French Foreign Legion soldier kidnapped in Colombia: no ransom demand, army says

The family of a French Foreign Legion soldier kidnapped in Colombia in early August has received no ransom demand or sign of life from his captors, a Colombian military official stated Friday.

Colonel Mauricio Osorio, head of an anti-kidnapping division, also specified that "no military operation is planned for the moment" to rescue the soldier. José Olger Melo Charry was taken hostage on August 6 while traveling on a road in the southwestern department of Nariño. The soldier, in his thirties, had arrived in the country the day before his abduction and was traveling with a woman who was also kidnapped but released hours later.

The presumed perpetrators are dissident members of the now-dissolved FARC guerrilla group, who refused to sign the 2016 peace agreement with the government. The rebels reportedly abducted Melo Charry after learning he belonged to the French Foreign Legion. The Colombian army believes the soldier, who was on leave in his home country, may be held alongside Colombian soldiers in the Andes.

The French Ministry of the Armed Forces clarified that Melo Charry does not hold French nationality. His leave permitted him to stay in metropolitan France but not to travel to Colombia. Armed groups in Colombia, primarily involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining, frequently resort to kidnappings for extortion or to pressure authorities.

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For the moment, no military operation is planned.