Colombia Rescues the FARC’s Most Famous Hostage
Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt was freed during a military operation on Wednesday. More proof that Colombia is winning its war against terrorism.
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Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos has confirmed that former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was held captive by the FARC, was rescued during a military operation on Wednesday. Santos said no one had been hurt in the rescue.
The rescue comes after France and others had failed to secure the release of Betancourt through every other means.
Colombia had made inroads in its war against the FARC’s decades-long reign of terror. In an effective raid last February, the Colombian armed forces raided a FARC encampment, killing its number-two man, Raul Reyes, and sixteen other terrorists. Three computers belonging to the FARC were seized, unearthing a treasure trove of information on the terror group, its operations, its links, its support to Hugo Chavez (who paid $300 million to the FARC on February 14 this year), and its capabilities.
The raid was a crippling blow to the FARC.
However, the FARC’s most famous hostage, Ingrid Betancourt, a former presidential candidate with dual Colombian-French citizenship, remained a hostage. Betancourt had been held hostage for over six years and was rumored to be very ill.
Betancourt had become a cause célèbre in France, where her portrait hangs from the Paris City Hall. The French government had attempted rescue operations and pressured the Colombian government to negotiate with the FARC. Her children appeared regularly on French television, and public vigils were held.
Along with Betancourt, three Americans — Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell — and 11 members of the Colombian security forces, including two officers, were also freed.
Noticias24 reports that undercover Colombian intelligence agents persuaded the FARC’s secretariat (which they had infiltrated) to transfer the hostages to the south of the country by helicopter, when in fact the helicopter belonged to the Colombian Armed Forces. Once on board, the Colombian army took over. (Click here to see video in Spanish of Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos’s press conference.)
As a result of this rescue, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is no longer under pressure to negotiate further with the FARC, which was attempting to exchange sixty hostages for hundreds of FARC members now imprisoned by Colombia. Instead, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos concluded his press conference calling for the FARC members that remain to surrender with dignity.
Senator John McCain is traveling in Colombia today, and the Washington Post’s blog was posting McCain Travels South, Searching for Message.
The message is clear: Today’s spectacular rescue proves that Colombia, America’s most important ally in the region, is winning its war against terrorism — and winning big.
Fausta Wertz writes on Latin America, New Jersey, taxation, current events, and the French and Spanish-language media at Fausta’s Blog.
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30 Comments
GM Roper:Brava Fausta. Now, if we could only get the Obamamessiah to agree to bring Columbia into a FTA then South America might really bloom with Columbia as its role model.
Chavez, take heed, you aren’t the big dog you think you are, in fact, you aren’t even the big mouse!
Jul 2, 2008 - 3:02 pm Cletus:epic win
Jul 2, 2008 - 3:24 pm justaseer:Regan had great political success in defeating Jimmy Carter when he was connected to the release of the Iranian hostages in the U.S. Embassy in Teran. Regan won the election that year.
I agree that this is a ploy concocted with Uribe in the mutual interest of Columbian free trade if McCain is elected and perhaps a great photo op for McCain’s bid for POTUS.
McCain’s intel likely came from Haliburton since most of his sercurity prior to having to relent to a Service detail were private mercs from Haliburton.
Nelly Avila Moreno, the notorious FARC rebel better known as Karina who was captured last month is the likely source of intel for the raid.
http://www.revleft.com/vb/karina-f-r-t79368/index.html?p=1152778
Jul 2, 2008 - 3:44 pm Tom W.:“Regan had great political success in defeating Jimmy Carter when he was connected to the release of the Iranian hostages in the U.S. Embassy in Teran. Regan won the election that year.”
Which “Regan” are you blathering about? Donald Regan? He was Secretary of the Treasury under President Ronald REAGAN. He didn’t win any elections in any year.
Jul 2, 2008 - 4:20 pm Dave:justaseer:
“…Regan won the election that year.” No, Ronald Reagan won the election in November of 1980. Prudently, the hostages were released in 1981, minutes after Reagan took office but before he could issue his first directive as Commander-in-Chief.
P.S. Haliburton has an agent hiding under the bed. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Jul 2, 2008 - 5:17 pm LCVRWC:There’s one other message that is clear: You can only talk for so long.
