Colombian Foreign Legion Legionnaire Escapes After Overpowering His Captor

The Colombian soldier of the French Foreign Legion held hostage by guerrillas overpowered one of his captors before throwing himself into a river with his hands tied, a high-ranking military source told AFP on Tuesday. On the day of his escape on September 3, José Olger Melo Charry asked to be taken aside to relieve himself, he told the Colombian army. Once alone with his guard, he overpowered him and took his rifle although his hands were restrained, the military source explained to AFP.

Still with his hands tied, the 35-year-old legionnaire then jumped into a river, managing to escape. After managing to free himself from his bonds, he walked for four days through a region of the Colombian Andes where armed groups involved in drug trafficking operate, until reaching a police station on Sunday.

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“Every time a motorcycle passed, he hid” behind rocks or climbed trees, the military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. In his statement to the army, the legionnaire recounted having had a meal with a peasant, fearing however of being denounced to the guerrillas. During his flight, he also managed to contact his family by telephone. She informed the police that he had escaped and was walking in the mountains. The military source added that the legionnaire was considered a “big fish” by the guerrillas and remained tied up, hands and feet, for most of his captivity.

Four-day trip

On Monday, the Colombian army announced that the legionnaire had made a four-day journey during his escape, but had not provided details on the conditions of his escape. The Colombian authorities had clarified that the kidnappers never demanded a ransom.

José Olger Melo Charry, corporal of the Foreign Legion on leave, had returned to his country for the holidays. He was kidnapped on August 6 by a dissident group of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) while he was traveling on a road in the department of Nariño (southwest), a stronghold of organizations involved in cocaine trafficking and illegal mining. According to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, the soldier had not been authorized to travel to Colombia.