Via the BBC: Colombia releases top Farc rebel
The Colombian government has released a jailed guerrilla leader in the hope he will encourage the rebels to release the 56 hostages they hold.Rodrigo Granda, known as the Farc rebel group’s “foreign minister”, was freed as the authorities prepare to release up to 200 guerrillas from prison.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said French President Nicolas Sarkozy had pushed for Mr Granda’s release.
Among the hostages is French-Colombian politician, Ingrid Betancourt.
While it may well be that Uribe has chosen now to engage in this prisoner release as a way to deflect attention from the para-politics scandal, the bottom line is that ny including Granda, this cannot be characterized as a release of only scrubs.