Lenín Moreno offers reward for information about suspected killers and orders resumption of military operations on Colombian border

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This article is more than 1 year old

Three Ecuadorian journalists who were abducted by dissident Colombian rebels have been murdered, Ecuador’s president confirmed on Friday.

Lenín Moreno offered a reward of $100,000 for information that leads to the capture of the rogue guerrilla leader known by the alias “Guacho”, who is believed to be responsible for the abduction and murder of the journalists.

Moreno said that Ecuador was “grieving” over the killed men, having previously given the captors 12 hours in which to prove that the hostages were alive before facing a military response. “We’re not going to let ourselves be intimidated,” he said.

Moreno appeared make good on his threat, immediately ordering the resumption of military operations on the border and dispatching representatives from the Catholic church in order to mediate the recovery of bodies.

“We can’t allow the criminals to impose their rules,” Moreno said in an earlier statement on Thursday night after he returned early from

Peru, where he had been due to attend this weekend’s Summit of the Americas. “We’re going to fight them in the realm they have chosen and we are going to defeat them,” Moreno went on to say.

Reporter Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and their driver Efraín Segarra, who work for Ecuadorian daily El Comercio, were kidnapped on 26 March by a holdout faction of Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, the leftist rebel group which laid down its weapons and became a political party after signing a 2016 peace deal.

On Thursday, Colombia’s RCN network passed on to officials graphic photos purporting to show the men’s bodies, which Ecuadorian authorities are analysing. Moreno said there is an “enormous possibility” that images are authentic.

About 1,200 former Farc rebels are believed to have joined dissident drug- trafficking factions, including the Oliver Sinisterra Front, which is believed to have kidnapped the men.

A proof of life video was released last month showing the men calling on that country’s authorities to release three unidentified combatants and end anti-narcotics cooperation with Colombia in exchange for their freedom.

The three men were kidnapped investigating heightened violence in Esmeraldas, a province on the Ecuadorian side of the 364-mile border.

Blow to Colombian peace deal as former Farc rebel chief arrested on drug charges Read more

The region has long been a hotbed for Colombian drug traffickers and rebel groups (which are often the same), and has been the setting for a string of recent attacks against military targets.

Moreno announced in March that he was boosting security to the region, sending 12,000 soldiers and police to combat drug gangs.

The uncertainty over the fate of the hostages has caused consternation among press freedom groups in both countries, who accuse both governments of acting too slowly.

“We condemn the actions of the Colombian and Ecuadorian governments and their lack of seriousness in protecting the reporters’ lives,” a statement from Colombia’s Foundation for Press Liberty said.

Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, has sent top military and police officers to Quito in order to assist with the crisis. “I spoke with Moreno, and I reiterated that he has and will have all of my support, and that of our armed forces and the Colombian people,” he tweeted on Thursday night.</s>Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno on Friday confirmed that three press workers kidnapped along the conflictive border with Colombia had been killed, opening the door to a military strike against their captors.

Moreno spoke after a 12-hour deadline ended with the captors failing to demonstrate the hostages were still alive.

“Despite our best efforts, we’ve confirmed that these criminals never had the intention of handing them back safe and sound,” Moreno said.

He said elite troops would soon be deployed to the northern border area where the employees of El Comercio newspaper were last seen nearly three weeks ago while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos dispatched his top military advisers to Quito to assist in the military planning.

Moreno also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Walter Arizala, better known by his alias Guacho, the leader of a holdout group of guerrillas from the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

Fears that the kidnapping had ended in tragedy emerged Thursday when a Colombian TV network said it had received gruesome photos purporting to show the bodies of the three men.

However forensic experts in both countries were unable to confirm the authenticity of the images, exasperating press groups and family members who say the government had been taking the incident too lightly.

Moreno on Thursday night rushed back from a regional summit in Peru to deal with a crisis that has shaken Ecuadoreans’ long held self-identity as a tiny, peaceful nation insulated from the drug-fueled violence raging across its border. In a late-night press conference, he said there was an “enormous possibility” the deaths were real and on Friday said authorities had obtained new, unspecified information that confirmed the three men had been killed.

As Moreno spoke, dozens of colleagues and friends of reporter Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and their driver Efrain Segarra gathered in mourning in a plaza outside the presidential palace under the slogan “Three Are Missing,” the same one that has featured in candlelight vigils held almost every night since their disappearance.

