Belgian tourists in Guatemala freed

"They were freed following negotiations with theauthorities, in other words peacefully," a ministry spokesmansaid in Brussels. He said he had no details as yet on the stateof their health.

The two couples were seized along with two Guatemalanguides on Friday as they travelled up a river near theCaribbean coast by farmers angry over the arrest of a localMayan leader.

The Belgian ministry spokesman said he understood threemembers of an indigenous farmers' group who were being detainedby local authorities had been freed as part of thenegotiations, but not the leader.

The six captives were thought to have been hidden in densejungle near the town of Rio Dulce, named after the remote,emerald green river they were travelling up by motor boat whenthey were abducted by machete-wielding farmers.

The Belgians range in age from 59 to 74, and Ordonez saidthey were concerned about one of them who had heart problems.

The same group of farmers briefly held 29 policemen hostagein February demanding the release of Ramiro Choc, a communityleader whose supporters say is fighting for land rights.

Close to half of Guatemala's population are indigenouspeasants, many of them landless, who often occupy land to carryout subsistence farming.

The ministry spokesman said the Belgian tourists were beingtaken back to Guatemala City and were expected to travel backto Belgium on Monday if they wanted to.

(Reporting by Mark John; Editing by Matthew Jones)