Soldiers and police were searching for leftist rebels who seized and later released 71 workers from a pipeline construction camp high in Peru’s Andes Mountains. Soldiers found the hostages on Tuesday in the jungle near the village of Palma Pampa, some 250 miles southeast of Lima, after the rebels released them, according to an army officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. President Alejandro Toledo later said that troops and police were moving to encircle the guerrillas. “We have rescued them alive, safe and sound … without making any payment,” Toledo told a news conference Tuesday. It was not clear how the hostages became free. The president blamed “remnants of the Shining Path” for the kidnapping and said his administration would not negotiate with the fleeing guerillas. Police said the kidnappers demanded a $1 million ransom as well as 20 radios, 500 boxes of explosives, vitamins and antibiotics. Full Story
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