The ELN guerrilla freed this Friday a non-commissioned officer of the Colombian army and her two children, aged six and eight, who had been kidnapped on Monday, on the eve of the start of a truce between the rebels and the government.
“Second Sergeant Karina Ramirez She was released along with her two children with the mediation of the Ombudsman’s Office,” the Ministry of Defense reported on its Twitter account.
In a photo released by that ministry, the woman appears dressed in camouflage along with the two minors -one of whom suffers autism– three guerrillas from the National Liberation Army (ELN), a priest and various officials from the Defensoría, the state entity that watches over human rights.
“We registered with satisfaction – although the event should never have taken place – the release of the sergeant and her children who had been taken by the ELN (…) an armed group with which a bilateral ceasefire has been decreed (… ) that began yesterday,” said the president, Gustavo Petroat a public event in the port of Buenaventura (southwest).
According to the Ombudsman, the soldier and her children “were received in apparent good health“.