Israel’s Ambassador to Colombia, Eliyahu Barak, returned home today after a two-month ordeal in the Dominican Embassy in Bogota where he and a score of other diplomats and foreign nationals were held hostage by leftist revolutionaries. The hostages were finally released over the weekend.
Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir was at Ben Gurion Airport to welcome the returning envoy who looked thin but appeared in good health and good spirits. “It’s good to be home,” he said. “We’re glad to have him back,” Shamir told reporters.
Shamir said a special team had been working around the clock for weeks to effect Barak’s release. He hinted that certain measures Israel took — which he would not reveal — had helped gain freedom for Barak and the others. Asked if Barak would return to his post in Colombia, Shamir said that would depend on his discussions with the Ambassador.
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