Jul 2, 2008 - 5:54 pm indepéndante:And as we’re seeing it in the Francophone world: it had absolutely nothing to do with Sarkozy’s highly publicized “negotiations.”
Jul 2, 2008 - 5:59 pm Fred:Gutsy move. FARC has a policy of killing hostages who might be rescued.
Jul 2, 2008 - 6:12 pm Jaded:Good news….I love it when the good guys win one!
Jul 2, 2008 - 7:13 pm Chuck:This is an amazing feat, testimony to the professionalism of the civilian government and military of Colombia. The hardest blow yet given to FARC, and with not one shot being fired! Truly one of the high notes hit in the war against terror. Forget our domestic disputes - today is Colombia’s day.
Jul 2, 2008 - 8:03 pm Anthony (Los Angeles):Bravo to the Colombian Army and President Uribe! Betancourt is right: this is up there with the raid on Entebbe. And it makes all the more galling the insult to Colombia delivered by House Democrats when they killed the Ftree Trade Agreement.
No matter. Pelosi and her petty gang are of no consequence right now. Today is Colombia’s day, and today they can stand proud before the whole world for striking a blow for liberty.
Jul 2, 2008 - 8:42 pm steve o:Since we’re all about proper spelling, GM Roper and justaseer, it’s Colombia, not “Columbia”, another name for the USA.
Jul 2, 2008 - 8:52 pm Big Dan:Why is it that people don’t get rescued from hostage situations until there’s an American political conspiracy involved? Just remember kids, if you’re kidnapped on the streets of Bogota you won’t be saved unless it’s an election year. One more reason not to vote for John “Keating Five” McCain, this is old school Republican trickery at work.
Republican trickery?
WTF?
Jul 3, 2008 - 4:15 am Pat Patterson:That’s right the Colombian government spent months arranging the infiltration of its agents, getting the intel on the location of the fifteen hostages and then sat around twiddling their thumbs until Sen. McCain showed up for a photo op. But since there are no pictures of Ingrid Bettancourt or the Americans holding flowers and shaking hands with the senator from Arizona then the whole plot seems like a terrible waste of energy. Maybe it was a conspiracy by FTD and not the CIA?
Maybe justaseer was referring to Lear’s murderous daughter, Regan. Plus to claim that this intel came from Moreno tends to miss the fact that the Colombians admitted that it took months to infiltrate the FARC senior command and the intelligence gathered from the estimated 9,000 ex-FARC fighters that surrendered to the government and received amnesty over the last year and a half. Plus I’m sure that Terry Anderson, Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland must have been terribly confused when they were released in Lebanon during the spring of 1991. Which election year was that?
Jul 3, 2008 - 4:54 am Tom:As someone who served in Colombia I almost cried when I heard these guys were rescued.
It always amazes me which conflicts get into the news versus the ones that do not.
The FARC are evil. Period. The fact that the government and people of Colombia were held hostage by these bastards for so long is a disgrace. Thank God for President Uribe finally taking the fight to these bastards.
Between the success of Fujimori and now Uribe I think we are seeing a trend in Latin American military affairs. Hopefully it will continue. At the very least this sends a serious message to that socialist jerk to the east Chavez.
Jul 3, 2008 - 5:34 am Mabel:Right there with you Tom. The FARC are nothing but a bunch of thugs…revolutionaries my ass! They deal drugs and are vicious and heartless criminals…recently it was discovered that one of these “revolutionaries” had fathered a child with one of the captives (I’m sure there was little romance involved) and gave the child away to a peasant like one gets rid of a pet…the child was very ill and malnourished and was saved only when the peasant took it to a city hospital for treatment.
Jul 3, 2008 - 8:37 am AJ:Good for Colombia and let’s ignore the loony conspiracy theories.
As someone married to a Colombian, it’s important to remember, with the media lying that everyone dislikes America, that Colombia’s leaders and its people, overall, are VERY fond of America and Pres. Bush. They fear, like any sane person, an Obama regime. He has no interest in continuing our friendship. He curries favor instead with terrorists and socialists in Eurabia.
Jul 3, 2008 - 9:46 am dan aronstein:“The message is clear: Today’s spectacular rescue proves that Colombia, America’s most important ally in the region, is winning its war against terrorism — and winning big.”
no thanks to the dems - who fought bush an aiding colombia the last 7 years.
the dems like chavez and farc not uribe and the colombian army.
