Colombian Rebels Claim Capture of U.S. Veteran
Colombian Rebels Claim Capture of U.S. Veteran
July 20, 2013, 1:06 p.m. ET
By DAN MOLINSKI
BOGOTA--Colombia's main guerrilla group said it has captured a U.S. Navy veteran in the country's southern jungles, but said it wants to release him in the spirit of goodwill that surrounds the rebels' nearly one-year-old peace talks with the Colombian government.
Rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said in a statement that they are holding hostage Kevin Scott Sutay, who they say was born in New York based on information they took from his passport. The rebels said Mr. Sutay is an anti-explosives expert and said he also informed them he fought in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in 2010 and 2011. The rebels said the soldier entered Colombia in early June after traveling south from Mexico.
His capture, the FARC said in the statement, is further proof that U.S. military personnel unlawfully play an active, direct role in Colombia's long-running conflict, usually "under the guise of being contractors." The rebels said that despite their "right" to hold Mr. Sutay as a prisoner of war, they have decided to free him as a goodwill gesture. The government began peace negotiations in Cuba with the FARC in late 2012, and both sides hope to reach an accord by the end of this year that could end 50 years of war.
Officials from the U.S. Embassy weren't immediately available to comment Saturday.
Mr. Sutay was captured in the remote, southern state of Guaviare, not too far, the FARC said, from Barrancon, a military river base that has long been known as a place where U.S. soldiers train their Colombian counterparts in anti-guerrilla and anti-drug tactics.
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