By John Wilson Vizcaino
SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE, Colombia (Reuters) - Marxist rebelsfreed four Colombian lawmakers held hostage for years in thejungle on Wednesday, in a victory for President Hugo Chavez ofneighbouring Venezuela who brokered the deal.
Venezuelan helicopters painted with Red Cross logos swoopedinto the dense jungle to pick up the three men and a woman, allsnatched by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC,more than six years ago.
The lawmakers said a prayer at the handover to give thanksfor their freedom and were fit enough to fly to Venezueladespite reports of illness, Colombia's ambassador in Caracassaid.
"We want the relatives to know they are in our hands andsafe and sound," said Venezuelan government spokesman JesseChacon, adding Chavez spoke to the freed Colombians bytelephone.
The release, welcomed from France to the United States, isa diplomatic victory for Chavez, an important regional playerwho spends time and money in efforts to unite Latin Americathrough socialism but frequently bickers with U.S.-backedColombian President Alvaro Uribe.
A column of about 60 rebels handed over Gloria Polanco,Luis Eladio Perez, Orlando Beltran and Jorge Gechem, who isbelieved to be suffering severe heart problems, the Venezuelangovernment said.
"I don't know what I am going to say to him, because it isgoing to be such a happy moment," Gechem's wife Lucy told localradio. "I always waited for him and I always fought for him."
Chacon said the handover raised hopes for a broader deal tofree dozens more hostages, who include French-Colombianpolitician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans whose plighthas drawn worldwide attention to the rebels' captives.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made Betancourt'sfreedom a policy priority, welcomed Wednesday's release andcalled for the rapid liberation of all hostages. The UnitedStates urged the rebels to free all captives.
HUNDREDS HELD
The FARC last month released two politicians in a deal alsobrokered by the leftist Chavez in the first such breakthroughin talks on peace moves for years.
He had spent months in talks with the leaders of LatinAmerica's oldest rebel force, but after close initialcooperation, Chavez and Uribe have argued over his mediation.
Gechem was snatched six years ago when rebels hijacked acommercial aircraft he was travelling on and forced it to landon a secret landing strip before spiriting him away.
Polanco was kidnapped with her two sons, who were laterreleased. Her husband, a prominent politician, was later killedby the FARC in unclear circumstances.
The guerrilla fighters hold hundreds of hostages for ransomand political leverage in their four-decade war with the state.They say they are fighting for social justice and want to swaptheir captives for fighters held in government jails.
The recent releases have been unilateral and are describedby the fighters as a gesture of goodwill to Chavez, whom theysee as a sympathetic leader.
International pressure has built recently for a hostagedeal with European nations also seeking to free captives.
Grim images of Betancourt in a secret camp last yearsparked outrage over the hostages poor health, their facesshowing the stress of living for years hidden in the jungle.
The FARC released a statement shortly after the operationreiterating their demand Uribe briefly demilitarize a New YorkCity-sized swath of land for the handover of other captives.
Uribe, whose father was killed in a botched FARCkidnapping, is popular at home for a U.S. backed militaryoffensive that has forced the rebels from large swathes ofColombia. He has offered a smaller area for a prisoner swap.
(Additional reporting Patrick Markey in Bogota and EnriqueAndres Pretel in Caracas, Gerard Bon in Paris and Sue Plemingin Washington; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by SaulHudson and Jackie Frank)
