QUITO, April 3 (Xinhua) -- The families of three Ecuadorian journalists kidnapped about a week ago near the Colombian border said Tuesday they were both concerned and relieved by the release of a so-called "proof of life" video.
In the clip broadcast on TV earlier in the day and circulated online, the three captives could be seen in chains with padlocks around their necks as one of them, Javier Ortega, 32, pleaded for Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno to meet the captors' demands.
Ortega's brother, Alejandro Ortega, told reporters that relatives were "overcome" with concern.
"You've seen the video. It's heartrending to see them with chains around their necks. But at least we have a sign that they are well," said Alejandro.
"Their demands are clear," he said, referring to the captors, adding the victims' lives "are in the hands of the Ecuadorian state."
The three-member press team from Ecuador's El Comercio daily appeared to have been seized on March 26 by a dissident faction of Colombia's now-disbanded FARC guerrilla group, which broke away when the rebels agreed to give up armed rebellion and become a political party.
The dissident Oliver Sinisterra Front wants to exchange the reporters for three of its own.
The clip, first broadcast by Colombia's RCN television network, showed Ortega along with photographer Paul Rivas, 45, and TV reporter Efrain Segarra, 60.
The video also appeared to confirm that the three were in Colombia, something Colombian authorities were unsure of.
The press team was working on a report about the border area and recent attacks on Ecuadorian security forces by organized cross-border crime rings.
Ecuador's government declined to broadcast the video, saying it turned the incident into a media event, but said it was working toward the release of the trio.
"The wellbeing of our citizens and their families is a priority for our government, that's why we will continue to handle the information related to the ongoing process to free our fellow nationals in a totally responsible and coherent way," the government said in a statement.
