7 Colombian tourists kidnapped

BOGOTA, Colombia — Troops backed by helicopters searched Sunday for seven Colombian tourists kidnapped by Marxist rebels as they celebrated Christmas at a lakeside spa, authorities said.

Rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, raided a cluster of bungalows late Friday near San Rafael, 140 miles northwest of Bogota, and herded the vacationers into vehicles, Jorge Mejia, deputy governor of Antioquia state, told The Associated Press. He said the kidnapped tourists were all from Colombia.

Witnesses did not report the kidnapping to authorities until late in the day Saturday, giving the guerillas plenty of time to reach their hideouts deep in the surrounding mountains, officials said.

Army troops and counterinsurgency police forces embarked on a large-scale search and rescue operation but with little success as of Sunday afternoon, police said.

The tourists were kidnapped despite the deployment of more than 100,000 security forces to safeguard highways and popular tourist spots during the busy holiday season.

A security crackdown ordered by President Alvaro Uribe has sharply reduced the number of kidnappings and killings in the past two years, making Colombians feel it was safe to venture into what used to be no-go areas.

The FARC kidnaps hundreds of people every year, mainly for ransom, to help fund its 40-year-old war to topple the government and establish a Marxist state in Colombia. The conflict involving leftist guerrillas, government troops and right-wing paramilitary militias kills more than 3,000 people every year.