U.S. Oil Workers Seized in Ecuador
by GONZALO SOLANO
Associated Press Writer
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- Colombian rebels seized a helicopter from an oil field in the Amazon jungle early Thursday, kidnapping six Americans and at least four others and flying them into Colombian territory, military officials said.
The hostages, who also included a Chilean, an Argentine and the two Frenchmen, were taken at gunpoint before dawn in the El Coca region, 150 miles southeast of the capital, Quito, military officials said.
An Ecuadorean military communique said the gunmen, whose faces were covered, claimed to be members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Colombia's largest guerrilla group.
The guerrilla group denied any part in it.
The military statement added that the helicopter was detected flying near Ecuador's jungle town of Lago Agrio at 6:25 a.m. before passing over the San Miguel River into Colombian territory.
The exact number of hostages wasn't immediately clear. Though the Ecuadorean military said 10 people were captured, Ecuadorean Vice President Pedro Pinto said nine were seized, including one Ecuadorean.
But the U.S. State Department said at least 10 and as many as 25 people were taken hostage by 15 heavily-armed men.
Despite the rebel denial, Pinto said the FARC had claimed responsibility. He added that the group said the hijacking was in ''reprisal for Plan Colombia,'' an anti-narcotics initiative backed by a $1.3 billion U.S. aid package.
''I can assure you with total security that the FARC has nothing to do with this incident,'' rebel spokesman Carlos Antonio Lozada told The Associated Press by phone.
''It is not the policy of the FARC to carry out military operations outside Colombian borders,'' Lozada added.
The rebels, whose field commanders operate with substantial autonomy, have had to backpedal on denials in the past.
Last month, a rebel fighter hijacked a commuter plane and forced it down at a FARC-held southern airport. The group initially denied he belonged to their organization, then later conceded he did.
The U.S. Embassy in Quito released a statement expressing the United States' deep concern about the kidnappings and said it was working closely with Ecuadorean officials, security forces and the companies involved to obtain the victims' release.
In Washington, FBI spokesman Bill Carter said the bureau was aware of the kidnaping and that the FBI legal attache in Bogota, Colombia, has been in touch with Ecuadorean authorities and ''offered any FBI assistance needed.''
The Ecuadorean military communique identified the Americans as Dennis Correy, Steve Derry, Jason Wavey, David Bradley, Ron Sanders, and Arnold Arfold. No hometowns were immediately available.
The Associated Press obtained an internal document from foreign oil companies operating in Ecuador calling for stepped-up security measures to protect their operations and employees. For several months the army has been beefing up its presence along the jungle border.
The oil field, operated by Spanish energy giant Repsol YPF SA, lies in Ecuador's northern territory bordering Colombia's largest cocaine-producing region.
Rebels and paramilitaries are vying for control of vast coca fields and millions of dollars in ''tax'' proceeds for whichever armed group controls the area.
Government spokesman Alfredo Negrete called the kidnappings ''an isolated act'' but made no mention of another kidnapping in September 1999.
That's when armed group seized eight oil workers -- seven Canadians and an American -- as well as three Spaniards and a Belgian-born Canadian woman from an oil-rich jungle north of where the helicopter was taken.
The Spaniards and the woman, who were tourists in the area, were released a short time later. The oil workers were held for 99 days.
It was never confirmed that ransom was paid nor was the identity of the kidnappers confirmed.
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