Hostages in Colombia

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July 2008
- 'Mom, You Don't Have to Cry Anymore'
  
  Washington Post | Jul 2, 08 8:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ingrid Betancourt embraced her family today after six years of captivity in the Colombian jungle, the Washington Post reports. "Mom, you don't have to cry anymore," said Betancourt, one of 15 hostages freed from FARC rebels. "This is a miracle." Betancourt appeared thin but healthy at a Bogota military base and wore an ever-present smile. Meanwhile, three US contractors kidnapped in 2003 were on way their back to the US tonight. More »
- Trickery Brings Colombia Hostages to Safety
  
  Reuters | Jul 2, 08 5:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A simple ruse led to the freedom of the high-profile hostages held for years by Colombia's FARC rebels, Reuters reports. Government soldiers duped guerrillas into believing they were humanitarian aid workers and offered to fly the hostages from their jungle hideaway to meet with FARC boss Alfonso Cano. Instead, they flew Ingrid Betancourt, three US military contractors and 11 others to freedom. More »
- Betancourt, 3 US Hostages Freed From FARC Rebels
  
  Associated Press | Jul 2, 08 2:59 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - Colombia's military has freed 15 hostages—including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three US contractors—from Maoist rebel group FARC, the AP reports. Colombia's defense minister announced the rescue today, saying that army commandos captured rebels manning a security ring around the hostages and got them to persuade their comrades to turn over the captives, without any loss of life. The minister says the other 11 hostages freed were Colombian soldiers and police. More »
June 2008
- Bookish Past Might Not Help Rebel Leader
  
  Washington Post | Jun 9, 08 2:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Though Alfonso Cano, the new commander of Colombia’s FARC rebels, is a bookish intellectual, don’t expect a new push towards government negotiations, sources tell the Washington Post. Cano, who turned to Marx in college after a middle-class upbringing, would be uniquely suited to push peaceful political action—but in its weakened state, the FARC needs its leader to show strength. More »
- Fame Hinders Chance of Freedom
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jun 7, 08 12:31 PM CDT
  
  (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. More »
May 2008
- Sun Setting on FARC Rebellion
  
  Economist | May 29, 08 10:14 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Colombian Rebels Confirm Leader's Death
  
  Associated Press | May 25, 08 6:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A top Colombian rebel confirmed the death of FARC chief Manuel Marulanda in a TV interview today. Marulanda died of a heart attack 2 months ago, at age 78, "in the arms of his companion," he said. With "Sureshot" gone, new rebel leader Alfonso Cano may struggle to keep the Marxist group going, the AP reports. More »
- Colombian Rebel Leader Rumored Dead
  
  AFP | May 24, 08 5:48 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Rebel's Files Show Chávez Aided FARC
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 9, 08 8:09 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A cache of computer files found on a dead Colombian guerrilla leader's laptops implicates Hugo Chávez in arms deals with the FARC rebels. The Wall Street Journal reports that Colombian and American intelligence agencies, which came into possession of about 100 files, have no doubt of their authenticity. Both FARC and the Venezuelan president claim that they are counterfeit. More »
April 2008
- France Bails on Hostage Rescue Mission
  
  BBC | Apr 9, 08 5:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A French humanitarian team is leaving Colombia after being frustrated in its mission to aid failing hostage Ingrid Betancourt, reports the BBC. The leadership of the FARC rebels, who have held the French-Colombian presidential candidate hostage for six years, refused to allow the team to provide Betancourt with emergency medical aid. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had sent the aid workers after reports that Betancourt was seriously ill. More »
- Sarko: Betancourt Near Death
  
  Reuters | Apr 1, 08 3:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nicolas Sarkozy today reiterated his call for FARC to free hostage Ingrid Betancourt, saying the Colombian-French politician is "in danger of imminent death," Reuters reports. After 6 years in the rebel guerrillas' custody, Betancourt reportedly began a hunger strike Feb. 23. "Free Ingrid Betancourt and the weakest hostages," the French president said in an appearance televised with Spanish subtitles. More »
March 2008
- Colombia Offers Swap: Hostages for Prisoners
  
  Guardian (UK) | Mar 28, 08 10:43 AM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Colombia to Pay Ex-Rebel $2.5M for Slaying
  
  BBC | Mar 15, 08 11:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Colombia will pay the former FARC rebel who killed his commander last week part of a $2.5 million reward—a move critics say amounts to payment for murder, the BBC reports. Guerrilla Pedro Pablo Montoya shot his boss, then cut off his hand as proof. He will share the money with three others who provided intelligence information. More »
- US Families Sue Chiquita Over FARC Murders
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 12, 08 11:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fruit giant Chiquita stands accused in a federal lawsuit of contributing to the deaths of five US missionaries at the hands of Colombian rebel group FARC during the 1990s, the Wall Street Journa l reports today. Families of the missionaries say protection money the Cincinnati-based company admitted to secretly paying the guerrillas helped finance the group’s activities. More »
- Nicaragua Latest to Sever Ties Over Colombia Raid
  
  BBC | Mar 6, 08 7:05 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Nicaragua cut diplomatic ties with Bogota today, ratcheting up the political tension in the wake of Colombia's raid into Ecuador to kill rebels, the BBC reports. Calling Sunday's incursion an act of "political terrorism," President Daniel Ortega followed the lead of Ecuador and Venezuela, which have already severed relations and moved troops along the Colombian border. More »