Former FARC captive believes rebels will free all hostages soon

A former Colombian senator who has spent nearly seven years in the captivity of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has expressed his hope that the leftist guerrilla group will soon release all its hostages, EFE news agency reported Wednesday. Luis Eladio Perez, who was freed in February by the FARC, told reporters Tuesday prior to a meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that he was expecting an announcement soon from the rebel group about the release of other captives. He said an operation to hand over more hostages was under way and it would soon become clear where and how the captives would be delivered. Perez, like the other five hostages released by the FARC earlier this year, was turned over to representatives of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But the former senator said that the next phase of handover of hostages could involve Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva or Ecuador's President Rafael Correa.