Suspected Rebels Free Kidnapped Cyclist

Mon., March 6, 2000

A retired cycling star was freed Sunday, one day after suspected left-wing rebels kidnapped him from his family’s farm.

The 1987 Tour of Spain champion, Luis Alberto Herrera, was released in the mountains south of Bogota, near the farm where he was snatched by gunmen Saturday.

Herrera, 38, told RCN radio that his kidnappers decided to free him after seeing television reports showing the massive military search-and-rescue operation launched in response to the abduction.

No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, which provoked national outrage. But police officials said the region is a stronghold of Colombia’s largest guerrilla faction, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

Colombia’s left-wing rebels increasingly depend on extortion and kidnapping for ransom to fund their nearly 40-year campaign against the government.

Last month, rebels of the National Liberation Army freed cyclist Oliverio Rincon after two weeks in captivity.

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Suspected Rebels Free Kidnapped Cyclist

Jesse Tinsley

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