Gerardo Aguilar Ramírez, known by his nom de guerre César, was a Colombian guerrilla leader, member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). He was the commander of the Eastern Bloc's 1st Front. For 5 years he was in charge of the hostages, including former presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt.^[1] On July 2, 2008, the hostages were liberated in Operation Jaque and César was arrested.^[2]

On July 4, 2008, Radio Suisse Romande reported that unnamed "reliable sources" had told it the rescue took place after a payment of USD 20 million by the United States.^[3] According to Le Monde, the French Foreign Ministry denied the payment of any ransom by France.^[4]

Frederich Blassel, the author of the Radio Suisse Romande story, told Colombia's W Radio that, according to his source, the release was not negotiated directly with FARC but with César, one of the two guerrillas captured during the operation, who would have received the payment of USD 20 million. According to Blassel, the two rebels could be given new identities by Spain, France, and Switzerland.^[5][6]

According to Colombia's El Tiempo and W Radio, General Fredy Padilla de León, Commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, denied the existence of any payment by the Colombian government. General Padilla argued that if any payment had been made, it would have been better to make it publicly known, to use it as an incentive and to cause confusion within FARC's ranks.^[7][8] William Brownfield, the U.S. ambassador to Colombia, also denied the allegations.^[9]

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