Reply #85: Some of those high-ranking hostages were already freed, in a raid on FARC forces...

[countryjake]

so it's unclear now exactly how many of the original 45 hostages are still being held. I'm sure it is gut-wrenching for a bastard like Uribe to even have to consider releasing any of the 500-plus rebels being held in his prisons and these "negotiations" were iffy from the start, with Chavez suggesting that such radical factions could be normalized as legitimate political groups and that recognizing their voice might solve some problems in Colombia. Not something either Uribe or the USA would ever give a serious thought to, really.

The murder of Gustavo Rueda and the release of Colombian Foreign Minister Fernando Araujo probably had more to do with Uribe dumping Chavez's efforts than anything we'll ever hear about in our own twisted media.