Colombian EMC Guerrilla Claims Capture of French Foreign Legion Soldier

The Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the main dissident faction of the former FARC, claimed responsibility on Sunday, August 30, for the capture of José Olger Melo Charry, a Colombian corporal in the French Foreign Legion, who was taken hostage on August 6 while traveling on a road in Nariño department, southwest Colombia. The EMC stated he is alive and in good health, and considers him a prisoner of war, rejecting the term 'kidnapping.' The soldier, who does not have French nationality, had arrived in Colombia the day before his capture and was traveling with a woman who was also briefly abducted. The French Ministry of Armed Forces said he had a permit to reside in metropolitan France but not to travel to Colombia. The EMC warned that his safety is guaranteed only if no hostile military operations are conducted in the area, holding President Abelardo de la Espriella responsible for any rescue attempt. The Colombian army said it had no immediate plans for a rescue operation.