statement read by Chavez on Monday, the FARC said it delayed the release because of military operations in the area where it was to take place.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said the real reason was that the rebels could not produce Emmanuel Rojas.
Uribe caused a stir by saying that the toddler child of Clara Rojas was in Bogota at a state-run orphanage of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) and had been there since July last year. He urged DNA tests on Emmanuel's grandmother to determine the truth.
Emmanuel was born in captivity, allegedly from a consensual relationship between hostage Clara Rojas and a FARC guerrilla.
Clara Rojas' brother, Ivan, said he and his mother were ready to collaborate with the DNA tests.
Uribe said his government began searching for Emmanuel after an internal FARC message intercepted in 2006 by the intelligence service suggested that the child was no longer in rebel hands.
Authorities reportedly found the child and moved him from a home in San Jose de Guaviare, 300km southeast of Bogota, to the ICBF facility in the capital.
"This boy bears a physical resemblance to Emmanuel. One of his arms is scarred and he shows signs of abuse," Uribe said.
The president referred to statements by an escaped hostage who said he saw the boy in captivity and that the child had cigarette burns on his body.
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