HOSTAGE RECOVERY MISSION ON HOLD AFTER GOC SAYS IT

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000005 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PREF PREL PTER VZ CO SUBJECT: HOSTAGE RECOVERY MISSION ON HOLD AFTER GOC SAYS IT MAY ALREADY HAVE YOUNG HOSTAGE EMMANUEL REF: 07 BOGOTA 8723 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. The Venezuelan-led, international mission to recover three FARC-held hostages was put on hold on December 31 after President Uribe announced the GOC "hypothesis" -- backed by extensive circumstantial evidence -- that the reason for the FARC's delay in releasing the hostages was that the group did not have Clara Rojas' son, Emmanuel, in their possession. Uribe's comments followed Venezuelan President Chavez' reading of a FARC statement blaming GOC military operations for the delay. Uribe's bombshell led the international observers accompanying the rescue mission to depart Colombia and return home. The Colombian Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia) is running DNA tests on the boy and the Rojas family; the Fiscalia said the results should be ready in 10-15 days. In a January 1 speech, Chavez reiterated his commitment to help achieve peace in Colombia. A local Colombian columnist said the recent events confirm Colombia is not a "serious country". End summary. -------------- FARC Accuses GOC of Blocking Mission -------------- ¶2. On December 31, as representatives for the international mission to recover FARC-held hostages Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel, and Consuelo Gonzales de Perdomo waited in Villavicencio, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez read a FARC-issued statement in Caracas blaming ongoing GOC military operations for the delay in releasing the hostages. After meeting with the international observers (informally led by former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner accompanying the rescue mission, President Alvaro Uribe publicly reiterated GOC support for the mission and reviewed the GOC's guarantees to allow it to move forward. Uribe called the FARC/Chavez assertions lies, and confirmed that there had been no combat in the area of likely release. -------------- Uribe "hypothesis": GOC already has Emmanuel -------------- ¶3. Uribe also detailed a shocking GOC "hypothesis" that the FARC had delayed the release because they did not have Rojas' son, Emmanuel, in their possession; he said the boy may already be in GOC custody. Uribe said a boy matching Emmanuel's description, age, and other characteristics detailed by escaped hostage Jhon Pinchao, was turned into child welfare authorities in San Jose del Guaviare (near the likely location of the hostages) on June 15, 2005. The boy, identified as Juan David Gomez Tapiero, is in GOC-sponsored foster care. He was treated for a broken arm, malnutrition, and other ailments in 2005. The boy was turned in by a man claiming to be an uncle. ¶4. The same "uncle" urgently attempted to re-claim the boy from the GOC in late December, claiming to be the boy's father--tipping off the GOC and leading to the investigation. The man admitted that the boy was "a FARC child," was cooperating with GOC authorities, and was moved to Bogota under GOC protection. The GOC began DNA testing on the boy and the Rojas family to confirm the hypothesis. Uribe said he had informed Red Cross officials of the boy's possible identity on December 29, but had intended to keep the information private until after it had consulted with the Rojas family. His public comments were prompted by the need to respond to the FARC statement. -------------- GOC Still Supports Mission,... -------------- ¶5. Despite Chavez statements blaming the GOC for the failure of the mission, Uribe said the GOC would still support a mission to recover the hostages, and he authorized Venezuelan helicopters and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) officials to remain in Villavicencio on standby to carry out the mission--if and when the FARC provides needed coordinates. The GOC also publicly offered to establish a "security corridor" to allow the FARC to move the hostages to the recovery site. Chavez issued a statement from Caracas wishing Uribe a happy new year, offering to forget about previous tensions, and urging him to move forward for peace in Colombia. -------------- ...But International Reps Gone -------------- ¶6. International representatives accompanying the ICRC mission, including Kirchner, Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana, Brazilian presidential advisor Marco Aurelio Garcia, and filmmaker Oliver Stone, left Villavicencio on New Year's eve after several frustrating days of waiting for coordinates from the FARC. Kirchner and others issued statements saying they would return if the mission proceeded, but the media expressed skepticism that such a high-profile group would be willing to reassemble and wait yet again for the FARC's coordinates. A prominent local columnist in Bogota daily "El Tiempo" lamented that the recent events confirm that Colombia is not a "serious country." Nichols