President Alvaro Uribe said the use of the politically neutral Red Cross symbol, reportedly worn by Colombian forces as they approached the hostages and their leftist rebel captors, was a "slip up," El Tiempo reported online.

Use of the Red Cross symbol by anyone other than the International Committee of the Red Cross, particularly in a combat situation, could be considered a war crime, according to legal experts, CNN reported.

Colombian forces mounted a July 2 rescue operation that freed former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt along with three U.S. defense contractors and 11 others.