FARC says it will free some hostages

Colombian guerrillas on Friday released the second of five hostages they vowed to free -- and the first thing he did was call his wife."He said he was well, asked about his mother, and said that we'd see him here," said Nubia Segura, wife of councilman Armando Acuna, the first of two hostages the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) promised to release on Friday.FARC guerrillas freed a local councilman on Wednesday, and say they will release two more hostages on Sunday.

Twelve bodyguards for the commander of the leftist FARC rebels have been killed in an overnight military raid, and 10 Colombian soldiers died in separate clashes with the jungle-based guerrillas, officials have said.The air force, army and federal police launched the raid under cover of darkness on the mountainside encampment where Guillermo Leon Saenz -- who goes by "Alfonso Cano" and heads the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) -- was holed up, the military said.

A rebel attack on a police station in southern Colombia left nine dead, including three soldiers and one young civilian, officials said.General Juan Carlos Salazar told Radio Caracol that the raid was carried out by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the town of San Vicente del Caguan, in the Caqueta department.He said troops responded when they learned of the attack, killing five FARC fighters. Four other soldiers were wounded along with another civilian.

Ten alleged leftist guerrillas were killed and three wounded Thursday in clashes with soldiers in a mountainous region in western Colombia, local military officials said.Rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) clashed with a combined army-police force in a remote area between the Cauca and Choco departments, said General Jairo Erazo, commander of the brigade deployed to the area.The three wounded rebels were treated and another captured, said Erazo.

Colombia's aerial bombing on New Year's Day of two leftist guerrillas camps in southern Meta region left 22 FARC rebels dead, including three unit leaders, military sources said Saturday.The attack on the rebel camps by air force planes and special operations forces on the ground also captured eight members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), five of whom were wounded, General Javier Florez told reporters.

Bottom Line: Colombia’s oil production is up to an average of 1.01 billion barrels per day as of January 2013—the first time it’s surpassed the targeted 1 billion barrel mark. For 2012, crude output was at about 940,000. This represents a sizeable gain that is in part due to the gradual effects of more market-friendly terms for producers and in part due to gains in weakening rebel groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The Colombian army announced Saturday it has killed the security chief of the Marxist FARC group's top commander, in what officials claim is a blow against the guerrillas.Alirio Rojas Bocanegra, known as "The Grandfather," headed the FARC's Central Block tasked with guarding Alfonso Cano, who took over as leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia after its founder Manuel Marulanda Velez was killed in 2008.

Two Brazilian military helicopters bearing Red Cross markings arrived in Colombia where they will be used to fly out five hostages set for release by Marxist rebels.Authorities in Bogota have anticipated the handover of the five hostages since late last year, when they announced that the release by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was imminent, and that Brazil was ready to help.