DNA Shows Colombia Boy Was Rebel Hostage

DNA Shows Colombia Boy Was Rebel Hostage

Friday January 4, 2008 5:31 PM

By JOSHUA GOODMAN

Associated Press Writer

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - DNA analysis indicates a
3-year-old boy living in a Bogota foster home is the
child of a woman held captive by leftist rebels for
nearly six years, Colombia's top prosecutor said Friday.

The results suggest President Alvaro Uribe was right -
and that the leftist rebels misled Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez and the world when they promised to
release the boy along with his mother Clara Rojas and
another hostage from their jungle camps.

The DNA analysis shows a complete match between the
mitochondria in the blood of Rojas' mother and the boy,
chief federal prosecutor Mario Iguaran announced,
meaning that there is a “very high probability” that
“this boy belongs to the Rojas family.”

-snip-

Venezuela complained that Colombia had not permitted
its own team of specialists to take blood samples from
the boy to make its own confirmation of the DNA results.

-snip-