Colombian activist connects hostages with families through Voces del Secuestro radio show

In Colombia law enforcement authorities are prosecuting three men for the murder of 12 indigenous Awa people in August. Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva spoke about the case Tuesday, shortly after the suspects were captured by police officers in the southwestern Nariño province.

"The people who committed this horrible crime are members of a band called Los Cucarachos, they are also members of the Awa ethnic group. They had been operating in that region as common delinquents and hitmen. They had been runnig drug trafficking operations in the region. They are under investigation for other crimes in the deparment of Nariño such as participating in massacres, kidnappings and extorsion."

Colombian newspaper EL Tiempo reports an informant tipped off the police, saying the men massacred 12 Awa indians in August because they wanted to silence a witness to a previous crime.  The Colombian Defence Minister  said one of the detained men is a former member of the FARC guerrllas, who have been involved in previous massacres of indigenous people in southwest Colombia.

Meanwhile, the FARC are negotiating the exchange of some 20 military hostages with Colombian authorities. More than 4,200 people have been kidnapped by the FARC over the last 15 years. Currently, more than 700 are held captive. These people have no way to contact their families and many are held by the FARC for years. But one activist is doing all he can to connect those held captive with their relatives; Voces del Secuestro or “Voices of the Kidnapped” is a radio program that has been aired every Sunday for more than a decade. FSRN´s Natalia Viana has the story.