Jhon Frank Pinchao
Encyclopedia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n policeman
Colombian National Police
The National Police of Colombia is the national police force of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military of Colombia , it constitutes along with them the "Public Force" and is also controlled by the Ministry of Defense. They are the largest police force in Colombia...
with the rank of sub-intendant
Colombian National Police executive rank insignia
This chart represents the Colombian National Police executive rank insignia.-Commissioner: Emblem confectioned on green wool renforced in the inside. 8 cm height by 6 cm wide. Three inverted golden angles in the top section, the Colombian National Police star emblem centered and in the bottom 4 cm....
who was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
(FARC) guerrilla group after Farc's attack on the town of Mitú
Mitú
Mitú is the capital city of the department of Vaupés in Colombia. The town of Mitu is the most remote Capital of Department in Colombia.In November, 1998 an estimated 1,900 FARC guerrilla members of the Eastern Bloc of the FARC-EP tried to take over the town by force, against 120 National Police...
, Vaupés Department
Vaupés Department
Vaupés is a department of Colombia in the jungle covered Amazonas Region. It is located in the southeast part of the country, bordering Brazil to the east, the department of Amazonas to the south, Caquetá and Guaviare, and Guainía to the north covering a total area of 54,135 km²...
on November 1, 1998. He escaped in 2007.
Hostage
The attack on Mitú lasted 12 hours until the policemen ran out of ammunition, then FARC took over the town for 3 days. Pinchao was among the approximately 60 policemen taken as hostages. During the FARC-Government peace process (1999-2002) the Colombian governmentGovernment of Colombia
The government of Colombiais a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches.Its legislature has a congress,its judiciary has a supreme court, andits executive branch has a president....
brokered a deal with the FARC and all of the low ranking policemen held as hostages were freed. The FARC did not release seven high ranking officers, including Pinchao. In July 2003 the FARC allowed a journalist, Jorge Enríque Botero to interview them. After that, Pinchao was not seen again until after his escape in 2007.
According to the Colombian Army, the guerrilla commander in charge of the hostages was Gerardo Aguilar Ramírez, aka "Cesar," Commander of the Southern Bloc's 1st Front and member of the Central Command of the FARC
FARC-EP Chain of Command
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia's chain of command is divided as follows:# Commander in Chief of the FARC-EP, ultimate decision maker...
.
Freedom
In a televised interview with Caracol TVCaracol TV
Caracol Televisión is a Colombian private national television network, owned by Julio Mario Santo Domingo.- History :Caracol Televisión started in 1954 when Organización de Radiodifusora Caracol offered to afford national television costs, then state-run, through commercial spots...
, Pinchao partially narrated his quest to freedom. He mentioned that while in his almost nine (9) years of captivity he had seen political figures Ingrid Betancourt
Íngrid Betancourt
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...
and Clara Rojas
Clara Rojas
Clara Leticia Rojas González is a Colombian tax lawyer, university lecturer, and campaign manager for former senator and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. She was kidnapped along with Betancourt by the FARC guerrilla group near San Vicente del Caguán on February 23, 2002, while Betancourt...
also held as captives. He had also seen the three American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
contractors Keith Stansell
Keith Stansell
Keith Donald Stansell is an American Northrop Grumman employee who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and was held hostage from February 13, 2003 to July 2, 2008...
, Thomas Howes
Thomas Howes
Thomas Randolph "Tom" Howes is an American Northrop Grumman employee who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and was held hostage from February 13, 2003 to July 2, 2008. He was rescued in Operation Jaque, along with the two other American contractors, Ingrid Betancourt, and...
and Marc Gonsalves
Marc Gonsalves
Marc David Gonsalves is an American Northrop Grumman employee who was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and was held hostage from February 13, 2003 to July 2, 2008. He was rescued in Operation Jaque, along with the two other American contractors, Ingrid Betancourt, and eleven...
also kidnapped by the FARC. Pinchao planned a way to escape for a year, and on April 28, 2007, he walked through virgin jungle for seventeen days until an indigenous group
Indigenous peoples in Colombia
The indigenous peoples in Colombia comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country's present territory prior to its discovery by Europeans around 1500.-Origins:...
took him to a group of Police's Jungle Commandos, who were in the area destroying narcotics and narcoprocessing labs in the jungles of Vaupés
Vaupés Department
Vaupés is a department of Colombia in the jungle covered Amazonas Region. It is located in the southeast part of the country, bordering Brazil to the east, the department of Amazonas to the south, Caquetá and Guaviare, and Guainía to the north covering a total area of 54,135 km²...
by the Papuri River
Papuri River
Papurí River is a river in South America. It emerges in the Vaupés Department of Colombia and flows east, forming part of the international boundary between Colombia and the Amazonas state of Brazil. On the border, it flows into the Uaupés River.-References:...
in the municipality of Pacoa
Pacoa
Pacoa is a Department Corregimiento located in the Vaupés Department, Republic of Colombia its head town is the town of Buenos Aires. After spending almost 9 years kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Police sub-intendant Jhon Frank Pinchao escaped in the territory of Pacoa....
. Pinchao was severely dehydrated and showed signs of malnourishment.
On May 15, 2007 Pinchao was transferred to a police base in San José del Guaviare
San José del Guaviare
San José del Guaviare is a town and municipality in Colombia, capital of the department of Guaviare by the Guaviare River.-External links: *...
and then to Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
. He was taken for check-ups at the National Police Central Hospital where he finally was reunited with his family.
Family
Pinchao is son of Luis Evelio Pinchao and Rosa Blanco. Jhon Pinchao Blanco has a son, who was born while he was in captivity.See also
- Fernando AraújoFernando Araújo PerdomoFernando Araújo Perdomo is a Colombian politician. He was the Minister of Development during the administration of Andrés Pastrana. He resigned from this post after the Chambacú land deal scandal. He was later kidnapped by the FARC-EP guerrillas and held for six years until he eventually escaped...
also escaped after being kidnapped by FARC.