Colombia's FARC fighters release former US marine

Fighters from Colombia's main leftist group FARC have freed a former U.S. marine, Kevin Scott Sutay, who was kidnapped in June while he trekked through the jungle in a known guerrilla area, the U.S. State Department has said. The release comes amid a protracted push by Bogota to end the armed standoff with the fighters through political means.

A separate statement by the Cuban and Norwegian embassies in Bogota said the rebels turned the 26-year-old over to a commission made up of representatives from their countries and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the nation's south. The Cuban and Norwegian governments have helped to facilitate the talks between FARC and Colombia's ruling administration.

Sutay was later delivered to U.S. government representatives at the airport in the Colombian capital.

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry thanked Colombia's government for its "tireless efforts" in securing the Afghanistan war veteran's release. Kerry also thanked the Rev. Jesse Jackson for advocating for it.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, had said it was abandoning kidnapping as a condition for the launching of peace talks that began 11 months ago to end a half-century-long internal conflict.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he resisted FARC efforts to make what he deemed a "media show" of Sutay's release. No images were released of the early morning jungle handover or of his reported late-morning arrival in Bogota, the capital.

The rebels had announced in July their intention to free Sutay as a good-faith gesture but the liberation was delayed.

"We welcome the release today of Kevin Scott Sutay from captivity at the hands of the FARC," the State Department said in a statement on Sunday. 
  
"The United States is profoundly grateful to the Government of Colombia and commends its tireless efforts to secure his release. We offer special thanks to President Juan Manuel Santos for his assistance."

Sutay, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, had been backpacking through several Central and South American countries before he was captured by the FARC.

He had been warned by police to abandon his plans to hike through what they called a "red zone" for rebel activity and was held for more than four months.

The FARC showed willingness to release Sutay in July but hardened its stance, accusing him of being a mercenary, soon after Santos refused to allow a high profile left-wing politician to oversee the liberation.

The FARC and their smaller counterpart, the ELN, have been fighting the government in a bloody five-decade conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people. Both are listed as "terrorist" organizations by the United States and European Union.

In August 2012, the Colombian government announced its most recent round of talks to end its armed conflict with FARC through diplomatic dialogue. The talks commenced shortly after on Oct. 18, at a hotel north of the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

In May this year, Bogota reached a deal with FARC on land reform, in what was heralded as a major step toward resolving the group's disputes with the administration.

Al Jazeera and wire services