BOGOTA (Reuters) -- Colombia's government on Sunday cleared the way for FARC guerrillas to handover three more hostages to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez even as the Andean neighbors quarrel over his role in freeing rebel captives.

The FARC -- Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- said this weekend it planned soon to release three former Colombian lawmakers to Chavez or his envoy because of their poor health after six years captivity in rebel jungle camps.
The announcement came as U.S. ally President Alvaro Uribe and Chavez are locked in a diplomatic dispute that threatens their $6 billion a year in cross-frontier trade.
""We are willing to give all the necessary facilities so our countrymen can recover their freedom,"" Justice Minister Carlos Holguin told local radio. ""For us, the release of the hostages is above any other consideration.""
News of a possible release stirred family hopes for other hostages, including French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, captured in 2002, and three U.S. contractors snatched after their aircraft crashed in the jungle in 2003.
Colombians plan to take to the streets in a national protest against the FARC. Rebels hold 44 key hostages they wants to exchange for jailed fighters, but authorities say the group also holds around 700 more captive for extortion.
The FARC said it would release Gloria Polanco de Losada, Luis Eladio Perez and Orlando Beltran -- all held for more than six years. They gave no date, but said organizing security for the release could take time.
""We've spent nearly seven years waiting and with news that my mom is going to be released, our strength has been renewed, and we have the spirit to wait it out,"" Polanco's son Jaime told Venezuelan television.
Recent videos made by the FARC show Betancourt, the three U.S. citizens and other hostages alive in secret camps but suffering from jungle diseases and stress after years in guerrilla captivity.
Chavez in January managed to negotiate with the Marxist-inspired FARC to hand over two female hostages to one of his delegates and the Red Cross inside Colombian territory, but only after an initial attempt collapsed.
Uribe has received billions of dollars from Washington to fight the FARC and the cocaine trade.