Colombia hostage Betancourt freed

[spartan]

French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages held by rebels in Colombia have been rescued by government troops.

Ms Betancourt had been held for more than six years by the rebel Farc group and was their highest-profile captive.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had made her rescue a priority, said he was very happy. Her children, who spoke of their joy, are to fly to meet her.

The Farc has been fighting to overthrow the Colombian government for 40 years.

Wearing military fatigues, Ms Betancourt smiled as she emerged with other hostages from a military plane in the Colombian capital Bogota.

Colombian Defence Minister Juan Manuel Santos said no-one had been hurt in Wednesday's operation in the southern province of Guaviare and that the 15 hostages were in relatively good health.

Mr Sarkozy said Ms Betancourt's family and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner would be flown shortly to Colombia, where they would be reunited with the 46-year-old.

He also said Ms Betancourt, who was pictured in video footage late last year looking frail, was in good health. She is currently at a Colombian military base.

Ms Betancourt's son, Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt, told a news conference in Paris that the prospect of seeing his mother again was the most amazing moment of his life.

He also thanked the Colombian and French governments for their efforts and urged people not to forget those still held by the Farc.

Government 'success'
Mr Santos said some 15 hostages had been rescued in total, among them 11 members of the Colombian security forces who had been captured in various rebel attacks.

He said the Farc rebels had been tricked into handing over the hostages by soldiers posing as members of a fictitious non-government organisation that supposedly would fly the hostages to a camp to meet rebel leader Alfonso Cano.

"The helicopters, which in reality were from the army, picked up the hostages in Guaviare and flew them to freedom," Mr Santos said.

The three Americans rescued were defence department contract workers captured after their light aircraft crashed in the Colombian jungle in 2003, the Colombian military said.

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Medellin says the successful operation by Colombian security forces is a political and military coup for the country's government.

As such, it will relieve the pressure on President Alvaro Uribe to negotiate with the Farc - the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - allowing him to continue with his US-backed military offensive against the group, our correspondent says.

The Farc had hoped to exchange some 60 political hostages for hundreds of rebels held by the Colombian government, he says, but with Ms Betancourt's rescue they have lost a powerful negotiating tool.

The news is yet another blow to the once-mighty Farc, our correspondent adds, following the death of its legendary leader Manuel Marulanda in March, along with two other members of the guerrilla group's seven-man ruling body.

The Farc still holds more than 40 hostages.

Public sympathy
The news of Ms Betancourt's rescue will be welcomed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had made securing her release a foreign policy priority.

The French president's office has confirmed Ms Betancourt's release.

The BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris says the news has been greeted with great joy in France, where Ms Betancourt's plight has excited huge public attention and sympathy.

Video pictures released last November of her looking gaunt and frail, as well as the accounts of released hostages that she was in danger of dying, all heightened the sense of urgency surrounding her fate, our correspondent adds.

Ms Betancourt has dual citizenship as the result of marriage to a French diplomat - since dissolved - which produced two children, who have worked hard to keep her captivity in the spotlight.

The Spanish government is "hugely satisfied" with the news of her rescue and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has sent messages of congratulations to Mr Uribe and to the Betancourt family, a spokesman said.

A spokesman for US President George W Bush said he had congratulated Mr Uribe, telling him he was a "strong leader".

The Vatican has also welcomed the release of Ms Betancourt and the other hostages.

Mr Kouchner travelled to Latin America earlier this year to build ties with regional leaders who have been influential in securing hostage releases from Farc in the past.

Spain, France and Switzerland have previously undertaken unsuccessful missions to try to secure the release of Ms Betancourt.

The politician was kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning in territory controlled by the Farc. She is believed to suffer from serious liver problems.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7486552.stm

[bootleg42]

Oh god!!!! If you watch TeleSur right now (in spanish), all the hostages are praising Uribe and the government as if they were god.

Also this wouldn't have anything to do with Uribe's referendum wouldn't it????? Now he'll just get another "mandate" and continue to have Colombia be the huge U.S. client state and the "Israel" of Latin America.

[Wanted Man]

Good for her.

