Free Republic

Working for the Release of ES Employees Held in Colombia Though one of the most beautiful places on earth, modern-day Colombia is also one of the most dangerous. On February 13th, four California Microwave Systems employees flying a mission for the U.S. Southern Command crashed in the Colombian jungle, not far from a stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), a local armed insurgent group. The pilot, Tom Janis and Colombian Army sergeant, Luis Alcides Cruz, were murdered by the FARC, and Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes were taken prisoner.The three remain in captivity, held by...

Guarded by hundreds of armed rebels deep in a malaria-infested jungle, three American captives pass the time playing with a homemade deck of cards and dreaming of their families. The threat of death always hangs nearby. The three U.S. military contractors have been cut off from the outside world since their capture by rebels seven months ago. That isolation was broken when a Colombian journalist traveled for days over rough roads and jungle rivers with a rebel escort to interview them July 25 in remote southern Colombia. "They were nervous, and there were traces of fear on their faces," freelance...