Criminal gangs were kidnapping in Colombia’s big cities and selling hostages to the powerful FARC and ELN rebel groups. The rebels, in turn, would hold the hostages and negotiate a much higher ransom payment from victims’ families. For ex, from the BBC: www.bbc.com/news/world-l...

Turns out, this is not just a Colombian phenomenon. Similar stories of hostage sales emerge from Afghanistan, Mali, Niger, the Philippines, and Yemen 4/