Unfortunately, it won't change too much for the millions of Colombians living under Uribe. This definitely won't make things easier for the people living under him, unless one is so naive to think that Betancourt can fix Colombia up through parliament. And a humanitarian exchange of prisoners doesn't look much more likely, either.

But we're not supposed to think that. We must cheer at the heroic rescue operation by the Uribe army, fighters of the Free World. And forget about all the other people of Colombia, because they don't matter next to an irrelevant (a whopping 0.488% in the 2002 elections) green liberal who has been turned into a cause célèbre by intensive media campaigning and as a stick against anyone who does want to take up arms against Uribe.

But hey, maybe Betancourt and the Oxygen Green Party will rock the vote and clean the country up after the 2010 elections. Because pacifist politicians in parliament can really fix things up...

[BIG BROTHER]

well good for her.

Is it me, or does the story that the government forces tricked FARC sounds somewhat suspicious? I mean how do we know they didn't just send a comando who killed all the soldiers guarding them and made the story up to show a better image to the world.

I mean I don't want to sound like a conspiracy lunatic but I can't help suspect that they ain't telling the truth.

and yea like dum says this won't change much for the proletariat in Colombia, Uribe will surely come out victorious in the referendum and FARC will be even more weak now.

[spartan]

I personally find it suspicious that the rescue happens now of all times when Uribe is facing the real possibility of defeat. (The corruption thingy)

Call me insane if you want but i believe that the Colombian government knew exactly where Betancourt was all the time but refrained from rescuing her to milk as much possible out of the story in the press and to perhaps only rescue her when the good press was needed for Uribe. (Like now)

Anyway good for her as there was absolutely no advantages for Farc in holding on to her.

The fact that she has been rescued and with all the other shit that has been going on with Farc (Half their leadership being killed or captured) leads me to believing that Farc's days will soon be numbered.

[BIG BROTHER]

I totally get you spartan, I'm also suspicious about the Colombian government. How convenient that they rescued them just before the referendum right? Also It just seems kinda hard to me that the guys got fooled by the Colombian reactionary army and they did a pretty little escape were they didn't need to use their guns.

btw do you guys think now Betancourt will go back to politics or not? and if she does do you think he'll be an ally of Uribe or a rival?

[Faux Real]

The story as told by Betancourt, Colombian state and its supporters are false.

Of course there was a behind-the-scenes deal struck with FARC to release her and the others; she was paid off to tell the scripted novela written by the government. The government and Uribe himself would undoubtedly win political points by denying the FARC any opportunity to look like anything but the "bad guy".

[spartan]

btw do you guys think now Betancourt will go back to politics or not? and if she does do you think he'll be an ally of Uribe or a rival?

Well according to BBC news she told the press waiting for her at the airport that she intends to carry on running for president!

Whether that will be straight away or in the future i dont know.

[BIG BROTHER]

Well according to BBC news she told the press waiting for her at the airport that she intends to carry on running for president!

Whether that will be straight away or in the future i dont know.

ooh, it would be kinda ironic if one of the persons responsible for Uribe's popularity ended up getting him out of the office.

[A New Era]

Is it me, or does the story that the government forces tricked FARC sounds somewhat suspicious?
I mean I don't want to sound like a conspiracy lunatic but I can't help suspect that they ain't telling the truth.It sounds very suspicious, and my first thought was that a deal was struck. It just sounds to good to be true. I assume that the hostages were pretty well guarded and that the first thing on the minds of the commanders in FARC was that the Columbian special forces could enter the areas with choppers in order to do a hostage rescue. You'd think twice if you give away hostages to another authority.

And the special forces pretended to be of a non-governmental organization? If FARC would of moved the hostages, they wouldn't have another organization to do that.

[dez]

south american analysts say that most likely there was bribery of farc officials.

[Comrade B]

Wow, this just happens to happen after all these corruption charges, and the outrage of their neighbors at their bombing of the FARC camp in Ecuador.

I also really doubt that the FARC is so disorganized that they would just hand hostages over like that.

[xAtlasx]

Here on American t.v. the propoganda spewing forth is pretty difficult to believe.

