October 6, 2008 11:25:46 PM CDT
(Newser) – The families of three military contractors captured by Colombian rebels more than five years ago had no inkling they were about to be freed, McClatchy Newspapers reports. "It's a miracle today," said Amanda Howes, niece of Thomas Howes. Her uncle and his fellow former captives, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell, were expected to arrive at a military base tonight in Texas.
"We're still teary-eyed and do not quite have our wits about us," said the stepmother of Stansell. The three men were conducting drug surveillance for the Pentagon when their plane was shot down by FARC rebels in 2003. They were the longest-held US hostages in the world before today's dramatic rescue. "I have prayed for him, every night for him, to come home," said Sharon Howes, sister-in-law of Thomas.
Source McClatchy Newspapers
Sep 1, 08 2:54 PM CDT Ingrid Betancourt realized her dreams today when she met privately with Pope Benedict, Reuters reports. The freed French-Colombian hostage says she was overcome with emotion after hearing the pope appeal for her release on the radio during her 7 years in captivity. The 46-year-old Catholic had never read the Bible—"a dusty old book"—before being abducted, but it is now her "instruction manual for happiness." More »
Aug 6, 08 3:14 PM CDT The Red Cross chided the Colombian government today for its "deliberate misuse" of the Red Cross symbol during a mission to rescue hostages, the BBC reports. “If authenticated, these images would clearly establish an improper use of the Red Cross emblem, which we deplore,” a spokesman said of footage from the July 2 mission that freed politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 others. More »
Jul 20, 08 6:50 PM CDT More than a million people marched in Bogota, Columbia and other world capitals today demanding the freedom of captives held hostage by leftist rebels in the Columbian jungle, AFP reports. Recently liberated captive Ingrid Betancourt led chants of "No More hostages" in Paris on Columbia's independence day, as famous musicians from across the globe staged a concert there. More »
Jul 11, 08 3:48 AM CDT Three freed American hostages who spent more than five years as captives of Colombian guerrillas paint a harrowing picture of their treatment in a CNN interview. Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves and Thomas Howes, rescued last week, spent much of their time in captivity chained by the neck, and were subjected to forced marches, harsh conditions and constant threats, they report. More »
Jul 10, 08 6:09 AM CDT Freed hostage Ingrid Betancourt lived in "soul hell" for years in captivity under a constant threat of death, she said in a riveting interview on CNN's Larry King Live. "I lived for nearly seven years with the awareness that death was my everyday companion," she said. "It was hell. It was hell for the body, it was hell for the soul, it was hell for the mind." More »
Colombia • hostage • FARC • Alvaro Uribe • Ingrid Betancourt
