By Hugh Bronstein

BOGOTA, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The liberation of three hostages held by Colombian rebels could be delayed by troop movements near the Venezuelan border where the captives were expected to be freed, a senator involved in the talks said on Monday.

The guerrillas say they are about to release Clara Rojas, captured during her 2002 vice presidential campaign; Rojas's young son Emmanuel, fathered by one of her captors; and former lawmaker Consuelo Gonzalez, kidnapped in 2001.

But Colombian military actions could "delay or even frustrate" their liberation, leftist Senator Piedad Cordoba told Caracol radio.

The military said there were no unusual troop movements or operations that would impede a hand-over.

The Rojas and Gonzalez families had hoped to be reunited with the kidnap victims by the Christmas holiday, but there was no word on Monday about the time or place of a hand-over.

Cordoba and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez had acted as mediators with the four-decade-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, before President Alvaro Uribe ended those talks last month after accusing Chavez of breaking protocol by talking directly with a Colombian general about the hostages.

But Chavez and Cordoba remain involved informally and the FARC says it wants to hand the three captives over to Chavez or someone designated by him.

Alfredo Rangel of Bogota thinktank Security & Democracy said military operations should not delay the release.

"The jungle is huge and the Colombian army does not control all of it," Rangel said. "If the FARC wants to move the hostages toward Venezuela or into Venezuela they can do it."

The liberation could set the stage for the release of other kidnap victims, including three American anti-drug contractors and French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, in exchange for guerrillas locked in government jails.

Uribe, popular for his U.S.-backed crackdown on the rebels, has offered to designate a limited safe area to swap 47 high-profile captives for rebels held in government jails.

But the FARC insists he pull troops from a larger zone of its choosing to facilitate an exchange. The rebels want to enter that zone armed, which Uribe says he will not allow.

The FARC has been pushed onto the defensive by Uribe's military policies but it still controls wide rural areas and holds about 750 hostages for ransom and political leverage. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Sandra Maler)

AlertNet news is provided by