Farc was essentially "tricked" into releasing several of their best bargaining chips? OK...

But, as usual, the real victim in this whole situation is the people of columbia. You'll never hear a word on why their needs to be a para-military group trying to overthrow the government of that country. You'll never hear of the suppression and tyranny of that government.:mad:

[Wanted Man]

ooh, it would be kinda ironic if one of the persons responsible for Uribe's popularity ended up getting him out of the office.

I doubt that, even though her previously negligible political influence has increased due to the hostage situation. In fact, the first thing she will do soon is to organise an anti-FARC demonstration.

[A New Era]

In either case, it looks like FARC is distressed.


In fact, the first thing she will do soon is to organise an anti-FARC demonstration.

Source?

[Poum_1936]

Remeber Raul Reyes? The FARC leader killed early March in Ecuador at the hands of the Colombian military. Well, he was France's contact on hostage negotiations for Betancourt. Ecuadarian security minister also said he at the time was having "very advancded talks" with Raul Reyes seeking to free 12 hostages along with Betancourt. Venezuela's Chavez was also talking with FARC upon releasing the Betancourt and other hostages. Chavez successfully managed to have 4 prisoners released in January 08.

And now four months after Reyes death, Colombia had this ingenious plan to free Betancourt. Just seems alittle coincidental. Especially the media playing up Uribe and calling this a "Setback for Chavez." It seems every other article in the news about Betancourt is also attacking Chavez.

[BIG BROTHER]

btw you guys should have seen how my mom reacted when she saw Betancourt in the news saying that the whole thing was a "miracle from god" she almost cried out of happines

anyways has las FARC made their reactions known or anything like that?


south american analysts say that most likely there was bribery of farc officials

that sounds more reasonable, where did you read that analysis from?

[Guerrilla22]

There was likely some other element involved that the Colombian government won't acknowledge; either the Colombian government paid a ransom, bribed some FARC members, the US put up money or the Colombians recived help from either Israeli or US special forces as has been reported, but denied by the Colombian government.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

FARC leaders were paid millions to free hostages: Swiss radio
07.04.08, 9:19 AM ET

PARIS (Thomson Financial) - Leaders of the Colombian FARC rebel
movement were paid millions of dollars to free Colombian politician
Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages, Swiss radio said on Friday,
quoting 'a reliable source'.

The 15 hostages released on Wednesday by the Colombian army 'were in
reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards
was a set-up,' the radio's French-language channel said.

Saying the United States, which had three of its citizens among those
freed, was behind the deal, it put the price of the ransom at some
$20 million.

The radio said its source was 'close to the events, reliable and
tested many times in recent years.'

The report added said the wife of one of the hostages' guards was the
go-between, having been arrested by the Colombian army. She was
released to return to the guerrillas, where she persuaded her husband
to change sides.

Switzerland, along with France and Spain, has been mediating with the
FARC on behalf of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

According to the official version of Wednesday's operation, a
Colombian army intelligence agent infiltrated the FARC and tricked
the rebels into believing their top leader had sent a helicopter to
pick up the hostages.

Colombian soldiers posing as FARC guerrillas flew the hostages from a
jungle hideout where they had been assembled before revealing their
identity.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the rescue 'was conceived by
the Colombians and executed by the Colombians with our full support,'
while implying that Washington had provided intelligence and even
operational help.

U.S. ambassador to Bogota William Brownfield also told CNN that
Washington had provided 'technical support,' while Colombian Defence
Minister Juan Manuel Santos insisted it was a '100 percent Colombian'
effort.

The top U.S. military officer for Latin America, Admiral Jim
Stavridis, head of United States Southern Command, said the rescue of
Americans Thomas Howes, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell had been 'a
priority of this command'.

The three were seized by the rebels as they conducted an anti-drug
mission for the Pentagon in February 2003.

The operation enhanced Uribe's prestige as he seeks a third term in
office, and enabled him to stick to his line of no talks with the
rebels without the hostages being freed, the radio noted.

[BIG BROTHER]

ha! now this sounds more like it!

so asuming this is what really happened, then would this be good since now FARC has a lot of cash a its disposal.

and seccond do you guys think the hostages would know about this, or they were tricked into believing the whole thing as well.

