The pick-up of three hostages held by Farc will start today as planned, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela confirmed today.

“Friday, around 1500 hours helicopters and their crews will take off. One of them will have medical facilities. This is the advance operation “, Chavez told journalists. Chavez was accompanied by former President of Argentina Nestor Kirchner, one of the international envoys who will supervise the mission.

The helicopters will take off from the Santo Domingo airport, in the south- west of Venezuela and head to the town of Villavicencio 100 km from Bogota, he stated.

The mission undertaken by the government of Venezuela yesterday got the green light from the Colombian government who has nominated a representative to help with the operation to be carried out under the supervision of international envoys.

This initiative is supported by France and five Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, and Ecuador).The airlift will take place with the help of the International Red Cross and the Venezuelan helicopters will carry the International Red Cross symbol.

Colombia has authorized the helicopters from Venezuela to fly over the country from Thursday evening until midnight Sunday 23.59 GMT by which time the operation ought to be finished, Cesar Velazquez, spokesman for the Colombian President told AFP.

The freeing of Clara Rojas, 44, close associate of Ingrid Betancourt with whom she had been kidnapped in 2002, her son Emmanuel, 3 years old, and the former senator Consuelo Gonzalez, 57 years, was announced on 18 December by Farc.

It is the first time in five years that Farc have freed unilaterally so called ‘political’ hostages. The rebel movement has asked that the three prisoners be handed over to the Venezuelan authorities.

On Wednesday, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez announced details of the operation in Colombian territory aimed at securing the three hostages and bringing them to Venezuela. President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, although in dispute with Chavez, gave his agreement.

From the town of Villavicencio, the helicopters will go to a pick-up point which will be decided by Farc and will be kept secret, and then they will fly to Villavicencio or directly to Venezuela.

Once freed, the two women and the child will be brought back to Colombia, stated the President of Venezuela “so that Clara, Consuelo and Emmanuel can be at home to celebrate the New Year”.

Relatives of the three hostages, about fifteen in all, have been invited by the President of Venezuela, to come to Venezuela. They will be welcomed to Caracas on Thursday afternoon by the Colombian Senator, Piedad Cordoba, the former mediator with Hugo Chavez, in the hostage situation.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, confirmed in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the freeing of the French-Colombian hostage, Ingrid Betancourt, held since February 2002, is still a ‘priority’ for him.

“The liberation of Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel and the Senator Consuela Gonzales de Perdomo could bring about a positive context for immediate efforts towards a humanitarian solution for the hostages”, said President Sarkozy.