By Jaime Ortega.
The FARC have claimed to have in their possession an alleged U.S. militant since June 20 and have offered the Colombian government his release as a “gesture” to peace recent talks underway in Cuba.
“Despite the law that assists us to keep soldier Kevin Scott as a prisoner of war, we have taken the political decision to release him as a gesture that is now part of the goodwill shown by the Colombian government dealing with the talks underway in Havana,” says a statement of the FARC posted on the website and signed by the guerrilla command.
For the release, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) requested a humanitarian form to the commissioner that is part of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the former senator Piedad Cordoba and a representative of “the community of Saint Egidio.”
The document adds that the “capture” of Scott Kevin Sutay took place June 20 in the municipality of El Retorno, the jungle of Guaviare. He added that the militant was born in New York, “according to the passport No. 488667176 issued on February 3, 2012, he had been stopped by guerrilla units”.
Kevin assured the he was a member of the U.S. Navy from November 17, 2009 until March 22, 2013. At that time, as the FARC said, Scott participated in the war in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2011, where he acted as anti-explosives expert, demining specialist, member of the company’s ST 541 54 TN engineering battalion.
They further argue that he entered Colombia on June 8, 2013, following the route Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Bogota, San Jose del Guaviare, “headquarters Barrancón military base, where time has shown that the U.S. military was present. ”
According to the FARC, “the capture of the soldier Kevin highlights the active participation in the field of U.S. mercenaries in military and counter-insurgency operations.” The government and the FARC carried out since last November peace talks in Havana with the intention of ending the armed conflict that has lasted over half a century.