[Poum_1936]

Who is this "reliable source"? That little quote throws me off.

20 million would solve the short term question for Uribe, but the long run. The long run, giving the enemy 20 million!?

And to JoseF,

Unless FARC changes their ideological stance, no amount of money will change much. The US can throw just as much money at government forces easily enough to counter anything. The FARC should focus toward the cities. Its the working class that will transform society. The peasantry will play a major role, but it cant be them alone. The FARC needs to start agitating in the cities. If they do that, then the money can go along ways. Providing this money exists.

[Wanted Man]

Source?
I read it on a news site from here, couldn't find an English source. But there's certainly no doubt that she'll continue to fight against FARC, this could be seen in plenty of news reports.

Anyway, has anyone yet taken note of the "starved" and "unhealthy" Betancourt that we've heard about for so long now? It appears to have been a myth.

Good review from Bay Area Indymedia: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/07/04/18513491.php

[Colonello Buendia]

I'm not a fan of the FARC or their hostage policy but I do think that in this case they have been fucked over. I'm surprised they didn't expect it, I mean after all it's a textbook procedure to commence negotiations and then screw the other side over. The theory which in my opinion holds the most weight was the corrupt FARC officials I'm afraid. That said It's good that the hostages have been released all be it by a reactionary satellite of the US

[dez]

I read it on Folha de São Paulo, major brazilian newspaper.
It didn't say anything about the alledged 20 million, but the analyst said it was pretty weird that FARC would gather all hostages in one area and count on an NGO to transport them somewhere. It specifically said that "Cesar"(the guerilla responsible for those hostages) was probably bribed, and now he gives a public statement saying he was fooled, thinking it was an humanitarian mission and that he "saw foreigners on the chopper".

[Guerrilla22]

This was a well planned propaganda event, similar to the one the US did with that captured female soldier in Iraq.

[metalero]

From http://www.borev.net/:
They say the devil is in the details, n'est pas? Well, it looks there might have been a big devil in that daring rescue of the Colombian hostages a few days back.
Certain European media outlets are reporting that the rescue, which freed French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans and has gotten Alvaro Uribe some much-needed good press, may not have been as brilliantly conceived (http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=221336) as the Colombians are putting on. In fact, it may have been a staged end to a $20 million ransom payment to the FARC organized by the Colombians and the U.S. Sacrebleu!
Now, I'm not sayin' that the allegation is true, I'm just sayin' that it's interesting. And since I'm a bit of a conspiracy buff, let's flush out why it might seem plausible that the Colombians would pay such a hefty ransom.
Uribe hasn't had what we would call a good last few months. First he gets hit with that ongoing paramilitary scandal (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/colombia-paramilitary-claims-tie-uribe/story.aspx?guid=%7B46751720-E95F-465C-8FCC-9859A73D1CEF%7D) linking family members and prominent supporters to right-wing death squads. Then he briefly invades Ecuador (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2008/06/ecuador-preside.html), much to the chagrin of his regional neighbors. Afterwards, the U.S. Congress refuses to vote on a free trade agreement he's been lusting after. Then, the UN reports that coca cultivation in Colombia has actually increased (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080627-145061/UN-Drug-cultivation-up-in-Afghanistan-Colombia), the $600 million in U.S. anti-drug aid notwithstanding. More recently, the Colombian Supreme Court questions his 2006 re-election (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/world/americas/28colombia.html?em&ex=1214798400&en=51dad7dd716cf7d9&ei=5087%0A), forcing Uribe to propose that they just re-do the whole thing and throwing into doubt his always questionable democratic credentials. For the U.S.'s favorite Latin American ally, none of this looks good, especially when they're constantly trying to villify the evil Hugo Chavez next door.
Obviously, staging a hostage rescue is something of a complicated ruse to distract from all the bad news coming out of Colombia -- but it has worked wonderfully. Uribe and the Colombian military and loving the good press, and the Washington Post has predictably used the entire affair to push for the passage of the FTA (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/03/AR2008070303252.html). Of course, the whole "rescue" part, with elaborate costumes and all, becomes much less incredible if it was actually part of a $20 million payoff to a group that Uribe and the U.S. constantly calls "terrorists."
All in all, that's a well spent $20 million, because Uribe would likely have spent more on PR consultants in Washington to try and brighten up his image. If it's true. Of course, if the U.S. press corps was that willing to believe the fairy tales coming out of the magic laptop that implicated Chavez in everything from trying to kill Uribe to having his hand in the Brad Pitt-Jennifer Aniston break-up, we'll give ourselves a little room to believe the conspiracies about whether or not this hostage rescue was in fact a rescue, and not just a ransom payment. That would be quite the devil.

