Freed Colombian MP hostage

Colombian MP flees captivity after eight years

video link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/oct/28/oscar-lizcano-kidnap-colombia

A former Colombian politician kidnapped more than eight years ago by leftwing Farc guerrillas escaped through the jungle with one of his rebel captors in another blow to Latin America's oldest insurgency.
Wearing a tattered black T-shirt and sporting a tangled grey beard, ex-congressman Oscar Lizcano, 63, marched for three days with his jailer before reaching an army post yesterday where the guerrilla surrendered to troops. Speaking to reporters, Lizcano apologised for his incoherent speech, saying his captors had forbidden him to speak.
His escape followed the rescue of French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and a group of other hostages who were freed in a surprise military operation in July after years in jungle camps. Lizcano's flight illustrated the military pressure facing Farc who have been hurt by informants, bounties for deserters and improved intelligence under Colombia's president, Álvaro Uribe, who has received billions of dollars in US aid.
Farc, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was once a powerful army that controlled large areas of the country. But the rebels lost three leaders this year and hundreds of fighters have deserted.
Juan Manuel Santos, the defence minister, said a rebel, known by his alias Moroco, from the group holding Lizcano escaped earlier this month and provided details about his camp.
Troops and police began a rescue operation over the weekend but Lizcano was already on the run.
Lizcano, snatched in 2000 and suffering from jungle diseases, was Farc's longest-held politician. Rebels still hold scores of hostages for political leverage and ransom.