BOGOTÁ (AP) – Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas on Thursday released five young people kidnapped on May 13 in the Magdalena Medio region of central Colombia.
The news was released by the Ombudsman’s Office, which, along with the Catholic Church, dispatched a commission to take in those deprived of their liberty for almost three weeks.
The kidnapping took place in a rural area of the municipality of Yondó, in the department of Antioquia, when the youths were traveling in a boat on the Magdalena River from Barrancabermeja in Santander. They have been identified as Vladimir Hernández, Edgar Segovia, Fernando Álvarez, Manuel Pedroza and Jóider Rivera. You are between 18 and 22 years old.
According to the Ombudsman’s communication, those released are in good health. The ELN had reported that the kidnapped fishermen were “detained” following information from the community alleging that they were members of a drug trafficking gang.
Ombudsman Carlos Camargo insisted on keeping all channels open to help free more people kidnapped by the guerrillas and called on the ELN to make peace gestures to advance dialogue with the government. He also called on the illegal armed group to keep civilians out of the conflict.