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Swedish hostage freed in Colombia Swedish hostage freed in Colombia
(1 day later)
Colombia's main leftist rebel group, the Farc, has freed its last known foreign hostage, a Swedish man abducted two years ago, Colombian officials say. Colombia's main left-wing rebel group, the Farc, has freed its last known foreign hostage, a Swedish man abducted two years ago, Colombian officials say.
Ronald Larson, 69, was handed over to detectives on Tuesday and is in poor health, the state security agency said. Video footage from the state security agency showed a man identified as Erik Roland Larsson, 69, being lifted from a canoe and carried across marsh land.
Mr Larson, a retired engineer, was abducted in May 2007. The retired engineer, who was abducted in May 2007, is in poor health.
Although he was thought to be the last foreigner held by Farc, the group, Colombia's largest rebel group, still holds hundreds of other hostages. The Farc still hold several hundred hostages, most for ransom. It is not known if money was paid in this case.
It is not known whether a ransom was paid to secure the release, and officials gave few details of his release. Decades-long fight
The Efe news agency reported that he was freed in a rural area of the department of Cordoba, north-west of Colombia's capital, Bogota. Mr Larsson was snatched in May 2007, along with his Colombian wife, from their farm in the northern state of Cordoba.
Reports suggested Mr Larson was in poor health on his release and was taken to hospital for treatment. She escaped after less than a month in captivity, during a gun battle between rebels and police.
The Farc had initially demanded $5m (£3.6m) for Mr Larsson's release, but it is not known whether any ransom was eventually paid.
The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says the guerrillas are now more reliant on the drugs trade to finance their activities.
Colombia's DAS security police said Mr Larsson was in a "delicate state of health" and was being seen by doctors in the city of Monteria in the country's north-west.
In an interview with the Associated Press last month, Mr Larsson's son Tommy said the Farc had sent him a video of his father.
"A doctor saw the video and it appears that he had suffered from a stroke. His right arm, leg and parts of his face are paralysed," Tommy Larsson told AP.
Farc guerrillas have been fighting the government since the 1960s.
But the rebels have suffered setbacks in recent years as the government drives them further into mountain and jungle areas.