Four Chinese oil company employees held hostage since June last year, allegedly by Colombia’s Farc rebels, have been freed in southern Colombia, the Chinese embassy said Thursday.
“They released the four last night in the department of Caqueta. They are in good spirits,” said the embassy's spokesperson in Bogota.
The official said the identity of the kidnappers was still unknown. He confirmed that the four hostages – three engineers and a translator – are Chinese citizens.
President Juan Manuel Santos welcomed the news in a message on Twitter.
“I talked to the Chinese ambassador and want to celebrate the release of the four Chinese citizens. Kidnapping is not something that should be repeated again,” the president tweeted.
The head of Colombia’s national police told reporters the hostages had been freed as a result of “a humanitarian operation orchestrated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Chinese authorities.”
The hostages were brought to a Red Cross office, Jose Roberto Leon Riano told reporters.