Colombia's army has located three U.S. citizens held by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels but has not attempted a rescue, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said Monday. “We have had very accurate information about the location of the [FARC] leaders, the hostages, and the camps. Our people saw the three Americans bathing in the river, they even heard them speaking English,” Santos told RCN radio in Bogot?. Santos said the three U.S. contractors were seen by military staff from the opposite bank of the Apaporis River in the southeastern state of Guaviare. Santos, who did not provide a date for the sighting, said Colombian troops did not attempt a rescue because the hostages moved and it was not possible to guarantee their safety. He also said he could not confirm the presence in the area of other hostages, such as French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt. The three Americans, who worked for the State Department, were captured by FARC rebels when their airplane crashed in early 2003.
