23 oil workers kidnapped in Colombia: Company
Unidentified gunmen kidnapped at least 23 employees of a subcontractor for Canada's Talisman energy on Monday in Eastern Colombia, according to a spokesperson for the oil firm.
Tomas Rueda told RCN radio that the oil workers were all local hires.
"Twenty-three people working for one of our subcontractors have been kidnapped," he said, detailing the first mass kidnapping of civilians since President Juan Manuel Santos took office seven months ago.
Governor Juan Carlos Avila of Vichada department, where the kidnappings took place, told Radio Caracol that "three men burst into the camp" where the employees were housed.
"They forced the people to follow them," he said, adding that the air force had launched a search in the region, some 600 kilometers (370 miles) East of Bogota. The abductions took place in the town of Cumaribo in Vichada.
Front 16 of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels and criminal gangs operate in the region, home to coca leaf cultivation, according to the governor.
Officials were focusing on the possibility of a FARC retaliation for an unsuccessful extortion attempt, a source close to the investigation told AFP.
A defense ministry spokesman declined to comment on any possible FARC involvement in the kidnapping, but said defense minister Rodrigo Rivera called an urgent meeting with military and police authorities on the case.
The FARC, which has been at war with the Colombian Government since 1964, is the country's oldest and largest leftist group, with an estimated 8,000 combatants.
Several criminal gangs also engage in drug trafficking and some count former paramilitary officers among their ranks.
In 2010, 282 people were kidnapped in the South American country — a 32 per cent increase compared to the previous year, according to official figures.
Criminals were responsible for most of the kidnappings — 57 percent — compared to 35 percent for leftist guerrillas.
The Calgary-based oil and gas company's main operating areas are North America, the North Sea and Southeast Asia, according to its website. It is working with Ecopetrol in Colombia.
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