Colombian rebels have released a U.S. citizen captured in June.
The Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia, or FARC, released Kevin Scott Sutay on Sunday. Officials say Sutay was a former enlisted member of the U.S. armed forces who had been visiting Colombia as a tourist.
Sutay was released to the International Red Cross and a humanitarian committee in a rural area. He was handed over later to U.S. authorities at the airport in Bogota.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the Colombian government for what he called its "tireless efforts" in securing Sutay's release. Kerry also thanked civil rights activist Jesse Jackson who traveled to Colombia last month at the guerrillas' request for talks to secure Sutay's freedom.
FARC has been fighting the Colombian army since 1964 and is the oldest active guerrilla army in the Western Hemisphere. In recent months, the group has taken part in peace talks with the Colombian government.
"Well, the liberation of the US citizen started this morning. And approximately about 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). In a rural area in Guaviare, he was turned over to the Red Cross and to a humanitarian committee. The US citizen was later transported by helicopter, as we always do, from San Jose del Guaviare where he was then transported to Bogota," Jordi Raich, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Colombia told reporters.
The Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia, or FARC, released Kevin Scott Sutay on Sunday. Officials say Sutay was a former enlisted member of the U.S. armed forces who had been visiting Colombia as a tourist.
Sutay was released to the International Red Cross and a humanitarian committee in a rural area. He was handed over later to U.S. authorities at the airport in Bogota.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry thanked the Colombian government for what he called its "tireless efforts" in securing Sutay's release. Kerry also thanked civil rights activist Jesse Jackson who traveled to Colombia last month at the guerrillas' request for talks to secure Sutay's freedom.
FARC has been fighting the Colombian army since 1964 and is the oldest active guerrilla army in the Western Hemisphere. In recent months, the group has taken part in peace talks with the Colombian government.
"Well, the liberation of the US citizen started this morning. And approximately about 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). In a rural area in Guaviare, he was turned over to the Red Cross and to a humanitarian committee. The US citizen was later transported by helicopter, as we always do, from San Jose del Guaviare where he was then transported to Bogota," Jordi Raich, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Colombia told reporters.
