FLORENCIA, Colombia, (Reuters) – Colombian rebels  yesterday freed a government soldier who was held hostage in  the jungle for more than 12 years and symbolized those left  behind in the war against Latin America’s oldest insurgency.

A Brazilian military helicopter operated by the Red Cross  ferried Pablo Emilio Moncayo from Colombia’s southern jungle to  a civilian airport in Florencia, a town 370 km (230 miles)  south of the capital Bogota.