Jul 3, 2008 - 10:28 am Maria:This is a HUGE step for my home country of Coveombia. Having members of my family there who has suffered the horrible actions of FARC a few times, I was extremely pleased to hear the news. FARC has been terrorizing innocent people in Colombia for over 40 decades.
Evidence obtained from few FARC leaders who recently captured indicated the lileky link between this leftist terrorist group and the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez.
Some documents found in a FARC computer also mentioned a desire that “those gringoes would elect” Barack Obama in the next presidential election.
Both President Bush and McCain have supported and celebrated the Colombian government’s efforts in its battle with cocaine production and violence by these subversive groups. McCain, as the article mentined, was in Colombia prior to the rescue operation and briefed by president Uribe.
The democrats who are currently in power have tried to shoot down the Free Trade Agreement, which would enhance the import of goods such as flowers and coffee and help in the fight against cocaine imports which keep FARC in business.
It is not difficult to see which politicians have Colombia’s best interest in mind.
Jul 3, 2008 - 12:43 pm AJ:Dems love left wing terrorist “freedom fighters”
they are so clueless, thus they niminate Hussein Obama in the most important election in their party’s history
good work, Howard Dean
Jul 3, 2008 - 12:49 pm Chuck:Anthony is right - this is truly an Entebbe-class victory - lots of differences that could be debated - but the fact is, Colombia has well earned its place in the first rank of brave and effective nations. Read those news reports again - what Colombia has accomplished is inspirational and almost unbelieveable.
As for the free trade agreement, don’t waste your time here - write your representatives in Congress! I did. My message was (to my Democratic representatives), the left has romantic feelings towards FARC that are bad baggage for your Party to be carrying around this year; throw them off the train, and quietly and discreetly get the free trade agreement done, without admitting previous mistakes, just say that new facts have emerged that warrant a change in policy.
Jul 3, 2008 - 9:53 pm Chaz:“To become a FARC leader you have to been utterly ruthless and vicious”
These people are indeed such. Not much difference between FARC and Al-Qaeda. The only difference really is race. Domination, control, and the means of murder, mayhem, chaos, confusion, and terror are all common. The aim is common: the forcing of one’s ideals upon nations, peoples, and if need be destruction of all those who don’t agree. The two probably could get together if they wanted to. They both hate freedom when it gets in their way. They want to shape the world in their own order.
Mark my words: the two have much in common. I wouldn’t be surprised if they someday got together, if they haven’t already.
Jul 3, 2008 - 11:17 pm Bill:When these people describe the treatment they recieved at the hands of these THUGS, where is HUMAN WATCH INTERNATIONAL?????????
Jul 4, 2008 - 8:48 pm Maurice:I mean if they can raise hell about Gitmo, this should send them into a frenzy. I mean putting chains around a ladies neck and attaching her to a tree.
As an American, whose ENTIRE family is of Colombian origin, I’d like to thank all the people who’ve posted for your kind words of support. This is really a special day for Colombia and also a day of reckoning for all the leftist ideologues who have seen a wave of victories in the region in recent years. We’re not all going down that easy. Colombia is largely a country of decent people with middle class aspirations who have always resisted these forms of extremism. And I can also attest to the fact that they hold a deep respect and admiration for Americans.
It is a proud day!
Jul 5, 2008 - 1:48 am Maurice:Oh and BTW, I’ll be over at the Huff Post browbeating looney lefties over their deafening silence and anemic coverage of this story. You see … they’re disappointed because the marxist rebels took one in the keister. What good is a Latin American country if it can’t be patronized as a symbol of poverty and oppression, right?
Come and join me … It’ll be fun. Heh heh …
Jul 5, 2008 - 2:01 am libhomo:We now know that FARC was paid $20 million to release the hostages. The timing was fishy all along, as was the official story.
Jul 5, 2008 - 9:52 pm Carlos:Fausta,more details on Operación Jaque in
Jul 6, 2008 - 1:58 pmhttp://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/justicia/2008-07-06/detalles-desconocidos-de-la-operacion-jaque-cuenta-uno-de-sus-principales-alfiles_4363688-1
In spanish.
Thanks and good article.