Íngrid Betancourt
Encyclopedia
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio (born 25 December 1961) is a Colombia
n politician, former senator
and anti-corruption
activist.
Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008. The rescue operation, dubbed Operation Jaque
, rescued Betancourt along with 14 other hostages (three Americans
and eleven Colombian policemen and soldiers). In all, she was held captive for 2,321 days after being taken while campaigning for the Colombian presidency
as a Green
. She had decided to campaign in the former "zone of distention", after the military operation "Tanatos" was launched, and after the zone was declared free of guerrillas by the government. Her kidnapping received worldwide coverage, particularly in France, because of her dual French-Colombian citizenship.
She has received multiple international awards, such as the Légion d'honneur
. In 2008 she received the Concord Prince of Asturias Award. She was also nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. Other hostages (John Fran Pinchao, Jorge Eduardo Gechem, Gloria Polanco) describe her as a person with a caring and courageous nature. One of them (Luis Eladio Perez) claims Betancourt saved his life. Between the three authors of 'Out of Captivity' there is evidence of strong controversies, which tend to undermine the attacks made against Betancourt.
, Colombia
. Her mother, Yolanda Pulecio
, a former beauty queen famous for sheltering abandoned children, served in Congress
representing poor southern neighborhoods of Bogotá. Her father, Gabriel Betancourt
, was a minister of Education in both liberal and conservative governments (President Rojas Pinilla, President Lleras Restrepo), the assistant director of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), then ambassador of Colombia to UNESCO
in Paris, and head of the education commission of the Alliance for Progress
in Washington, D.C.
under John F. Kennedy
. The Betancourt family is one of Colombia's well-known families, descended from French Norman immigrants who arrived from Grainville-la-Teinturière
.
After attending private school in France, a boarding school
in England as well as the Liceo Francés in Bogotá, Betancourt attended the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (commonly known as Sciences Po).
After graduating, Betancourt married French citizen Fabrice Delloye in 1983, and they had two children, Mélanie (born 1985) and Lorenzo (born 1988). Through her marriage she became a French citizen. Her husband served in the French diplomatic corps, and the couple lived in multiple countries, including Ecuador
, the Seychelles
and the United States of America.
In the mid-1990s, Betancourt and Delloye divorced. Betancourt went back to Colombia and became advisor to the Minister of Finance, and later to the Minister of Foreign Trade. In 1994 She was elected to the House of Representatives on an anti-corruption ticket, and in 1998 she entered the Colombian Senate. Her children Melanie and Lorenzo moved to New Zealand to live with their father due to death threats stemming from her political activities.
She married Colombian advertising executive, Juan Carlos Lecompte
in 1997. Their marriage ended soon after her 2008 rescue.
, a candidate for the Colombian presidency running on an anti-drug-trafficking platform, was assassinated. Betancourt's mother was a supporter of Galán and was standing immediately behind him when he was shot; this event motivated Betancourt to return to Colombia herself in 1989. From 1990 onwards, she worked at the Ministry of Finance
and later at the Ministry of foreign trade, from which she later resigned to enter politics. Her first campaign distributed condom
s, with the motto that people should protect themselves against corruption as they do against HIV. She obtained support from the so called "opinion voters", mostly young people and women.
in 1994 against all odds. During her term, she criticized the administration of President Ernesto Samper
, who was accused of corruption in the 8000 Process scandal after accepting money from the Cali drug cartel
for his electoral campaign. In 1997 Betancourt launched a political party, the Partido Verde Oxigeno (Green Oxygen Party) as an alternative to the traditional conservative and liberal parties.
That same year, the presidential election was ultimately won by Andrés Pastrana. Pastrana persuaded her to endorse him, and she campaigned for him under the agreement of an anti-corruption electoral reform to be adopted during his presidential term. The electoral reform was aborted due to strong pressures from the traditional parties and the lack of commitment from the government. Betancourt withdrew her support to the government and joined the opposition forces.
in Bogotá. She then began a campaign bus
trip around the country to attend local community meetings.
