Contract workers kidnapped in Colombia

摘要

Bogota—Colombian armed forces on March 22 continued to search for five contract employees of Occidental Petroleum who wer kidnapped in eastern Arauca state on March 19 by suspected leftist guerrillas. The kidnappings, which occurred as the employees were having lunch at a roadside restaurant near the Caricare hydrocarbons processing center, come at a sensitive time for the Colombian government, which has launched a bid round for 168 exploration blocks to be awarded June 21.