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[amigo Jorge]

This is the story of a rescue held in my original country Colombia yesterday. It's all over the world. I am so proud of the President Uribe 

BOGOTA, Colombia - Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt embraced her children for the first time in six years Thursday, saying the thought of them helped her stay alive until a daring rescue plucked her and 14 other hostages from the jungle.

"Nirvana, paradise — that must be very similar to what I feel at this moment," Betancourt said, fighting back tears as her son reached over to kiss her. "It was because of them that I kept up my will to get out of that jungle."

Betancourt raced to the stairway of the French government plane that flew her children to Bogota, throwing her arms around Lorenzo, 19, and Melanie, 22.

"The last time I saw my son, Lorenzo was a little kid and I could carry him around," she said. "I told them, they're going to have to put up with me now, because I'm going to be stuck to them like chewing gum."

Betancourt, 46, was airlifted to freedom Wednesday in an audacious operation involving military spies who tricked the rebels into handing over their most prized hostages — including three U.S. military contractors — without firing a shot.

A flight carrying the Americans — Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell — landed in Texas late Wednesday after being flown there directly. They were to reunite with their families and undergo tests and treatment at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.


The stunning caper involved months of intelligence gathering, dozens of helicopters on standby and a strong dose of deceit: The rebels shoved the captives, their hands bound, onto a white unmarked MI-17 helicopter, believing they were being transferred to another guerrilla camp.

Looking at helicopter's crew, some wearing Che Guevara shirts, Betancourt reasoned they weren't aid workers, as she'd expected — but rebels. This was just another indignity — the helicopter "had no flag, no insignia." Angry and upset, she refused a coat they offered as they told her she was going to a colder climate.

But not long after the group was airborne, Betancourt turned around and saw the local commander, alias Cesar, a man who had tormented her for four years, blindfolded and stripped naked on the floor.

Then came the unbelievable words: "We're the national army," said one of the crewmen. "You're free."  Video

The helicopter crew were soldiers in disguise. Cesar and the other guerrilla aboard had been persuaded to hand over their pistols, then overpowered.

"The helicopter almost fell from the sky because we were jumping up and down, yelling, crying, hugging one another," Betancourt said.

The mission — in which many military intelligence agents infiltrated the top ranks of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC — snatched from the the four foreigners who were its greatest bargaining chips, as well as 11 Colombian soldiers and police.

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said it "will go into history for its audacity and effectiveness." He also acknowledged the risks: "If this had failed, I would have had to resign," he told Caracol Radio on Thursday.

It was the most serious blow ever dealt to the 44-year-old FARC, which is already reeling from the recent deaths of key commanders and thousands of defections after withering pressure from Colombia's U.S.-trained and advised armed forces.

Colombia could be "at the end of the end" of its long civil conflict, armed forces chief Freddy Padilla told Caracol Radio Thursday. "We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel."

But he warned that, even now, "the FARC has an enormous capacity for terrorism" and said, "the most difficult moments are yet to come."

President Alvaro Uribe, in a celebratory news conference Wednesday flanked by the freed Colombian hostages, said he isn't interested in "spilling blood" that he wants the FARC to know he seeks "a path to peace, total peace."

Although only Colombians were directly involved in the rescue, U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield said "close" American cooperation included intelligence, equipment as well as "training advice." He refused to offer details.

[amigo Jorge]

3 rescued U.S. hostages arrive safely in Texas
Military contractors had been held by Colombian rebels for five years

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - Three American hostages rescued from leftist guerrillas in Colombia arrived safely in Texas late Wednesday and were taken to a hospital, where they were expected to reunite with their families and undergo tests.

The U.S. military contractors — Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell — were held for five years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Their plane landed at Lackland Air Force Base shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday. The men then quickly boarded two helicopters headed to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where they landed a short time later.

Their drug-surveillance plane went down in the rebel-held Colombian jungle in February 2003. Long before their rescue, the three had become the longest-held American hostages in the world, according to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

While France exhorted the world to care about the plight of Betancourt, and even sent a humanitarian mission in a failed rescue attempt this year, the U.S. government remained nearly silent about any efforts to free the men, employees of a Northrop Grumman Corp. subsidiary that has supported Colombia's fight against drugs and rebels.