Both the Ecuadorean and Colombian governments have tried to limit the fallout from the kidnapping, with officials in both countries denying the men were being held inside their territory and even squabbling over Guacho’s supposed nationality.

Earlier this week, authorities dismissed as fake a statement signed by the captors claiming the journalists were killed during a military raid co-ordinated by the two governments.

“We condemn the actions of the Colombian and Ecuadorean governments and their lack of seriousness in protecting the reporters’ lives,” Colombia’s Foundation for Press Freedom said in a statement Thursday.

Moreno’s promise of a “devastating” military response was seen by many as a tacit acknowledgement that both governments had been too restrained.

“When there is co-operation between the two countries the criminal will always fall,” Santos said from the Summit of the Americas in Peru, promising to work closely with Moreno on a military campaign.

In a proof-of-life video released earlier this month, the three men identified their captors as members of the Oliver Sinisterra Front, a group of a few dozen combatants that authorities say is led by Guacho, a former FARC rebel. The group is believed responsible for recent deadly attacks in northern Ecuador against military targets.

Moreno announced last month that he was sending 12,000 soldiers and police to combat drug gangs and boost security along the border. That represents about 10 per cent of the small nation’s police officers and troops.

Ecuador is a major transit zone for Colombian-produced cocaine, with small boats carrying the drugs from the South American nation’s Pacific shore to Central America and on to the United States.</s>QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - The Latest on the kidnapping of Ecuadorean press workers. (all times local):

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno has confirmed the deaths of three press workers kidnapped along the country's conflictive border with Colombia.

A relative of on of the three press workers kidnapped along the conflictive border with Ecuador and Colombia arrives to meet with Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno in Quito, Ecuador, Friday, April 13, 2018. President Moreno said that it is highly likely that the journalists were killed and gave their captors 12 hours to demonstrate they remain alive before he orders a major military operation against them. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Moreno spoke Friday after a 12-hour deadline ended with the captors failing to meet his demands they demonstrate the hostages were still alive or face a military strike.

He said the government has obtained new information that confirmed the journalists were killed. On Thursday a Colombian TV network said it obtained gruesome photos purporting to show the bodies of the three men.

The three employees of Ecuador's El Comercio newspaper were taken hostage three weeks ago by a holdout faction of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence along Ecuador's northern border.

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno says it is highly likely that three press workers kidnapped along the conflictive border were killed and is giving their captors 12 hours to demonstrate they remain alive before he orders a major military operation against them.

Two journalists and a driver from the Ecuadorean newspaper El Comercio were taken hostage three weeks ago by a holdout faction of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence along Ecuador's northern border.

An emotional Moreno said that photos obtained earlier Thursday purporting to show the bodies of the men were still being verified by forensic specialists were likely authentic.

He said the time for restraint was over and that he won't allow Ecuador to become a haven for transnational drug gangs.</s>Three Ecuadorian journalists who were abducted by dissident Colombian rebels have probably been murdered, according to Ecuador’s president, who warned he would launch military strikes if the hostages were not shown to be alive.

“We can’t allow the criminals to impose their rules,” Lenín Moreno said in a statement late on Thursday after he returned early from Peru, where he had been due to attend this weekend’s Summit of the Americas. “We’re going to fight them in the realm they have chosen and we are going to defeat them,” Moreno went on to say.

Reporter Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and their driver Efraín Segarra, who work for Ecuadorian daily El Comercio, were kidnapped on 26 March by a holdout faction of Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, the leftist rebel group which laid down its weapons and became a political party after signing a 2016 peace deal.

On Thursday, Colombia’s RCN network passed on to officials graphic photos purporting to show the men’s bodies, which Ecuadorian authorities are analysing. Moreno said there is an “enormous possibility” that images are authentic.

About 1,200 former Farc rebels are believed to have joined dissident drug- trafficking factions, including the Oliver Sinisterra Front, which is believed to have kidnapped the men.

A proof of life video was released last month showing the men calling on that country’s authorities to release three unidentified combatants and end anti-narcotics cooperation with Colombia in exchange for their freedom.

The three men were kidnapped investigating heightened violence in Esmeraldas, a province on the Ecuadorian side of the 364-mile border.

