Confirmation Received that Revolutionary Forces Are Holding Two Christian Men Hostage

(Compass) Insurgents of the 34th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) confirmed that they are holding Christian agronomist Ahimer Velasquez, the youngest brother of Medellin pastor and Prison Fellowship evangelist Carlos Velasquez, and his co-worker, Luis Carlos Herrera, after kidnapping the two men on March 17. Father Giovani Presiga, a priest of the Diocese of Santafé de Antioquia who mediates hostage crises, said that rebels told him they are holding the two men. Velasquez and Herrera, who work for the municipality of Caicedo, a town about 80 miles west of Medellin, were abducted from a community center where Herrera was holding classes for local crop producers. “We don’t know what they want” in exchange for the men’s freedom, Carlos Velasquez said, adding that he believes the FARC will use the hostages to seek concessions from the government. Ahimer Velasquez and his wife of six years, Mery Gaviria, have two children: Mateo, 5, and Jeronimo, 3.