EU official kidnapped in Colombia found safe

A Spanish official with the European Commission who was kidnapped more than a month ago in Colombia has been found safe in Venezuela after escaping from his captors, Colombian authorities said today.

Carlos Ayala, 59, was kidnapped on April 15 by Colombia’s main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, after he arrived in the Colombian city of Cucuta, 250 miles north-east of Bogota, said an official with Colombia’s secret police DAS.