The region has long been a hotbed for Colombian drug traffickers and rebel groups (which are often the same), and has been the setting for a string of recent attacks against military targets.

Moreno announced in March that he was boosting security to the region, sending 12,000 soldiers and police to combat drug gangs.

The uncertainty over the fate of the hostages has caused consternation among press freedom groups in both countries, who accuse both governments of acting too slowly.

“We condemn the actions of the Colombian and Ecuadorian governments and their lack of seriousness in protecting the reporters’ lives,” a statement from Colombia’s Foundation for Press Liberty said.

Colombia’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, has sent top military and police officers to Quito in order to assist with the crisis. “I spoke with Moreno, and I reiterated that he has and will have all of my support, and that of our armed forces and the Colombian people,” he tweeted on Thursday night.</s>(QUITO, Ecuador) — Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno said it was highly likely that three press workers kidnapped along the conflictive border with Colombia were killed and gave their drug-running captors 12 hours to demonstrate otherwise before launching a major military strike against them.

Moreno’s threat of military action late Thursday came hours after a Colombian TV network said it had received gruesome photos purporting to show the bodies of the three men.

While forensic experts are still studying the photos, Moreno said there was an “enormous possibility” they are authentic.

“We’re a country of peace,” an emotional and visibly distraught Moreno said in late-night, televised comments from an airport hangar in Quito. “We can’t allow the criminals to impose their rules. We’re going to fight them in the realm they have chosen and we are going to defeat them.”

As Moreno spoke, dozens of colleagues and friends of reporter Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and their driver Efrain Segarra held a candlelit vigil outside the presidential palace under the slogan “Three Are Missing” as they have almost every night since their disappearance.

The three employees of El Comercio newspaper were taken hostage three weeks ago by a holdout faction of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence along Ecuador’s northern border.

Moreno returned early from a regional summit in Peru to oversee a crisis that has shaken Ecuadoreans’ long held self-identity as a largely peaceful nation insulated from the drug-fueled violence raging across its border.

With him were family members of the three men. They had traveled to Lima to seek a meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and generate attention to what they consider a slow, inadequate response by authorities in both countries.

Both the Ecuadorean and Colombian governments have tried to limit the fallout from the kidnapping, with military officials in both countries denying the men were being held inside their territory.

Earlier this week, authorities dismissed as fake a statement signed by the captors claiming the journalists were killed during a military raid coordinated by the two governments.

“We condemn the actions of the Colombian and Ecuadorean governments and their lack of seriousness in protecting the reporters’ lives,” Colombia’s Foundation for Press Freedom said in a statement Thursday.

Moreno seemed to acknowledge the criticisms when he said the time for restraint was over. If proof the press workers were still alive wasn’t forthcoming by 11 a.m. Friday, he said Ecuador’s military would conduct with their more battle-tested Colombian counterparts a “devastating” campaign to punish the kidnappers.

In a proof-of-life video released earlier this month, the three men identified their captors as members of the Oliver Sinisterra Front, a group of a few dozen combatants that authorities say is led by a former FARC rebel known by the alias Guacho. The group is believed responsible for recent deadly attacks in northern Ecuador against military targets.

Moreno announced last month that he was sending 12,000 soldiers and police to combat drug gangs and boost security along the border. That represents about 10 percent of the small nation’s police officers and troops.

Ecuador is a major transit zone for Colombian-produced cocaine, with small boats carrying the drugs from the South American nation’s Pacific shore to Central America and on to the United States.</s>The Latest on the kidnapping of Ecuadorean press workers. (all times local):

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno has confirmed the deaths of three press workers kidnapped along the country's conflictive border with Colombia.

Moreno spoke Friday after a 12-hour deadline ended with the captors failing to meet his demands they demonstrate the hostages were still alive or face a military strike.

He said the government has obtained new information that confirmed the journalists were killed. On Thursday a Colombian TV network said it obtained gruesome photos purporting to show the bodies of the three men.

The three employees of Ecuador's El Comercio newspaper were taken hostage three weeks ago by a holdout faction of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence along Ecuador's northern border.

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno says it is highly likely that three press workers kidnapped along the conflictive border were killed and is giving their captors 12 hours to demonstrate they remain alive before he orders a major military operation against them.

Two journalists and a driver from the Ecuadorean newspaper El Comercio were taken hostage three weeks ago by a holdout faction of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence along Ecuador's northern border.

