Some 30 fighters from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia freed six
                 hostages after anti-kidnapping troops mounted a rescue operation following the
                 kidnapping on Friday near Jagua Del Pilar, 465 miles (750 kilometers) north of the
                 capital, Bogota.

                 The FARC -- as the country's largest rebel army is known -- might have carried off
                 as many as 25 victims during the morning abduction, said Capt. Fernando Vanega,
                 director of the army's anti-kidnapping unit in La Guajira province.

                 Government security forces are still searching for former Culture Minister
                 Consuelo Araujo, who was kidnapped by the FARC at a rebel roadblock near the
                 provincial capital of Valledupar, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) south of Jagua Del
                 Pilar. Araujo is the wife of Inspector General Edgardo Maya, the head of
                 government investigations.

                 Leftist rebels and rightist paramilitaries set roadblocks on rural roads to kidnap the
                 wealthy and powerful for profit and politics. Known as "miracle fishing," the
                 practice has kept thousands of Colombians off the highways.

                 Colombia has the highest kidnapping rate in the world. More than 1,700 people
                 were kidnapped in the first seven months of this year --about a third of them by the
                 FARC.

                  Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.