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September 5, 2008 2:58:46 PM CDT

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Fame Hinders Chance of Freedom

Posted Jun 7, 08 12:31 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – The daughter of a beauty queen and a diplomat who once enjoyed a charmed existence in fashionable Parisian quarters, Ingrid Betancourt is now a hostage in a Colombian jungle who is sometimes chained by the neck to a tree. The Wall Street Journal profiles the plight of the former Colombian presidential candidate, who was kidnapped in 2002 by rebels.

Betancourt has become a cause celebre in Europe, but her fame may be keeping her a hostage as it makes her more valuable to FARC, Latin America’s oldest and largest insurgency. “If we released her, we would have no other cards to play," a rebel commander wrote in December. And Betancourt has given up hope, saying in a letter that death seems “like a sweet option.”

Source Wall Street Journal

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Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez talks with Yolando Pulecio, mother of Ingrid Betancourt.   (AP Photo/Gregorio Marrero)
Juan Carlos Lecompte, Ingrid Betancourt's husband, gestures during a news conference in Sao Paulo last month.   (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
People, one holding the latest known photo of Ingrid Betancourt, take part in a march in Paris calling for the freedom of FARC's hostages.   (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
A woman holds the latest known photo of Ingrid Betancourt at march in Paris to protest FARC.   (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
Demonstrators display a banner that reads in Spanish 'Free Ingrid' during a march to demand her release and against kidnappings in Bogota.   (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
This photo released by the Colombian government shows Ingrid Betancourt in an unknown location.   (AP Photo)
Ingrid Betancourt, seen in this March 28, 2001 file photo, was kidnapped on Feb. 23, 2002, while campaigning for president of Colombia.   (AP Photo/Laurent Emmanuel)
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez says he is only involved with FARC to get the hostages released and bring peace to Colombia.   (AP Photo/Marcelo Hernandez)
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France  • kidnapping  • Colombia  • Hugo Chavez  • FARC  • Ingrid Betancourt  • Alvaro Uribe  • Bogota


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