President Hugo Chavez spoke with FARC hostages by telephone soon after they were released

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, into whose custody they were released, spoke with them by phone after they were freed, said Jesse Chacon, a top aide to the president. 'They are safe and sound,'' Chacon said. The helicopters would fly to the Venezuelan border town of Santo Domingo. The freed hostages would then fly on to Caracas, the capital, to be reunited with their families.