QUITO, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Bodies of a team of Ecuadorian journalists who were killed after being held hostage in Colombia have been repatriated to their home country, said the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.
The remains of journalist Javier Ortega, photographer Paul Rivas and driver Efrain Segarra, kidnapped and killed by a splinter group of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), arrived in Quito at 10 a.m. local time, the ministry said.
The victims' families, positioned at the terminal entrance to receive the bodies, carried Ecuadorian flags and photos. Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Jose Valencia and Interior Minister Mauro Toscanini were also present.
Local press reported that as Ecuadorian Air Force plane touched down, it passed through an arch of water symbolizing the welcome home.
The three men working for the Ecuadorian newspaper "El Comercio" were kidnapped on March 26 in the rural area of Mataje, in the northwestern region of Esmeraldas in Ecuador. They were in the area, which shares a border with Colombia, to make a report about growing insecurity.
On April 13, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno confirmed their deaths.
The bodies of the team were found on June 21, in the rural border zone of Tumaco, Colombia. According to the Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas, the area's difficult terrain complicated the search. Forensics teams in the Colombian city of Cali confirmed the bodies were of the missing journalists.
Authorities have attributed the killings to the "Oliver Sinisterra" Group, a dissident guerrilla group of former FARC soldiers who refused to disarm, led by Ecuadorian Walter "Guacho" Arizala. Ecuador and Colombia are offering a bounty of 230,000 U.S. dollars for his capture.
An emotional service was held for the three victims at a chapel in Cali of Colombia on Tuesday, with local journalists and family members of the men in attendance.
On Wednesday, El Comercio organized a farewell service for them, while on Thursday a vigil will be held at the La Dolorosa church in northern Quito. Formal funerals will take place on Friday.
