A presidential candidate who accused guerrilla leaders of drug trafficking in a recent meeting was being held hostage by the same rebel group in southern Colombia's war zone.
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Colombian presidential candidate Ms Ingrid Betancourt who was kidnapped by FARC rebels. FARC guerrillas are suspected to have kidnapped Ms Betancourt and four others, including a French photographer on Saturday.
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An anxious nation awaited word of Ms Ingrid Betancourt's fate from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who are locked in battle with government troops after the collapse of peace talks last week.
Ms Betancourt and her campaign manager, Ms Clara Rojas, were kidnapped at a roadblock as they were driving toward San Vicente del Caguan, a rebel town occupied by government troops Saturday, campaign officials confirmed last night.
The rebel group known as FARC made no immediate announcement about the kidnapping.
"We have to wait for the FARC to say why they kidnapped the presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt, to know what decisions can be taken and how to manage this difficult situation," said Interior Minister Mr Armando Estrada Villa.
A former senator for the "Oxygen-Green" party, Ms Betancourt is widely known in Colombia for her outspoken criticism of corruption in high places. But polls put her near the bottom of a large field of candidates heading into the May 26th presidential election.
AP