[RaiseYourVoice]

Quite interessting, a statement from Fidel about all this.


Ingrid Betancourt's release in Colombia

Yesterday, an important event took place, which will be an issue the following days. This is the release of Ingrid Betancourt and a group of people held by the FARC, that is, the Revolutionary Armed Forces from Colombia.
On January 10 this year, our ambassador to Venezuela, German Sanchez, following a request of the Venezuelan and Colombian governments, took part in the release of Clara Rojas to the International Red Cross. She had been a candidate for vice-president of Colombia when Ingrid Betancourt was running for president and was kidnapped on February 23, 2002. Consuelo Gonzalez, a member of the House of Representatives, kidnapped on September 10, 2001, was released with her.
An era of peace was opening for Colombia. This is a process Cuba has been supporting for over two decades, as it is most convenient for the unity and peace of the peoples of our America, using new ways in the special and complex circumstances prevailing after the demise of the USSR in the early 1990s -- which I won't try to analyse here -- very different from those existing in Cuba, Nicaragua and other countries in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
The bombing of a camp in Ecuadorian soil in the early hours of March 1 -- while Colombian guerrillas and young visitors from different nationalities were sleeping -- using Yankee technology; the occupation of the territory, the coup de grace on the wounded and the kidnapping of corpses as part of the terrorist plan from the United States government was repudiated the world over.
A Rio Group meeting was then held in the Dominican Republic on March 7. There the events were strongly condemned while the US administration applauded.
Manuel Marulanda, a peasant and communist militant, the main leader of that guerrilla group founded almost half a century ago was still alive. He passed away on the 26th of that same month.
Ingrid Betancourt, feeble and sick, as well as other captives with a serious health condition could hardly resist any longer.
Out of a basically humanist sentiment, we rejoiced at the news that Ingrid Betancourt, three US citizens and other captives had been released. The civilians should have never been kidnapped, nor should they have been kept prisoners in the conditions of the jungle. These were objectively cruel actions. No revolutionary purpose could justify it. The time will come when the subjective factors should be analysed in depth.
We won our revolutionary war in Cuba by immediately releasing every prisoner absolutely unconditionally. The soldiers and officers captured in battle were released to the International Red Cross; we only kept their weapons. No soldier will ever surrender if he thinks he will be killed or subjected to cruel treatment.
We are watching with concern how the imperialists try to capitalise on what happened in Colombia in order to hide and justify their heinous crimes of genocide against other peoples. They want to deflect international attention from their interventionist plans in Venezuela and Bolivia and from the presence of the 4th Fleet in support of the political line that intends to obliterate the independence of the countries located south of the United States while taking possession of their natural resources.
These should be illustrative examples for all of our journalists. In our times, truth is navigating rough seas, where the mass media are in the hands of those threatening human survival with their immense economic, technologic and military resources. That's the challenge faced by the Cuban journalists!

Fidel Castro Ruz, July 3, 2008, 4.26pm.
http://links.org.au/node/508

Also a BBC article on that
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7492506.stm

Didn't notice this thread
http://www.revleft.com/vb/fidel-speaks-farc-t83430/index.html

[bayano]

one interesting footnote to this story is the differing responses of the ex-captives. betancourt, a progressive formerly of a Green party spoke out against uribe's 'language of hate' against the FARC, and spoke of reconciliation and respect. the three US mercenaries, who by all rights could have been executed for war crimes in war time by their captors, spoke nothing but hate toward the FARC, calling them terrorists and bad guys.