Kidnapped French Foreign Legion soldier alive, rebels say

Colombian rebels from the Central General Staff, or EMC, said French Foreign Legion soldier Jose Olger Melo Charry is alive and in “perfect health” after being kidnapped in southwestern Colombia.

The Colombian Army said Melo Charry was taken hostage on August 6 while travelling in Narino department. In a French-language communique, the EMC said its units had “intercepted and taken prisoner” him and that he had received medical care and food. A police source confirmed the authenticity of the communique to AFP.

France’s defence ministry told AFP that the case was being closely monitored and confirmed that Melo Charry is a Colombian national serving in the Foreign Legion. The ministry has also said he holds only Colombian citizenship, that his military leave did not authorize him to enter Colombia and that France was monitoring the case with its foreign ministry.

Colonel Mauricio Osorio, head of an anti-kidnapping division, told AFP that Melo Charry had arrived in Colombia one day before the abduction and was travelling with a woman who was also seized but released hours later. The Colombian army said the rebels took him after realizing that he belonged to the French Foreign Legion.

The French Foreign Legion is a French Army unit made up mainly of volunteers from dozens of nationalities. The EMC is the main breakaway faction of the former FARC rebel army, which laid down arms under a 2016 peace deal.