Highlights
– Recent international attempts to foster the release of FARC-held hostages are unsuccessful
– Colombia bans foreign nations further interventions in hostage situation
– Crisis likely to continue in near-term
December 2007 witnessed increased activity and negotiations between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and international humanitarian commissions, most notably Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who had traveled to Colombia to facilitate the release of three hostages that the rebel group has held for over five years. In the end, the negotiations were left with empty promises and no captives were released. The hostage crisis slipped back to square one, with little hope of progress in the near-term.
An Up and Down Year
At best estimates, the FARC hold upwards of 750 hostages. For years, the rebel group has been seeking to broker a deal to swap some 500 imprisoned guerrillas, (including two who were extradited to the United States), for approximately 40 of the higher-profile hostages including Consuelo González and Clara Rojas (both politicians), French woman Ingrid Betancourt, and three American defense contractors.
The Colombian government and the FARC have not been able to reach a compromise regarding the release of the hostages mainly because the FARC has insisted the government withdraw security forces from a given area (the size of New York City), in order to create a demilitarized zone where the prisoner exchanges could take place. President Alvaro Uribe has continuously countered this claim stating that he will not withdraw troops from “one single millimeter” of Colombian territory, fearing that it will allow the FARC to regroup.
Negotiations Begin, Fumble
The situation worsened during the summer 2007, when eleven politicians held by the FARC, some for almost a decade, were killed in June, spurring international outcry. The guerrillas said the men died in crossfire during combat, but Uribe and the international community accused the FARC of murder. The immediate response was that the tragedy would destroy any possibility of an eventual prisoner-hostage exchange. However, the incident instead seemed to increase international pressure for a swap.
Throughout the remainder of 2007, the Colombian government allowed increased international intervention to facilitate the exchange. Numerous leaders, most notably, Hugo Chavez from Venezuela, and France President Nicolas Sarkozy began to assist in negotiations. Progress remained slow and at the end of the year, no hostages were released despite strong efforts by Chavez.
In the most recent attempt at exchange, the FARC blamed the inability to free the hostages because of nearby operations by the Colombian army designed to sabotage the release. The Colombian government, in turn, insisted that the army had stood aside and that the FARC could not release the hostages because one of the hostages to be released had already gained freedom two years prior. Emmanuel Rojas had been living with a foster family in Bogotá since 2002, though FARC leadership had sworn to his captivity and promised his release along with his mother Clara Rojas.
This revelation compromised the legitimacy of both the FARC and Chavez’s efforts to secure a hostage release. Either the FARC leadership did not know that Emmanuel no longer remained captive, suggesting a splintering of the group and a lack of communication and discipline between leadership and group members, or the leftist rebels misled Chavez and other international observers thereby de-legitimizing the release efforts.
The Current State and a Look Forward
As such, on January 7, 2008, the Colombian government halted all international involvement in the negotiations stating that they were, “examining the possibility that the FARC will fulfill their pledge to free Clara Rojas and Consuelo González,” but at this time would no longer accept the presence of international humanitarian missions (source).
In the past months, the international community, mainly President Hugo Chavez, seemed to be skeptical of the information given by the Colombian government, seeing the FARC more favorably. However, with the most recent revelations, it is believed that the FARC was the less-reliable party. Because of the inability of the FARC to come execute their promises and their apparent missteps concerning the hostages, the rebel group has perhaps dismissed any hope of the dealing with more sympathetic international negotiators. Instead, they will continue to face President Uribe and his government who will remain somewhat inflexible. The FARC will likely insist that Chavez continue acting as mediator.
It would seem then that the hostage crisis is back to square one, with a low likelihood that any definitive progress will be made in the near-term that would lead to a scenario in which hostages would be released. Neither the Colombian government nor the FARC will likely see it in their best interest to unilaterally pledge to end the crisis by giving in to the other’s demands. There is a possibility that the FARC will seek to retain some good international standing by attempting to complete the promised release of Rojas and González, but even this remains unlikely. Thus, the stalemate continues, leaving numerous high and low profile captives in limbo, and the political impasse in place. The hostages themselves, remain a symbol of the FARC’s longstanding challenge of Bogota’s authority over the country.