An emotional Moreno said that photos obtained earlier Thursday purporting to show the bodies of the men were still being verified by forensic specialists were likely authentic.

He said the time for restraint was over and that he won't allow Ecuador to become a haven for transnational drug gangs.</s>Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno says it is highly likely that three press workers kidnapped along the conflictive border were killed and is giving their captors 12 hours to demonstrate they remain alive before he orders a major military operation against them.

Two journalists and a driver from the Ecuadorean newspaper El Comercio were taken hostage three weeks ago by a holdout faction of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence along Ecuador's northern border.

An emotional Moreno said that photos obtained earlier Thursday purporting to show the bodies of the men were still being verified by forensic specialists were likely authentic.

He said the time for restraint was over and that he won't allow Ecuador to become a haven for transnational drug gangs.</s>(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa). Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno talks during a news conference about the kidnapped journalists of Ecuador's El Comercio, in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, April 12, 2018. Moreno said it is highly likely that three press workers ki...

(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa). Ricardo Rivas, left, brother of photographer Paul Rivas; and Galo Ortega, right, father of reporter Javier Ortega, walk away from a plane after arriving in Quito, Ecuador, from Lima, Peru, Thursday, April 12, 2018. Ecuador's P...

(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa). Ricardo Rivas, second from left, brother of photographer Paul Rivas; and Galo Ortega, third from left,, father of reporter Javier Ortega, walk away from a plane after arriving in Quito, Ecuador, from Lima, Peru, Thursday, Apri...

(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa). Ricardo Rivas, left, brother of photographer Paul Rivas; and Galo Ortega, partially obscured, second from left, father of reporter Javier Ortega, walk away from a plane after arriving in Quito, Ecuador, from Lima, Peru, Thursd...

(AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa). Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno talks during a news conference about the kidnapped journalists of Ecuador's El Comercio, in Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, April 12, 2018. Moreno said it is highly likely that three press workers ki...

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno said it was highly likely that three press workers kidnapped along the conflictive border with Colombia were killed and gave their drug-running captors 12 hours to demonstrate otherwise before launching a major military strike against them.

Moreno's threat of military action late Thursday came hours after a Colombian TV network said it had received gruesome photos purporting to show the bodies of the three men.

While forensic experts are still studying the photos, Moreno said there was an "enormous possibility" they are authentic.

"We're a country of peace," an emotional and visibly distraught Moreno said in late-night, televised comments from an airport hangar in Quito. "We can't allow the criminals to impose their rules. We're going to fight them in the realm they have chosen and we are going to defeat them."

As Moreno spoke, dozens of colleagues and friends of reporter Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and their driver Efrain Segarra held a candlelit vigil outside the presidential palace under the slogan "Three Are Missing" as they have almost every night since their disappearance.

The three employees of El Comercio newspaper were taken hostage three weeks ago by a holdout faction of the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence along Ecuador's northern border.

Moreno returned early from a regional summit in Peru to oversee a crisis that has shaken Ecuadoreans' long held self-identity as a largely peaceful nation insulated from the drug-fueled violence raging across its border.

With him were family members of the three men. They had traveled to Lima to seek a meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and generate attention to what they consider a slow, inadequate response by authorities in both countries.

Both the Ecuadorean and Colombian governments have tried to limit the fallout from the kidnapping, with military officials in both countries denying the men were being held inside their territory.

Earlier this week, authorities dismissed as fake a statement signed by the captors claiming the journalists were killed during a military raid coordinated by the two governments.

"We condemn the actions of the Colombian and Ecuadorean governments and their lack of seriousness in protecting the reporters' lives," Colombia's Foundation for Press Freedom said in a statement Thursday.

Moreno seemed to acknowledge the criticisms when he said the time for restraint was over. If proof the press workers were still alive wasn't forthcoming by 11 a.m. Friday, he said Ecuador's military would conduct with their more battle-tested Colombian counterparts a "devastating" campaign to punish the kidnappers.

In a proof-of-life video released earlier this month, the three men identified their captors as members of the Oliver Sinisterra Front, a group of a few dozen combatants that authorities say is led by a former FARC rebel known by the alias Guacho. The group is believed responsible for recent deadly attacks in northern Ecuador against military targets.

