Colombia said on Saturday that France would be willing to receive former guerrilla fighters as part of a possible deal to free scores of rebel hostages, including ailing French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt.
The proposal is part of a package of offers Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has made to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in an effort to prompt rebels to free kidnap victims held for as long as 10 years in secret jungle camps.
Uribe, a conservative who is popular at home for his security crackdown on Latin America's oldest insurgency, this week urged FARC fighters to accept offers of cash rewards and reduced jail terms for abandoning rebel ranks and handing over hostages.
"People have asked me, can they also go overseas? Yes they can go overseas and we will help in that matter. We have spoken to the French government, which has told us it would be willing to take them in over there," Uribe said at a public event.
"All we need is for things to start moving, that rebels take that decision and leave the guerrillas and set the hostages free," Uribe said.
France, Spain and Switzerland are engaged in efforts to broker a deal to swap rebel fighters for hostages.
Pressure for that is building after details emerged indicating former presidential candidate Betancourt is gravely ill after six years in captivity.
Uribe was speaking in San Jose del Guaviare town in the remote province where authorities said this week they had received reports Betancourt had secretly been treated in rural clinics in areas still under rebel influence.
A French newspaper said yesterday that France had parked a Falcon 900 jet in French Guiana to immediately fly out Betancourt if she is freed by FARC.
"We do not have any information about an imminent release but we don't want to leave any stone unturned on our side," a source at the French presidential office told the Journal du Dimanche.
The plane is parked at a military base in Cayenne, the source said.
Betancourt's former husband Fabrice Delloye said recently that he feared she was "either dying or already dead."
"What worries me most is the latest statement by the Colombian government and I wonder if they have information that we do not and are in the process of shielding themselves," Delloye said.
Colombian public Ombudsman Volmar Perez said earlier that reports indicated that "the state of her health is very delicate and her physical and health conditions have been deteriorating."
He said that, according to residents in an area where Betancourt was taken by her captors to be treated, the high-profile hostage was suffering from hepatitis B and leishmania, a skin disease caused by insect bites.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said yesterday. The ship snapped all three of its masts as it collided with the New York City landmark late on Saturday, while onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror. “At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams posted on X. Footage shared online showed the Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtemoc, its sails furled
RSS