As part of her campaign for the presidency in 2002 Betancourt decided to visit the town of San Vicente del Caguán
, in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) to support its Mayor, a member of the Green Oxygen party. The peace process with the Farc had collapsed, the DMZ had been put to an end and Pastrana had launched 'operacion Tanatos' to reclaim the area. At the time Betancourt decided to go, the Colombian Army had been deployed in the area in an attempt to evict the Farc guerillas. President Pastrana had given them 48 hours to leave the territory and the deadline had expired. That same day President Pastrana attended a Press conference in the same place, San Vicente del Caguan, in order to prove with his presence that the Farc had fled, and that the military operation was a success. At the same time, the government ordered Betancourt's body guards to abandon the mission of escorting her to San Vicente del Caguan.
Nonetheless, Betancourt was determined to go. Despite the refusal by the army to airlift her into San Vicente, she took the road. She was given a governmental vehicle. The government later claimed that Betancourt had signed a document to release the government from any responsibility on what could happen to her. Clara Rojas, Adair Lamprea and Betancourt have denied the existence of such document. The document has never been made public by any Colombian official. It seems that the colombian government was keen to shift responsibilities, worried that it could be held responsible for having withdrawned her body guards before her abduction.
The peace talks reached an impasse after more than three years of negotiations. From the beginning, the FARC would not agree to a truce for the duration of the negotiations, nor that the peace talks be overseen by different representatives of the international community. Though the DMZ was purported to be a "laboratory for peace", in practice the FARC continued its kidnapping activities, military attacks, purchasing of weapons, and even building roads and airstrips for trafficking narcotics. Critics considered the DMZ to have been turned into a safe haven in which the FARC imposed its will as law launching military attacks and acts of terrorism outside the DMZ before withdrawing back to it, in order to avoid direct confrontation with government armed forces. Also during this time, hundreds of civilians were kidnapped throughout different cities and rural areas of the country. They were then transported back to the DMZ where they were kept in cages, many of them having been kidnapped for economic extortion
, others for "political reasons". By the end of 2001 the Colombian government and public opinion (according to different polls) were growing impatient and discouraged at the situation.
In February 2002, a turboprop
plane flying from Florencia
to Bogotá—a distance of some 1000 km (621.4 mi)—was hijacked
in midair by FARC members. The plane was forced to land on a highway strip
near the city of Neiva and then a member of the Colombian Congress was kidnapped. As a consequence, President Andrés Pastrana canceled the talks with the FARC and revoked the DMZ, arguing that the FARC had betrayed the terms of the negotiation and had used the DMZ to grow stronger in military and logistical capabilities. In a televised statement, the president expressed the government's intention of retaking the DMZ, informing that the military operation would begin at midnight, and also urged the FARC to respect the lives and the livelihood of those civilians still present in the DMZ.
When denied transport aboard a military helicopter
that was heading to the zone, she then went back to the original plan to head into the DMZ via ground transport, together with Clara Rojas
, her campaign manager
who was later named running-mate for the 2002 election, and a handful of political aides. On 23 February 2002, she was stopped at the last military checkpoint before going into the former DMZ. Military officers have reported they insisted in stopping her carand that Betancourt dismissed their warnings and continued her journey. This allegations contradicts the testimony of Adair Lamprea who was driving the car. He insists traffic was normal and that the military officers at the check point asked for their ID, but did not try to stop them. This is corroborated by the fact that on the Farc blockroad where Betancourt was kidnapped, other vehicles were stopped, including a Red Cross fourwheel drive car, and a bus, thus proving normal traffic. According to her kidnapper, the later captured Nolberto Uni Vega, Betancourt ended up at a FARC checkpoint where she was kidnapped. Her kidnap was never planned beforehand, said the rebel. Íngrid still appeared on the ballot for the presidential elections; her husband promised to continue her campaign. She achieved less than 1% of the votes.
Betancourt stated in an NPR
interview that the government did offer to fly her, but later reneged and took away her flight, and then took away her bodyguards. She also stated she was never warned that it would be dangerous to travel by road, that checkpoints let her through with no warning nor attempt to stop her, and that the government encouraged her to travel by road.
s", currently numbering 23, in exchange for most jailed guerrillas, numbering about 500. For the FARC, most of its other hostages, those held for extortion purposes and which would number at least a thousand, would not be considered subject to such an exchange.
