U.S. charges Colombian rebel over hostage-taking

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior member of Colombia's FARC guerrillas has been charged for his role in the hostage-taking of three Americans who were rescued last month in Colombia, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday.

It said a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., has indicted Hely Mejia Mendoza, alias Martin Sombra, on seven counts of terrorism and weapons charges stemming from his participation in the hostage-taking of the three Americans.

Mendoza was captured in February in the outskirts of Bogota and remains in jail in Colombia. He is expected to be extradited to the United States in the coming months.

The Americans, Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell and Thomas Howes, had been held in the Colombian jungle by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, for more than five years, until their rescue last month by Colombian military forces.

The operation also freed French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 11 other hostages.

If convicted, the 55-year-old Mendoza would face up to 60 years in prison, the maximum under Colombian law for Colombians extradited to the United States for prosecution, the department said.

It said Mendoza was one of 43 men who originally founded the FARC in 1964. He is the most senior FARC member captured during the 44-year-old conflict in Colombia.

According to the indictment, Mendoza served as the jailer of the Americans for most of their first two years of captivity, and he used chains and wires to bind the necks and wrists of the American hostages to prevent their escape.

The Justice Department also announced on Monday the unsealing of an indictment against six other FARC senior commanders involved in the taking hostage the three Americans. But two of the six are believed to be dead, it said.

(Additional reporting by Hugh Bronstein in Colombia; Editing by Randall Mikkelsen and Eric Walsh)