Colombian rebels set to free four lawmakers

CARACAS (Reuters) - Colombian guerrillas will soon free a local lawmaker in addition to three other former politicians the rebels have held hostage for more than five years in jungle camps, France's foreign minister said Wednesday.

Bernard Kouchner, who was in Caracas to speak with President Hugo Chavez about the Venezuelan leader's role in hostage negotiations with Colombian Marxist rebels, did not reveal the identity of the fourth captive to be freed.

Guerrillas recently announced a plan to hand over three former lawmakers to Chavez though gave no details about a fourth captive.

But the wife of Jorge Gechem, a Colombian lawmaker captured in a plane hijacking six years ago, said she had been told her husband would be among those soon to be freed.

Chavez, a leader of Latin America's resurgent left-wing, managed to broker a deal to free two hostages last month. But his involvement fueled tensions with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, a White House ally in a region where the Venezuelan wants to counter U.S. influence.

"We spoke about the liberation of hostages by the FARC that will happen in a few days or a few weeks," Kouchner told reporters. "Chavez told us there is a fourth hostage to be released, not just three.

French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt is among dozens of high-profile captives held by the Colombian guerrillas and France's President Nicolas Sarkozy has made her release a foreign policy priority.

Recent developments have raised hope for other hostages held by Latin America's oldest rebel insurgency, including Betancourt, who was also kidnapped six years ago, and three U.S. contractors held for five years.

Gechem's wife, Lucy, told reporters she had been given the news of his planned release by Piedad Cordoba, a left-wing senator and Chavez ally who has worked as a facilitator with guerrilla leaders to try to win the freedom of hostages.

"She said ... that Jorge Eduardo is going to be released very soon and that we should wait for news in the days to come," Gechem's wife said. "We're going to celebrate today in mass."

TERRORISM LISTS

But Cordoba said in a later statement to the Caracas-based Telesur TV channel she had not discussed Gechem's imminent release and that only the FARC could announce such a decision.

In February 2002, Gechem was flying from a southern city to Bogota when guerrillas hijacked the small commercial aircraft and forced the crew to land on a remote highway where other rebels were waiting in cars.

The spectacular kidnapping plunged peace talks with the guerrillas into crisis. The talks fell apart soon after, and Uribe, whose father was killed in a botched FARC kidnapping, was elected promising a tough line with the guerrillas.

Chavez has angered Bogota by demanding political recognition for the FARC. Colombia initially backed his efforts to secure the release of hostages, but later accused him of favoring the rebels.

U.S. and European officials label the FARC a cocaine-smuggling terrorist organization, but Chavez has said it should be taken off the terrorism lists.

France, Switzerland and Spain are involved in separate efforts to break a deadlock over a possible hostage deal between Uribe and the guerrillas.

Started as a peasant army fighting for socialism in the 1960s, the FARC has been driven back by Uribe's U.S.-backed security campaign and violence from the conflict has ebbed. (Writing by Patrick Markey in Bogota)