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San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, July 3, 2008, Vol. 8, No. 131

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Colombian military frees 15 hostages held by leftist rebels

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

Colombian officials say they have rescued 15 hostages held by leftist rebels, including a former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. defense contractors.

Colombia's Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said the hostages were in good condition following the operation in the southeastern department of Guaviare.

Santos said the rescue involved intelligence officials who had infiltrated the rebel unit in charge of the hostages. He said the rescue operation was launched when the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia were planning to transport the hostages by helicopter.

Santos said the hostages include Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and 11 members of Colombia's security forces.

Betancourt was seized in 2002, while she was campaigning in rural Colombia where rebel forces were known to be active. One year later, rebels seized the three Americans — Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell — after their plane crashed during a drug surveillance flight south of Bogota.

The governments of France and Venezuela recently launched new efforts to negotiate with rebels for the release of Betancourt and other high-profile hostages.

This year, Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez helped win the release of six Colombian politicians, including former vice presidential candidate Clara Rojas, who was seized along with Betancourt.

Betancourt and the three Americans were among some 40 high-profile hostages the rebels were holding in an effort to negotiate a prisoner exchange with Colombia's government.

President George Bush called Uribe to congratulate him.

Florida International University professor Eduardo

Photo courtest of www.4ingrid.com

Ms. Betancourt in famous photo while still a hostage

Gamarra says the rescue operation is a major blow to the leftist group.

"It demonstrates two things," said Eduardo Gamarra. "One that the FARC appears to be really in a state of disarray, and, two, it reflects the degree of preparation and intensity the Colombian government has put into this."

U.S. defense officials say the Colombians "planned, led and executed" the rescue, but the United States helped transport the freed hostages to Bogota after the operation.

Ms. Betancourt was highest profile hostage held by rebels

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt became the international face of Colombia's hostage crisis when she was kidnapped while campaigning for the Colombian presidency. She was the highest-profile captive held by the rebel Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia.

The rebels, Latin America's oldest insurgency, captured Betancourt and her vice presidential runningmate, Clara Rojas, in southern Colombia in February 2002. Rojas, who had a child while in captivity, was released early this year in a deal that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arranged.

Concerns about Ms. Betancourt's health grew last year when authorities released a rebel video that showed her appearing gaunt and depressed. She was reported to be suffering from hepatitis B and a skin disease caused by insect bites. The rebels often chained her to keep her from trying to escape.

Ms Betancourt's mother, Yolanda Pulecio, met with Pope Benedict at the Vatican and with Chavez in an effort to secure her daughter's release.

Ms. Pulecio had said she hoped Colombian President Alvaro Uribe would agree to negotiate with the rebels and end military operations that she said further endangered the hostages.

France made Betancourt's release a priority and sent a mission to Colombia to see her, but the rebels denied access to her. The 46-year-old Betancourt was among some 40 high-profile hostages the rebels were holding in an effort to negotiate a prisoner exchange with Colombia's government.

The rebels said they would not free Betancourt or any other captives until a deal was struck to free the guerrillas in prison. The rebels are believed to be holding at least 700 people hostage in the Colombian jungle.