Colombia hostage mission delayed

The negotiations have been punctuated by diplomatic spats

An operation by Venezuelan helicopters to collect three hostages due to be released in Colombia by the Farc rebel group has been delayed a second day.

The International Red Cross and Venezuelan officials said guerrillas had not yet given the coordinates for the handover in the Colombian jungle.

The operation could not be carried out after dark, officials said.

The rebels have promised to release the hostages as a humanitarian gesture to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

A diplomat in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, told the AFP news agency on Saturday: "The hostages will not be released today for a very simple reason. It gets dark at 1800."

The captives - two Colombian women and a young boy born to one of them in captivity - are among more than 40 high-profile detainees held by the Farc.

Concessions attempt

Two military helicopters carrying Red Cross insignia landed in the central Colombian town of Villavicencio on Friday.

The Colombian government has said Venezuela has until 2359 GMT on Sunday to carry out the mission, although Mr Chavez has said he is not aware of any time limit.

The Venezuelan leader's efforts to negotiate a wider hostage exchange were rejected by the Colombian government.

Mr Chavez was involved in negotiations between Farc and Colombia for months until Bogota said he had overstepped his mandate.

In response, Mr Chavez said he would freeze Venezuela's bilateral ties with its neighbour and close trading partner.

The hostages due to be freed are Clara Rojas, an aide to ex-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, with whom she was kidnapped in 2002, and Ms Rojas's son Emmanuel, said to have been fathered by one of her captors.

The other captive is former congresswoman Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo, who was kidnapped in 2001.