The newly elected Uribe
administration initially ruled out any negotiation with the group that would not include a ceasefire
, and instead pushed for rescue operations, many of which have traditionally been successful when carried out by the police's GAULA
anti-kidnapping group in urban settings, but not in the mountains and jungles where the FARC keeps most prisoners, according to official statistics and mainstream news reports.
Relatives of Betancourt and of most of FARC's political hostages came to strongly reject any potential rescue operations, especially after the death of the governor of the Antioquia department, Guillermo Gaviria
, his peace advisor and several soldiers, kidnapped by the FARC during a peace march in 2003. The governor and the others were shot at close range by the FARC when the government launched an army rescue mission into the jungle which failed as the guerrillas learned of its presence in the area.
and around the world to establish an association or committee for the liberation of Ingrid Betancourt. The committee initially consisted of some 280 activists in 39 countries.
One month after her kidnapping, her father Gabriel died of heart and respiratory trouble.
was launched, which both failed to liberate Betancourt and caused a scandal for the French government. A video of Betancourt was released by FARC in August 2003.
presidents Alfonso López Michelsen
and Ernesto Samper (who was accused in the 'Proceso 8000' for financing his presidential campaign with drug funds) came out in favor of a humanitarian exchange
. The Uribe government, seeming to have gradually relaxed its position, announced that it had given the FARC a formal proposal on 23 July, in which it offered to free 50 to 60 jailed rebels in exchange for the political and military hostages held by the FARC group (not including economic hostages, as the government had earlier demanded).
The government would make the first move, releasing insurgents charged or condemned for rebellion and either allowing them to leave the country or to stay and join the state's reinsertion program. Then the FARC would release the hostages in its possession, including Ingrid Betancourt. The proposal would have been carried out with the backing and support of the French and Swiss governments, who publicly supported it once it was revealed.
The move was signaled as potentially positive by several relatives of the victims and Colombian political figures. Some critics of the president have considered that Uribe may seek to gain political prestige from such a move, though they would agree with the project in practice.
The FARC released a communiqué dated 20 August (but apparently published publicly only on 22 August) in which they denied having received the proposal earlier through the mediation of Switzerland as the government had stated. While making note of the fact that a proposal had been made by the Uribe administration and that it hoped that common ground could eventually be reached, the FARC criticized the offer because they believe that any deal should allow them to decide how many of its jailed comrades would be freed and that they should be allowed to return to the rebel ranks.
On 5 September, what has been considered as a sort of FARC counter proposal was revealed in the Colombian press. The FARC proposed that the government declare a "security" or "guarantee" zone for 72 hours in order for official insurgent and state negotiators to meet face to face and directly discuss a prisoner exchange. Government military forces would not have to leave the area but to concentrate in their available garrisons, in a similar move to that agreed by the Ernesto Samper administration (1994–1998) which involved the group freeing some captured security forces. In addition, the government's peace commissioner would have to make an official public pronouncement regarding this proposal.
If the zone were created, the first day would be used for traveling to the chosen location, the second to discuss the matter, and the third for the guerrillas to abandon the area. The government would be able to chose the location for the "security zone" from among one of the municipalities of Peñas Coloradas, El Rosal
or La Tuna, all in Caquetá department, where the FARC had influence. It was speculated by retired military analysts that the FARC could potentially set up land mines or other traps around local military garrisons while the zone is in place.
The FARC proposal to arrange a meeting with the government was considered as positive by Yolanda Pulecio, Betancourt's mother, who called it a sign of "progress […] just as the (government) commissioner can meet with (right-wing) paramilitaries, why can't he meet with the others, who are just as terrorist as they are."
said it was "up to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to show they were serious about releasing former Colombian presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt and other detainees."
In an interview with French newspaper L'Humanité
in June 2006, Raul Reyes
, a leader of the FARC, said that Betancourt "is doing well, within the environment she finds herself in. It's not easy when one is deprived of freedom."
sub-intendant Jhon Frank Pinchao
managed to escape from FARC captivity, claiming that Betancourt was being held in the same prison camp he had been in.
