By John Wilson Vizcaino
SAN JOSE DEL GUAVIARE, Colombia (Reuters) - Marxist rebelsfreed four Colombian hostages from their "living death" in thejungle on Wednesday in a victory for Venezuela's leftistPresident Hugo Chavez, who brokered the deal.
Venezuelan helicopters painted with Red Cross logos swoopedinto dense jungle, picked up the four lawmakers -- all taken bythe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, more thansix years ago -- and flew them to Venezuela.
"I was the living dead but today ... I am happy, lucky,radiant," ex-hostage Gloria Polanco said. She carriedlong-stemmed flowers for her three children, adding betweensobs, "It's the only thing I can take from the jungle."
The three men and one woman appeared in sound health,although one of the men, believed to have suffered heartproblems, looked gaunt and walked more slowly than the others.
Flanked by armed rebels, the four trekked down a muddyslope of a jungle clearing and pumped their hands in the air tocelebrate their release, images on state television showed.
Relatives waiting for their loved ones in Venezuela'scapital Caracas stared at the footage, crying, holding theirhands over their mouths or clenched across their chests.
The rebels often keep hostages in neck chains or shackles,and Luis Eladio Perez said his time in captivity was torture.
The release, welcomed from France to the United States, isa victory for Chavez, an important regional player who leads agrowing group of socialist leaders in Latin America and oftenbickers with U.S.-backed Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.
Venezuelan officials said the handover raised hopes for abroader deal to free dozens more hostages, who includeFrench-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and threeAmericans whose cases have drawn worldwide attention.
Betancourt is seriously ill and treated badly by hercaptors, the released hostages said, pleading for internationalefforts to help free her.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made Betancourt'srelease a policy priority, welcomed Wednesday's release andcalled for the rapid liberation of all hostages. The UnitedStates also urged the rebels to free all captives.
HUNDREDS HELD
"I don't know what I am going to say to him, because it isgoing to be such a happy moment," said Lucy Gechem, the wife ofone of the hostages. "I always waited for him and I alwaysfought for him."
The FARC last month released two politicians in a deal alsobrokered by Chavez in the first such breakthrough in years.
He had spent months in talks with Latin America's oldestrebel force, but angered Uribe and Washington by calling forthe FARC to be taken off terrorism lists.
Hundreds of thousands of Colombians took to the streets inFebruary to protest against the guerrillas, who finance theirwar by trafficking cocaine..
Betancourt was captured during her 2002 presidentialcampaign. U.S. anti-drug contractors Thomas Howes, KeithStansell and Marc Gonsalves were seized on a 2003 mission.
The guerrillas hold hundreds of hostages for ransom andpolitical 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.
The FARC released a statement shortly after the latestrelease reiterating their demand that Uribe brieflydemilitarize a New York City-sized swath of land for thehandover 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 areas ofColombia. He has offered a smaller area for a prisoner swap.
(Additional reporting Patrick Markey in Bogota, EnriqueAndres Pretel in Caracas, Gerard Bon in Paris and Sue Plemingin Washington; Writing by Saul Hudson, Editing by Pat Markeyand Kieran Murray)
