The Austrian ambassador was freed on March 6 out of consideration for his wife, who was in hospital at the time. On March 8, the guerrillas reduced their demands to free 311 prisoners to seventy and lowered the amount of money requested to US$10 million. Early on March 17, the Uruguayan ambassador, Fernando Gomez Fyns, escaped from the embassy by jumping from a window and running to troops surrounding the compound. The same day, Fidel Castro offered the guerrillas asylum in Cuba.