Bogota - A leftist Colombian rebel deserted and released two people who were being held hostage in a jungle area of southern Colombia, the government said Friday. Colombia's Ombudsman Volmar Perez said said a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) turned himself over to the authorities Thursday in the outskirts of the city of Pasto, in the south-western province of Narino.
The deserter, who had previously made contact with the Ombudsman's Office, took with him two people identified as John Perez and Juan Carlos Bernal, who had been kidnapped in mid-2006 in the provinces of Guaviare and Valle del Cauca. FARC was demanding ransom from the families of the two men.
Perez and Bernal are not part of the group of some 40 hostages that FARC is hoping to exchange for imprisoned rebels. The rebel group holds former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and an estimated 740 other hostages.
The deserter had been guarding the two men in the southern Colombian province of Caqueta. He made contact with the Ombudsman's Office and left for Pasto with the hostages three weeks ago.
Perez said that the rebel was willing to enter a government programme to help members of illegal organizations who want to return to legal activity.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has said several times in recent weeks that the government has a 100-million-dollar fund to reward rebels who desert and cooperate.
Last month, a FARC rebel killed a member of the group's leadership known as "Ivan Rios." He then turned himself over to authorities and told them where they could find Rios' body.
The rebel known as "Rojas" is set to share with others a reward of some 2.7 million dollars for handing over data on the group commanded by Rios.
