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Oct. 12, 1999 Journal Staff Report Three remaining tourists kidnapped last month at a roadblock in Ecuador were released Saturday by an armed group hiding out somewhere in the dense Amazon jungle, the Associated Press has reported. A Belgian woman and a Spanish couple were finally set free by armed assailants who took them hostage Sept. 11 in the region of Sucumbios in northeastern Ecuador, about 30 miles from the Colombian border. A brother of the Spanish woman was released Sept. 26. The four tourists were overtaken at a roadblock set up by 25 camouflaged gunmen who moments earlier had taken eight oil pipeline workers captive, including one American -- Leonard Carter, 23, of Hatch, Utah. There is still no word on the location of the remaining eight hostages, all of whom were working for United Pipelines Systems of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The workers were repairing a section of pipeline in the remote border region known to be inhabited by leftist rebel groups when two dozen armed assailants overtook them, killing one of four Ecuadorian guards hired by the pipeline company for security. The recently freed hostages, Jesus Mimenza and Maria Jesus Magunagoicoechea, have avoided the press, according to Ecuadorian newspapers, and were debriefed by military intelligence before boarding a flight back to Europe. The Belgian tourist, Sabine Roblain, confirmed to diplomats in the Canadian embassy in Quito that the remaining victims were at the moment all in good health, reported El Universo, an Ecuadorian newspaper. The trio appeared at a airstrip in Mariscal Sucre when rescued by military personnel. The newspaper also reported that family members of the hostage victims were contacted to report on their well-being. Ander Mimenza, 26, of Spain, previously reported upon his release on Sept. 26 that the hostages were in good health and being treated decently. So far no group has taken responsibility for the act, although according to a Mimenza press release published by Ecuadorian newspapers last month, the kidnappings may have been done to protest infringement onto indigenous people’s lands. He said the assailants knew the jungle well, had police scanners to avoid capture, and steered away from roads. dA wave of hostage-takings by at least three leftist rebel groups demanding ransom in nearby Colombia have created turmoil there and may have begun to spill over into neighboring Ecuador, officials have speculated. But so far no demands have been communicated by the yet-to-be-identified group, nor are their whereabouts known, despite a massive presence of Ecuadorian military staff searching the region. |
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