Colombian hostage mission awaits rebel go-ahead

VILLAVICENCIO, Colombia, (Reuters) - A Venezuelan helicopter mission to rescue three hostages held for years by Colombian rebels in jungle camps was delayed again Saturday because guerrilla leaders have not given the final go-ahead.

Foreign envoys flew to the central Colombian town of Villavicencio close to a rebel stronghold Saturday to observe the effort, but the handover was not expected for at least a day.

After weeks of promising to release two former Colombian politicians and the young son born to one of them in captivity, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has not yet revealed their location, the Venezuelan government said.

Hugo Chavez, the leftist firebrand president of neighboring Venezuela, negotiated the rescue effort with the FARC and initially hoped to have the hostages freed Thursday.

Chavez sent two helicopters into Colombia Friday, but they remained grounded in flat, hot and humid Villavicencio at the foot of the Andes mountains waiting to learn the location of the captives.

Ramon Rodriguez, the Venezuelan government organizer of the rescue plan, said he did not know when the guerrillas would give the geographic coordinates of the handover point, which is likely to be in jungle region controlled by the FARC.

"I hope to know them soon," he said.

Former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and officials from France and Switzerland were among the envoys who flew to Colombia in executive jets. U.S. film director Oliver Stone, who is working on a movie about Latin America, was expected to join them.

Although wary of Chavez and his goal of uniting South America under socialism, Colombia's conservative government has let him fly Venezuelan aircraft painted with the colors of the International Committee of the Red Cross deep into its territory to collect the hostages.

Chavez called for patience. He said poor communications from FARC territory and weather were holding up the mission.

He had said earlier that Consuelo Gonzalez, Clara Rojas and her son Emmanuel could be free within hours of the arrival of the helicopters. Emmanuel, whose father is a guerrilla fighter, was born in a rebel camp and is thought to be 4 years old.

Rojas was captured in 2002 and Gonzalez in 2001.

INFORMAL TALKS

Colombia's conservative President Alvaro Uribe told Chavez last month to stay out of negotiations with the rebels. But Chavez opened informal talks until guerrilla leaders agreed to turn the hostages over to him, or someone designated by him.

Villavicencio is a gateway to southern jungles where the FARC controls wide areas used to produce the cocaine that funds its insurgency.

Roadblocks dotted the town Saturday with police checking identity papers as the local airport swarmed with journalists waiting for the operation to begin.

The release could pave the way for freeing other rebel-held captives, including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three American anti-drug contractors, in exchange for jailed guerrillas.

It would also give Chavez a political victory just weeks after he lost a referendum vote that would have allowed him to run for re-election indefinitely and given him sweeping powers to accelerate his socialist revolution in Venezuela.

Chavez will not take part in the rescue party, but he plans to receive the freed hostages in Venezuela with relatives of the long-time captives.

Filmmaker Stone was with Chavez when the helicopters set off Friday. He called the Venezuelan leader a "great man." (Additional reporting by Frank Jack Daniel in Caracas and Hugh Bronstein in Bogota; Editing by Xavier Briand)