José Olger Melo Charry, a Colombian corporal serving in the French Foreign Legion, managed to escape the armed group that had held him for nearly a month in southwestern Colombia . After four days spent fleeing through a difficult-to-access region, he reached a police station in El Ejido, in the municipality of Policarpa, on his own at around 23:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 5.
The soldier was immediately placed under the protection of Colombian authorities. He was then airlifted to Pasto, the capital of the Nariño department, and taken to a medical facility. His condition is not considered serious, but he remains under observation and with his family after this long ordeal and several days at large. The precise circumstances of his escape have not yet been revealed.
A kidnapping claimed by a FARC dissident group
The corporal was kidnapped on August 6 while on leave in Colombia visiting family. He was reportedly intercepted at an illegal checkpoint in a rural area of Nariño, along with a woman who was released a few hours later. The Central Command, the main FARC dissident faction led by Iván Mordisco, subsequently claimed responsibility for his abduction and made his safety contingent on the absence of military operations in the area.
Investigators from the Colombian military police and the prosecutor's office must now interview the legionnaire as soon as his health permits. His testimony should help reconstruct the conditions of his captivity, the circumstances of his escape, and the identity of his kidnappers, who are believed to belong to the Franco Benavides Front. This escape represents a serious setback for this armed group, which is particularly active in a region strategic for trafficking and marked by a strong presence of FARC dissidents.
