What should have been a dream come true for the families of three Colombian hostages ended up being the unfair extension of their collective nightmare. The FARC rebel group said Monday that they would “suspend indefinitely” the mission to free three high-profile hostages. A FARC communiqué blamed “intense military operations” for delaying the rescue mission. However, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe publicly hypothesized that one of the hostages- 3-year-old Emmanuel Rojas- may have been secretly handed over to child welfare authorities by the guerillas.
ThThe failure of “Operation Emmanuel” has led to finger-pointing by some of the major actors involved:
- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez initially accused Uribe of using the claim of Emmanuel’s custody as a "smokescreen."
- Uribe blamed the FARC for “cheating the world” by not permitting the hostage rescue to move forward.
- The FARC blamed the Colombian government for creating a situation that would have “risked the lives of the hostages.”
- Even ex-Argentine president Nestor Kirchner has been blamed by the opposition for his role in the failed operation.
Some political pundits claim that Chavez is the biggest loser of this whole affair, yet it’s really the families of those hostages who have suffered the most. They continue their never-ending wait for the liberation of their loved ones, and hope against all odds that it can happen safely and soon.
Sources (English)- AFP, Associated Press, Xinhua, Reuters, New York Times, Bloomberg,
Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo, RCN
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