Marxist rebels freed two women hostages from Colombia's jungle on Thursday in a deal brokered by Venezuela's leftist president, Hugo Chavez, that could mark a breakthrough in peace efforts.
Two white Venezuelan helicopters with huge Red Cross logos blazoned on their sides picked up the hostages from the Colombian jungle around the town of San Jose del Guaviare after a similar plan collapsed on New Year's Eve. "I told them: 'Welcome to life, welcome to life," Chavez said at his presidential palace in Caracas, relating a telephone conversation he held with the two women.