Colombia ELN Rebels Prepare to Free Another Captive

Colombia's leftist ELN rebel group said Tuesday it was willing to free an engineer they have held captive for more than a year, while calling for the Chilean company he works for to leave the country.

In a statement published on its web site, the ELN said it had decided to release Andres Montes on "humanitarian grounds," though it insisted the captive was "in good health."

But the rebel group said it is also waiting for a statement from the Sierra Agricultural Company, where Montes worked, "before forming the humanitarian commission charged with receiving him."

The ELN says the company is of Chilean origin and capital, and that it obtained title to around 22,000 hectares (85 square miles) of land in the northeastern Colombian department of Antioquia through "tricks" and by robbing peasants.

In August, the rebel group released a Canadian engineer it had held for seven months as leverage to get the Canadian mining company he worked for, Braeval, to leave the country.

The company had announced a few weeks before his release that it was pulling out of Colombia because of "unfavorable market conditions," relinquishing its mining rights, but without mentioning the hostage.

On Monday, the ELN also released three oil workers it had held for nearly two months.

The conflict in Colombia goes back to the 1960s and has its roots in gaping inequality between wealthy landowners and landless peasants. The ELN, Colombia's second largest guerrilla group, has about 2,500 fighters.

In August, after the Canadian's release, the government said it was ready to start peace talks with the group, nearly a year after negotiations began with the larger FARC rebel force. President Juan Manuel Santos had made talks with the rebels contingent on the release of captives.