Military denies story about ransom
But Ecuadoran paper says police confirmed $80 million demand for safe return of Gold Hill men, five others
By Melissa Martin
An Ecuadoran military spokesman has denied that the kidnappers of eight foreign oil workers — including three Gold Hill helicopter mechanics — have demanded an $80 million ransom.
"There was a version that came out in the newspapers, and that’s what it was: a version from the newspapers," Walter Nieto, the defense ministry spokesman, told The Associated Press on Monday.
However, the newspaper that reported the ransom amount last month is standing by its story, a spokesman told the Mail Tribune Thursday.
"We confirmed that amount with the police," said Arturo Torres, a spokesman for El Comercio.
A story published in El Comercio, Quito’s leading newspaper, on Nov. 17 attributed the $80 million ransom figure — $10 million for each hostage — to defense minister Hugo Unda. The story also cited a similar ransom news report aired on Ecuavisa, a Quito television station.
"Those are rumors that have no foundation," Nieto told the Associated Press, adding that Unda did not make such a statement.
Another military source, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Associated Press the interested parties have hired a team of international specialists who are negotiating with the kidnappers to release their victims.
Torres said the newspaper has reason to believe negotiations are progressing and a solution will be reached soon.
Gunmen commandeered a helicopter on Oct. 12 from oil camps in the El Coca region, 150 miles northeast of Quito, seizing five Americans, a New Zealander, a Chilean, an Argentine and two Frenchmen.
Among the Americans were three Gold Hill men, Steve Derry, Arnold Alford and Jason Weber. They and a New Zealander, Dennis Corrin, are employees of Erickson Air-Crane Co. in Central Point, which specializes in heavy-lift helicopters.
All were working at the oil camps.
The two Frenchmen, both pilots, escaped during a rainstorm two days after their capture.
The kidnappers have not left the country, but are holding the hostages in a hard-to-reach mountainous location called the Cascales zone in eastern Sucumbios, according to a translated version of an article published Oct. 26 in El Comercio.
Some villagers from Pompeya, located near the oil camp, witnessed the abduction and were forced to travel about 60 miles with the captors, the newspaper reported.
"People ... were watching a game of ‘ecuavoley’ when they were forced to accompany the kidnappers to serve as human shields. While they (the kidnappers) occupied the middle seats of the ranchera (an open passenger transport vehicle) that they took from the town, the villagers rode on the sides," the article quoted a soldier as saying.
An army general from the Amazon told El Comercio: "We are putting patrols in the entire area. We are analyzing the different sensitive areas and we hope to have good results."
The kidnappers may be motivated to treat their hostages well, according to a translated version of a Nov. 30 article published in El Comercio. Kidnappers who don’t mistreat their victims but eventually grant their freedom receive a lighter sentence, about six months in jail.
"The target of the captors has been wealthy people and most recently, those with life insurance, because the insurance companies negotiate with the kidnappers," the article stated.