Two Colombia oil sector workers freed after kidnapping

Two oil sector workers have been freed in northeast Colombia, a day after they were kidnapped at gunpoint, authorities said Tuesday. A female engineer at SICIM, a contractor for the company in charge of the Bicentenario pipeline, and her driver were nabbed Sunday by armed men on motorbikes in the Arauca department that borders Venezuela, a police source told AFP. The engineer said the captors asked her about the pipeline but did not reveal whether they were part of either the FARC or ELN rebel groups operating in the region. Built by Colombia’s Ecopetrol, which is associated with various foreign firms, the Bicentenario pipeline is due to start operations in a year or two and extend for more than 970 kilometers (600 miles).