The Colombian government successfully extricated several hostages from the FARC yesterday. One of them is the famed Ingrid Betancourt, a dual Colombian and French citizen, which had been a presidential candidate. Three other freed hostages were American contractors that had been kidnapped about five years ago. One of my favorite parts of the story is that the sixty FARC guards were kept alive after the operation. General Padilla said, "We preferred to leave them with liberty and life because, in Colombia, we prefer life over death." Betancourt added that she hopes the guards will not be punished since they were doing their job and were merely hoodwinked. Hopefully, this can signify an end of “la violencia” and the desire for peace can grow stronger in Colombia. We congratulate the Colombian people and their government and wish the former hostages peace and well-being.
You can read more about the rescue
here, about Betancourt
here and about the three Americans
here.
Below are pictures of Ingrid Betancourt with her mother and husband and a picture of the three freed Americans.
Via CNN
U.S. Embassy in Colombia via AP
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