Colombia Rebels Kidnap Americans Four From U.S. Among 30 Held After Abduction At Roadblock

Leftist guerrillas were holding four Americans and an Italian kidnapped at a roadblock on a highway south of the capital, their leader said Thursday. The government said at least 30 people were taken hostage.

The Americans - three men and a woman - were on a bird-watching trip when the rebels captured them Monday about 35 miles south of Bogota. The Italian was in a separate car.

“We have four Americans and we have an Italian,” said Commander Romana, the local leader of the country’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

In a television interview, Romana, dressed in green camouflage fatigues and a black beret, said the rebels were holding only eight other hostages, presumably Colombians.

The guerrilla commander gave the interview accompanied by at least several dozen other rebels on the outskirts of El Calvario, a town near the kidnapping site in rugged mountains. He issued no demands for the foreigners’ release. Foreigners are a prime kidnapping target because they fetch the highest ransoms.

Later, Romana and other rebels handed out shirts and other items stolen during Monday’s roadblock to townspeople from the back of a truck. The townspeople gathered round and reached up to receive the gifts.

Witnesses said the roadblock was set up for several hours along a major trade route between Bogota and Villavicencio, the nearest midsized city. But it is also an area where rebel kidnappers have operated for years, and foreigners and wealthy Colombians have frequently been abducted.

Radio reports identified the Americans as Peter Shen, Todd Richardson, Lois Agustino, and Thomas Fiore. The U.S. Embassy had no comment.

Shen is from New York City, a source close to the investigation said. The ages and hometowns of the others were not known.

In Washington, State Department spokesman James Rubin said the Americans’ rental car was found near the scene and that the embassy in Bogota is working with Colombian authorities who have contacts with the rebels.

“We had some significant travel warnings in effect for Colombia, and we may be considering upgrading that warning in light of this event,” he said.

Bartolo Mucci, Italy’s commercial attache, confirmed that an Italian business owner from Bogota, Vito Candela, was kidnapped.

The four Americans would be the only U.S. citizens known held by rebels in Colombia, with the exception of three missionaries missing since their 1993 abduction and feared dead.