Americans held by Colombian rebels
The State Department confirmed Saturday that three Americans who survived a small plane crash landing in Colombia have been taken hostage by rebels. It marks the first time in Colombia’s 39-year-old civil war that an American working for the U.S. Government has been kidnapped. The Cessna Carnival single-engine plane came down Thursday in a southeast area of the country dominated by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by their Spanish initials FARC. “We have reliable report that these crewmembers are being held by the terrorist group FARC,” State Department spokeswoman Brenda Greenberg told United Press International. She said the plane made an emergency landing, apparently because of engine trouble. “We demand the crewmembers be released unharmed immediately. We will continue to work with the government of Colombia in the search and rescue effort.” Full Story