Betancourt said Thursday that she will soon head to France and meet President Nicolas Sarkozy, adding that she is probably alive today thanks to efforts by the French to press for her cause.

"I want to tell President Sarkozy — and through him all the French people — that they were our support, our light," Betancourt said in an interview with the Colombian television station RCN early. "It's time for me to thank the French, to tell them I admire them, that I feel proud to be French as well."

She said she would travel to France after being reunited with her children, who were flying to Colombia.

Before their rescue, the the Americans' families complained publicly about what seemed to be the U.S. government's failure to act.

Howes is a native of Chatham, Mass.; Gonsalves' father lives in Hebron, Conn.; and Stansell's family lives in Miami.

The video is here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25509610#25509610

[vagabond6542]

3 rescued U.S. hostages arrive safely in Texas
Military contractors had been held by Colombian rebels for five years

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - Three American hostages rescued from leftist guerrillas in Colombia arrived safely in Texas late Wednesday and were taken to a hospital, where they were expected to reunite with their families and undergo tests.

The U.S. military contractors — Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell — were held for five years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Their plane landed at Lackland Air Force Base shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday. The men then quickly boarded two helicopters headed to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where they landed a short time later.

Their drug-surveillance plane went down in the rebel-held Colombian jungle in February 2003. Long before their rescue, the three had become the longest-held American hostages in the world, according to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

While France exhorted the world to care about the plight of Betancourt, and even sent a humanitarian mission in a failed rescue attempt this year, the U.S. government remained nearly silent about any efforts to free the men, employees of a Northrop Grumman Corp. subsidiary that has supported Colombia's fight against drugs and rebels.

Betancourt said Thursday that she will soon head to France and meet President Nicolas Sarkozy, adding that she is probably alive today thanks to efforts by the French to press for her cause.

"I want to tell President Sarkozy — and through him all the French people — that they were our support, our light," Betancourt said in an interview with the Colombian television station RCN early. "It's time for me to thank the French, to tell them I admire them, that I feel proud to be French as well."

She said she would travel to France after being reunited with her children, who were flying to Colombia.

Before their rescue, the the Americans' families complained publicly about what seemed to be the U.S. government's failure to act.

Howes is a native of Chatham, Mass.; Gonsalves' father lives in Hebron, Conn.; and Stansell's family lives in Miami.

The video is here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25509610#25509610

It is a sad state of affairs when our own government didn't raise a hand for a rescue. 

[UltraPolecat]

I'm sure there are "political" reasons to minimize their involvement.  I'll bet the truth is somewhat different....

[BLM777]

It is a sad state of affairs when our own government didn't raise a hand for a rescue. 

Not really the case.  The "G" has been working on this matter since the day their King Aire went down and has expended countless man hours along with very select members of the former Colombian government.  The current President, Sr. Uribe made it possible to work the intelligence that was developed over the time of their captivity to allow an attempt that would allow the opportunity to bring them back alive.  Sometimes, what you don't hear is more important than what you do.  In return for President Uribe laying his reputation  and administration on the line to effect this release Osama and the Dem's are repaying him by shutting down our trade agreement with Colombia.  That's the way to stimulate cooperation.

[amigo Jorge]

Not really the case.  The "G" has been working on this matter since the day their King Aire went down and has expended countless man hours along with very select members of the former Colombian government.  The current President, Sr. Uribe made it possible to work the intelligence that was developed over the time of their captivity to allow an attempt that would allow the opportunity to bring them back alive.  Sometimes, what you don't hear is more important than what you do.  In return for President Uribe laying his reputation  and administration on the line to effect this release Osama and the Dem's are repaying him by shutting down our trade agreement with Colombia.  That's the way to stimulate cooperation.

Hello mi amigo Brian....this is that the Colombian people can't understand. Colombia and the President Uribe is the strongest US allied in Latin America. His government  has proved to be effective against the FARC, drug trafficants and the "paramilitarismo" in the last 6 years. And the payment has been to deny the free trade agreement between the two nations by the US Congress.