Colombian rebel pleads not guilty in US for hostage taking

A leftist guerrilla accused of holding three Americans during their five years captivity in Colombia pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of terrorism and hostage-taking. Beltran, 35, was brought into the federal court handcuffed and dressed in an orange jump suit, three days after his extradition from Colombia to face charges related to the 2003 kidnapping of Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell. Beltran's lawyer John Machado entered the not guilty plea on his client's behalf, and US District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered the Colombian held without bail. His next hearing was scheduled for May 4. "We will not hesitate to bring to justice anyone who targets Americans around the world with violence to advance their political agendas," US Attorney Ronald Machen said in a statement. Gonsalves, Howes and Stansell were captured by rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after their single engine plane crashed in rebel-controlled territory. Two other occupants of the plane were killed at the crash site by FARC rebels. The Americans, who worked as contractors for the State Department, were freed in 2008 in a dramatic rescue along with former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, a dual French-Colombian national who had been in captivity for six years. The Justice Department said Beltran was responsible for guarding and moving the hostages during a two-year period from October 2004 to October 2006 when they were held by a FARC unit that Beltran belonged to. "Throughout the captivity of these three hostages, FARC jailors and guards, including Beltran Herrera, used choke harnesses, chains, padlocks and wires to restrain the hostages, and used force and threats to continue their detention and prevent their escape," the Justice Department said. Beltran was charged with hostage taking, conspiracy to take hostages, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, he faces a maximum term of life in prison. Assistant US attorney Fernando Campoamar said 17 other FARC guerrillas also have been named in the Beltran indictment, and were being sought by the Colombian government. The FARC was designated a terrorist organization by the US State Department in 1997. The rebel group officially renounced the abduction of civilians late last month, but still holds 10 members of Colombian security forces, though it has pledged to release them soon. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos says he will open a direct dialogue with the FARC only when all hostages are released and the group vows to cease "terrorist" actions. He also wants the FARC to stop recruiting children. The FARC, believed to have 8,000 members, has been at war with the government since 1964. It began a campaign of kidnappings in the mid-1980s, seizing army hostages to serve as bargaining chips for FARC prisoners.