Hundreds of thousands of Colombians marched Monday in Colombia and in many other countries asking the Marxist FARC rebels to stop kidnapping people and release those it holds. The demonstrators were wearing white T-shirts saying "No more FARC" and "No more kidnapping." It is the largest protest ever against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Similar protests took place in the United States, Europe, Canada and Japan, which were mainly organized by Colombian embassies. In Latin America protests were organized in Peru, Brazil and Venezuela.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez managed to convince the FARC rebels to release two kidnapped women last month.

He announced on Monday that his government has started the preparations for the rescue of three hostages held by the FARC rebels. On Saturday, the rebels sent a statement to Colombian news organization promising to hand over three more hostages suffering from health problem to Chavez, the Associated Press reports. The date was not set.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe agreed to the rescue operation despite a diplomatic conflict with Chavez. The Venezuelan President accuses Uribe of plotting with the United States to attack Venezuela, comparing the United States to an “empire.”

One of the high-profile hostages held by the rebels is the French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who is a former presidential candidate and three U. S. military contractors kidnapped in 2003 after their plane crushed in the jungle.

Relatives of hostages Gloria Polanco de Losada, Luis Eladio Perez and Orlando Beltran, who have been held for more than six years, arrived in Caracas on Monday hoping that their family members will finally be set free.

But while some relatives of the hostages were enthusiastic about Chavez’ initiative and about the marches against FARC, other relatives expressed their fear that the protests might annoy the rebels and thus lower the chances for the release of the hostages, says the New York Times.

According to Reuters, the FARC holds 44 key hostages they would release only in exchange of the members of the guerilla who are in prison. However, authorities say almost 700 people are held hostages by the rebels, for ransom. The group is also accused of drug trafficking.

Eleven lawmakers held by the FARC were killed in a jungle camp last June, according to the New York Times.

The United States, the European Union and the Colombian government classified the FARC as a terrorist organization.