The United States welcomed the liberation of four lawmakers held hostage by leftist rebels in Colombia on Wednesday but called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels “reprehensible” for continuing to hold hostages, including three Americans. “We've seen the reports of the hostage release, and we're very grateful that that has happened,” State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. “It's still reprehensible that the FARC ever took these individuals hostage in the first place,” Casey said. “It's equally reprehensible that they continue to hold hostages, including our American-citizen contractors who have now spent several years in captivity.” “We call on the FARC to release all the hostages that they have and to assure their safety in the [meantime],” Casey added. Three U.S. nationals were captured by the FARC in 2003 when their airplane crashed during a joint U.S.-Colombian anti-drug reconnaissance mission. They are among hundreds of people-mostly Colombian politicians and security officials-held by the rebel group, which has been fighting the government for over 40 years. The four Colombian lawmakers, who had been held for more than six years, were handed over to the Red Cross and Venezuelan authorities in southwestern Colombia.
