Chavez: Ready to retrieve hostages

(CNN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that three hostages held by Colombian rebels could be freed within hours.

Chavez said his forces had airplanes and helicopters ready to retrieve the hostages at a moment's notice.

His government delivered a letter to Colombian leaders detailing the proposal, he said. Soon after, CNN confirmed the Colombia government had agreed to the deal.

The hostages have been held for several years by the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC for its Spanish acronym.

On Wednesday, Chavez stood before a map showing Venezuela and Colombia and pointed out several airports on the Venezuelan side of the frontier where the freed hostages could arrive.

He said he had considered options for a clandestine operation, but decided that would be too risky.

Hostages who could be freed include Clara Rojas, who was kidnapped in 2002 while she managed the campaign of Sen. Ingrid Betancourt, a candidate for the Colombian presidency, Chavez said. They also include Rojas' son, Emmanuel, who was born in captivity, and Consuelo Gonzalez, a former Colombian congressman, he said.

Betancourt could be freed with other hostages later, Chavez said.

CNN's Karl Penhaul in Bogota said Chavez spoke of the hostages being home by Thursday, but Penhaul added there could be a number of sticking points in the coming hours.

Chavez said Wednesday that he had consulted with the leaders of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba and Ecuador about the hostages. The leaders of those countries, like Chavez, range in political philosophy from left to center-left, while Colombia's president, Alvaro Uribe, leads a rightist political party.

The FARC has been engaged in a long-running war in Colombia that has involved right-wing paramilitaries, left-wing rebels, government forces and drug traffickers. E-mail to a friend

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