Moreno announced last month that he was sending 12,000 soldiers and police to combat drug gangs and boost security along the border. That represents about 10 percent of the small nation's police officers and troops.

Ecuador is a major transit zone for Colombian-produced cocaine, with small boats carrying the drugs from the South American nation's Pacific shore to Central America and on to the United States.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Relatives and friends hold pictures of Ecuadorean photojournalist Paul Rivas (left), journalist Javier Ortega (centre) and their driver Efrain Segarra during a protest march to demand for their release, in Quito, Ecuador April 1, 2018. — Reuters pixQUITO, April 14 — Ecuador yesterday confirmed the deaths of two journalists and their driver who had been kidnapped by renegade Colombian rebels — and quickly launched a retaliatory military operation in the area where they were snatched.

Bogota also sent troops into the dense jungle border zone where the remnants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group operate — a key point on the trade route for drugs destined for Central America or the United States.

The killings — after what is thought to be the first such abduction of journalists on Ecuadoran soil in three decades — have shaken a country unaccustomed to the cruel violence linked to trafficking that has ravaged Colombia.

The three men, who worked for the influential El Comercio newspaper — were kidnapped on March 26 while covering a story on violence along the border, where Ecuadoran forces have been battling Colombian rebels engaged in drug trafficking.

Reporter Javier Ortega, 32, photographer Paul Rivas, 45, and their driver Efrain Segarra, 60, were snatched in the coastal region of Mataje on Ecuador’s northern border with Colombia.

Ecuadoran President Lenin Moreno had given the kidnappers a 12-hour window to provide proof of life for the trio, but that expired yesterday and he announced their deaths shortly thereafter.

“Sadly, we have information confirming the murder of our fellow countrymen,” Moreno told reporters in Quito, some of whom broke down in tears, while others exchanged embraces.

He then sent troops into the border zone.

“We have resumed ... military and police operations in the strip of land by the border where they were previously suspended and I am immediately sending in a deployment of elite units from the army and the police,” Moreno said.

Ecuadoran officials believe the hostages were taken into Colombia and have made contact with both the Catholic Church and the International Committee of the Red Cross for help in “immediately starting” the process of locating their bodies and bringing them home.

Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno gives a news conference after two Ecuadorean journalists and their driver, who were kidnapped last month by Colombian insurgents, have been killed, in Quito, Ecuador April 13, 2018. US$100,000 bounty

Speaking in Lima, where he was attending the Summit of the Americas, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos denounced the murders as “a deplorable act,” confirming his troops had also been sent in.

“We have already started operations on the Colombian side of the border as they have in Ecuador,” he said, while insisting the abduction “happened in Ecuador” and was led by an Ecuadoran national.

Ecuador’s military has blamed the abduction on the Oliver Sinisterra Front, a group which counts between 70 and 80 rebels and is headed by Walter Artizala, an Ecuadoran in his 30s who goes by the name “Guacho”.

A former FARC rebel with expertise in explosives, drug smuggling and financing, Guacho is one of the most wanted men in both Colombia and Ecuador.

“We have included the drug-smuggling terrorist Guacho on Ecuador’s most wanted list and we are offering a reward of US$100,000 (RM388,000) for any information which leads to his capture,” Moreno said.

According to Colonel Polibio Vinueza, who heads the police’s anti-hostage unit, Guacho had been in touch with the Ecuadoran authorities “since April 7, using WhatsApp” with the aim of reaching a deal to swap them for three rebels held in Mataje on trafficking charges.

But as his own boss, and without anyone to answer to, the rebel chief could change his mind on a whim, “depending on circumstances,” Vinueza explained.

Late Thursday, a visibly emotional Moreno had issued an ultimatum to the kidnappers after his government received photos from a Colombian TV station suggesting the three were dead.

Cutting short a trip to Lima for the Americas summit, he hunkered down with his cabinet to handle the crisis. But as his 12-hour deadline passed, news of their fate became clear.

The murders were roundly denounced by governments in the region and beyond, with Costa Rica expressing its “absolute condemnation” of the bloodshed and Spain denouncing it as a “vile and criminal act.”

The announcement draws a line under a 19-day nightmare for the families, with information emerging on a piecemeal basis and often skewed by rumor and falsehoods.

