This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/6235475.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Colombian minister flees captors | Colombian minister flees captors |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A Colombian ex-minister held hostage for more than six years by left-wing guerrillas has escaped after a military operation to secure his release. | A Colombian ex-minister held hostage for more than six years by left-wing guerrillas has escaped after a military operation to secure his release. |
| A number of rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are said to have been killed. | A number of rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) are said to have been killed. |
| Fernando Araujo was one of 59 high profile hostages held by the Farc as potential bargaining chips for a prisoner exchange with the government. | Fernando Araujo was one of 59 high profile hostages held by the Farc as potential bargaining chips for a prisoner exchange with the government. |
| He is on his way to be reunited with his family in the city of Cartagena. | He is on his way to be reunited with his family in the city of Cartagena. |
| Video | Video |
| The former development minister escaped from a rebel camp in the north of the country as Farc rebels battled troops, Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said. | The former development minister escaped from a rebel camp in the north of the country as Farc rebels battled troops, Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said. |
| Mr Araujo, he added, was in good health, and the offensive in a rural part of the department of Bolivar was continuing. | Mr Araujo, he added, was in good health, and the offensive in a rural part of the department of Bolivar was continuing. |
| The last time Mr Araujo's family had heard he was alive was in December 2005, when the Farc released a video in which he called on the government to agree to a prisoner exchange. | The last time Mr Araujo's family had heard he was alive was in December 2005, when the Farc released a video in which he called on the government to agree to a prisoner exchange. |
| He had been captured in December 2000, while jogging on the beach in Cartagena, his home town. | He had been captured in December 2000, while jogging on the beach in Cartagena, his home town. |
| Mr Araujo served under the President Andres Pastrana who governed from 1998 to 2002. | Mr Araujo served under the President Andres Pastrana who governed from 1998 to 2002. |
| The Farc is the largest of the left-wing rebel groups in Colombia. | |
| It has been fighting state forces and right-wing paramilitaries in a long-running conflict in which kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking have played a major part. | |
| Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed. | |
| Colombia's long-running conflict - which has seen fighting between state forces, left-wing rebels and right-wing paramilitaries - has killed tens of thousands of civilians. |