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October 15, 2008 5:24:07 PM CDT

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Stories related to: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

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  • September 2008

    • Betancourt: Pope, Faith Saved Me

      Reuters  |  Sep 1, 08 2:54 PM CDT

      Betancourt: Pope, Faith Saved Me

      (Newser) - 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 »

      Tags

      Pope Benedict XVI  • Colombia  • FARC  • Ingrid Betancourt  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

  • July 2008

    • 1M-Plus March for Colombian Hostages

      AFP  |  Jul 20, 08 6:50 PM CDT

      1M-Plus March for Colombian Hostages

      (Newser) - 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 »

      Tags

      protests  • Colombia  • FARC  • Ingrid Betancourt  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  • captives  • hostages

    • Freed US Hostages Bare Brutal Life With 'Animals'

      CNN  |  Jul 11, 08 3:48 AM CDT

      Freed US Hostages Bare Brutal Life With 'Animals'

      (Newser) - 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 »

      Tags

      Colombia  • FARC  • rescue  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  • rebels  • kidnaping  • hostages

    • FARC Will Punish Remaining Captives: Ex-Hostage

      CNN  |  Jul 8, 08 10:15 AM CDT

      FARC Will Punish Remaining Captives: Ex-Hostage

      (Newser) - Speaking to the media for the first time since his rescue Wednesday, a former FARC captive warned that remaining hostages would face retribution over the escape, CNN reports. “Right now, they're being punished because we got rescued,” said US government contractor Marc Gonsalves. They’ll be made to don heavy backpacks and “forced to march with a chain around their neck while a guerrilla with an automatic weapon is holding the other end.” More »

      Tags

      Colombia  • hostage  • FARC  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  • press conference  • captives

    • Rebel Bomb Revenge Plot Foiled in Colombia

      Reuters  |  Jul 6, 08 8:53 AM CDT

      Rebel Bomb Revenge Plot Foiled in Colombia

      (Newser) - The Colombian army seized nearly a ton of explosives near Bogota, foiling a bomb plot by the rebel group known as FARC, according to authorities. Military officials suspect a series of bomb attacks were planned across the capital in the next few days in retaliation for the recent high-profile rescue of 15 hostages, including Ingrid Betancourt, Reuters reports. More »

      Tags

      Colombia  • hostage  • FARC  • bomb  • Ingrid Betancourt  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  • bomb threat  • explosives  • Bogota  • revenge

    • Betancourt Arrives in Paris

      CNN  |  Jul 4, 08 11:08 AM CDT

      Betancourt Arrives in Paris

      (Newser) - Ingrid Betancourt returned to France today after 6 years in captivity in Colombia, CNN reports. "I have been dreaming for 7 years for this moment," the French-Colombian politician said at Villacoublay airport outside Paris. "I owe everything to France. You all shared my despair, my family's despair. I am carrying all of you in my heart." More »

      Tags

      Nicolas Sarkozy  • Pope Benedict XVI  • Colombia  • hostage  • FARC  • Ingrid Betancourt  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

    • Freed Hostages Back in US

      CNN  |  Jul 3, 08 10:48 AM CDT

      Freed Hostages Back in US

      (Newser) - Three American hostages are back on US soil today for the first time in five years, CNN reports, after a late-night landing at an Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas. The men were taken to an Army medical center, where, after undergoing tests and debriefings, they are expected to be reunited with their families. More »

      Tags

      Colombia  • hostage  • FARC  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  • security contractors

  • May 2008

    • Sun Setting on FARC Rebellion

      Economist  |  May 29, 08 10:14 PM CDT

      Sun Setting on FARC Rebellion

      (Newser) - FARC chief Manuel Marulanda’s death might not be a fatal blow to Colombia's Marxist rebels, but the Economist sees an organization on the way out anyway. In its mid-'90s heyday, FARC boasted a force of 19,000 soldiers that threatened Bogota, the capital; today, the group is fragmented, with perhaps 9,000 troops, thanks to the strong-arm policies of president Alvaro Uribe. More »

      Tags

      Colombia  • FARC  • Alvaro Uribe  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  • Colombian rebels  • Manuel Marulanda  • Alfonso Cano

    • Colombian Rebel Leader Rumored Dead

      AFP  |  May 24, 08 5:48 PM CDT

      Colombian Rebel Leader Rumored Dead

      (Newser) - Columbian rebel leader Manuel Marulanda Velez is dead, according to an interview with an official in a weekly magazine, AFP reports. The elusive FARC leader, known as “Sure Shot,” helped start the Marxist rebel group in the 1960s to battle Colombia's conservative government. He was rumored to have terminal cancer earlier this year. More »

      Tags

      Colombia  • FARC  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  • Colombian rebels  • Manuel Marulanda

  • April 2008
  • March 2008

    • Colombia Offers Swap: Hostages for Prisoners

      Guardian (UK)  |  Mar 28, 08 10:43 AM CDT

      Colombia Offers Swap: Hostages for Prisoners

      (Newser) - After more than 6 years in captivity, Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt will go free if FARC agrees to a deal Alvaro Uribe signed off on last night, the Guardian reports. The Colombian president issued a decree saying the country will release imprisoned rebel fighters in exchange for Betancourt, a onetime presidential candidate believed to be seriously ill with hepatitis B and a tropical skin disease. More »

      Tags

      Colombia  • hostage  • FARC  • Alvaro Uribe  • Ingrid Betancourt  • Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia  • guerrilla  • guerrilla groups