“This is very painful because we had faith and hope that the team would be found alive,” said Alex Llanos, a journalist with Ecuador TV as a group of people held a vigil outside the government building in Quito.

“Our coverage is very unusual because it is filled with emotion.” — AFP</s>QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno on Friday confirmed that three press workers kidnapped along the conflictive border with Colombia had been killed, opening the door to a military strike against their captors.

Moreno spoke after a 12-hour deadline ended with the captors failing to demonstrate the hostages were still alive. It's still not clear how they died but Moreno denied the hostage takers' unsubstantiated claims it was the result of a stealth military operation.

"Despite our best efforts, we've confirmed that these criminals never had the intention of handing them back safe and sound," Moreno said.

He said elite troops would soon be deployed to the northern border area where the employees of El Comercio newspaper were last seen nearly three weeks ago while investigating a rise in drug-fueled violence. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos dispatched his top military advisers to Quito to assist in the military planning.

Moreno also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the capture of Walter Arizala, better known by his alias Guacho, the leader of a holdout group of guerrillas from the demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement from Bogota that it had received approval from the two governments as well as members of Guacho's groups to organize a humanitarian mission to recover the bodies.

Fears that the kidnapping had ended in tragedy emerged Thursday when a Colombian TV network said it had received gruesome photos purporting to show the bodies of the three men.

However forensic experts in both countries were unable to confirm the authenticity of the images, exasperating press groups and family members who say accused both governments of taking the incident too lightly.

Moreno on Thursday night rushed back from a regional summit in Peru to deal with a crisis that has shaken Ecuadoreans' long held self-identity as a tiny, peaceful nation insulated from the drug-fueled violence raging across its border. In a late-night press conference, he said there was an "enormous possibility" the deaths were real and on Friday said authorities had obtained new, unspecified information that confirmed the three men had been killed. He decreed four days of national mourning

As Moreno spoke, dozens of colleagues and friends of reporter Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and their driver Efrain Segarra gathered in tears in a plaza outside the presidential palace under the slogan "Three Are Missing," the same one that has featured in candlelight vigils held almost every night since their disappearance.

"We are torn apart, there are people who've had to seek medical attention to calm down, it's very hard," said Monica Mendoza, a top editor at the century-old newspaper, Ecuador's most-respected and one of its best-selling broadsheets.

She described Ortega as a young, energetic reporter who was up for any assignment. Rivas, 45, was a prize-winning photographer and collector of antique cameras — more than 40 sit in a glass cabinet at his home — who learned his trade from his father and passed it on to his daughter.

Both the Ecuadorean and Colombian governments have tried to limit the fallout from the kidnapping, with officials in both countries denying the men were being held inside their territory and even squabbling over Guacho's supposed nationality.

Earlier this week, authorities dismissed as fake a statement signed by the captors claiming the journalists were killed during a military raid coordinated by the two governments.

"Both governments failed," said Sebastian Salamanca, a lawyer at Colombia's Foundation for Press Freedom.

While more than a dozen journalists used to be killed every year in Colombia at the height of Pablo Escobar's reign in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the numbers have fallen dramatically as the country's half-century conflict winds down to that point only a single press worker was killed in 2017, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. In Ecuador, only two journalists have been killed since 1992.

Moreno's promise of a "devastating" military response was seen by many as a tacit acknowledgement that both governments had been too restrained.

"When there is cooperation between the two countries the criminal will always fall," Santos said from the Summit of the Americas in Peru, promising to work closely with Moreno on a military campaign.

In a proof-of-life video released earlier this month, the three men identified their captors as members of the Oliver Sinisterra Front, a group of a few dozen combatants that authorities say is led by Guacho, a former FARC rebel. The group is believed responsible for a string of recently deadly attacks in northern Ecuador against military targets.

The group in another statement Friday

Moreno announced last month that he was sending 12,000 soldiers and police to combat drug gangs and boost security along the border. That represents about 10 percent of the small nation's police officers and troops.

Ecuador is a major transit zone for Colombian-produced cocaine, with small boats carrying the drugs from the South American nation's Pacific shore to Central America and on to the United States.
The Government of Ecuador says that the three Ecuadorian journalists kidnapped by rebel members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 26 March have been murdered. President Lenín Moreno orders military operations on the Colombian border to catch the murderers, offering a reward of US$100,000.