BOGOTA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Colombia's FARC guerrillas have rejected a proposed Red Cross visit to check the health of rebel hostages held for years in secret jungle camps, a Colombian television channel said. Two hostages released this month brought with them letters and photographs showing that other captives are suffering from jungle diseases and ill health and struggling to keep up hope after years spent, often in chains, in captivity. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and the Roman Catholic church have urged guerrillas to allow a Red Cross commission to check on the hostages. Uribe and the FARC are deadlocked over a deal to swap 44 high-profile captives for jailed rebels. But FARC commander Raul Reyes rejected the plan as a compromise to security of hostages, who include French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans taken more than five years ago. "For our group, the security of those to be included in an exchange is more important than any unrealistic considerations with which President Uribe tries to fan the pain and anguish of families of prisoners on both sides," Reyes said in a message sent to television station Noticias Uno over the weekend. The two captives were freed by the FARC in a deal brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, but a dispute with Bogota over the leftist leader's role in hostage negotiations has triggered a diplomatic crisis between the neighbors. Violence associated with Latin America's oldest insurgency has ebbed under Uribe, but authorities say the FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- still holds more than 700 hostages for extortion and political leverage. FARC commanders demand Uribe pull troops back to create a safe haven the size of New York City in southern Colombia to broker a hostage deal. They want their fighters there to be armed for security during talks. But Uribe says those concessions would allow the rebels to regroup and has proposed a smaller zone under international observation in a rural area where there is no police or army presence. He has also authorized France, Spain and Switzerland to seek talks with the guerrillas over hostages. (Reporting by Patrick Markey in Bogota, editing by Patricia Zengerle)
Consuelo Gonzalez (standing R in vehicle), who was held hostage by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, is accompanied by a crowd as she arrives at Pitalito in Huila province ...
