FARC deserter helps hostages escape

Few escape the clutches of the FARC

By Jeremy McDermott In Bogota

Two foreigners held hostage for five months by Colombian guerrillas managed to escape after securing help from a deserter of the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, who led them to an army base and freedom.

We escaped after running, running, running across savanna, across unpaved roads and across paved roads

Gabrielle Giusto

Gabrielle Giusto and Santiago Borsotti - an Italian and Venezuelan - looked gaunt, but ecstatic after their flight from the clutches of the FARC.

They had been kidnapped by the guerrillas in Venezuelan territory and carried across the border to a rebel camp in Colombia.

But last Saturday they managed to persuade a FARC guerrilla to desert and lead them to safety.

Leaving the rebel jungle camp in the eastern province of Arauca at night, the three slipped past guards and headed for the army base in the town of Arauca, managing to avoid pursuing guerrillas angry at losing their precious prisoners.

Kidnap industry

A ransom of $1m had been asked for the two.

Kidnapping is an industry in Colombia, with one abduction reported every three hours.

The Marxist guerrillas of the FARC and the smaller ELN, or National Liberation Army, are the main perpetrators, using the ransoms to fund their 38-year war against the state.

Few ever escape their clutches without a ransom being paid and the fate of those who cannot raise the money is a shallow grave in the jungle.