On 18 May, President Álvaro Uribe reiterated his orders for the rescue by military means of Íngrid and other political figures. This happened after he interviewed a police officer captured by the FARC who ran away and told his story saying many of the prisoners were sick.
Shortly after taking office in mid-May, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
asked Uribe to release FARC's "chancellor" Rodrigo Granda in exchange for Betancourt.
On 4 June, 30 incarcerated members from the FARC were liberated as a goodwill gesture by the government to pursue the liberation of Betancourt and others. However this did not result in her freedom.
On 26 July 2007 Melanie Delloye, Betancourt's daughter, reported two French diplomats had been unsuccessful in confirming that she was still alive according to news agency EFE
. President Sarkozy affirmed this to the press. However former hostage John Frank Pinchao (see above) repeated that Betancourt was alive, and had attempted to escape several times from the FARC camp where both were held, but had been recaptured and "severely punished".
In August 2007, reporter Patricia Poleo, a Venezuela
n national self-exiled in the United States, stated that Betancourt was being held in Venezuela and that her release was near. The government of Colombia expressed doubts about this information through its minister of foreign affairs Fernando Araújo
.
Poleo also criticized Hugo Chávez
for using this situation to improve relations with France after an impasse with the government of Jacques Chirac
in which they refused to sell arms to Venezuela. A few days after Poleo's statements, President Chávez openly offered his services to negotiate between the FARC and the government in an effort to release those kidnapped, but denied knowing about the whereabouts of Betancourt.
On 11 November 2007, Chávez told French newspaper Le Figaro
that he hoped to be able to show Sarkozy proof before their meeting on 20 November that Betancourt was alive, while on 18 November Chávez announced to the French press that he had been told by a FARC leader that she was still alive.
On 30 November, the Colombian government released information that they had captured three members of the urban cells of the FARC in Bogotá who had with them videos and letters of people held hostage by the FARC, including Betancourt. In the video Betancourt appears in the jungle sitting on a bench looking at the ground. She "appeared extremely gaunt".
A letter intended for Íngrid's mother, Yolanda, which was found at the same time, was also published in several newspapers.
On 27 February a second operation was carried out, freeing four former members of the Colombian Congress. The released hostages were very concerned about the health of Betancourt. One described her as "exhausted physically and in her morale. […] Ingrid is mistreated very badly, they have vented their anger on her, they have her chained up in inhumane conditions." Another said that she has Hepatitis B and is "near the end". Nicolas Sarkozy said he is prepared to personally go to accept her release if necessary.
On 27 March, the Colombian government, with Uribe's support, offered to free hundreds of guerrilla fighters in exchange for Betancourt's release.
On 31 March, Colombian news station Caracol quoted several sources saying Betancourt has stopped taking her medication and stopped eating. She was said to be in desperate need of a blood transfusion.
On 2 April, Betancourt's son, Lorenzo Delloye, addressed the FARC and the President Uribe, to facilitate her release in order to prevent her death. He quoted the need for a blood transfusion in order to keep her alive saying that otherwise she may die in the next few hours.
On 3 April, an envoy left for Colombia to try to make contact with Betancourt and many of the other captives, who have become ill after years of captivity in the jungle. After two days, the envoy, including a doctor, still hadn't heard from the FARC, but received orders from the French government to wait. Five days after arrival of the envoy the FARC released a press note on the Bolivarian Press Agency website, refusing the mission access to their hostages, because "the French medical mission was not appropriate and, moreover, was not the result of an agreement." Following the FARC's refusal, the French government called off the humanitarian mission and said foreign minister
Bernard Kouchner
would visit the region.
On 2 July news reports stated that Betancourt and three American hostages were recovered (see Rescue below). Altogether, 15 hostages were freed, including 11 Colombian soldiers. Ministry of National Defense
Juan Manuel Santos
said all the former hostages were in reasonably good health, although Betancourt stated she was torture
d during her captivity.
), included members of the Colombian military intelligence who infiltrated local FARC squads and the secretariat of FARC, according to Santos. The FARC members in charge of the hostages were persuaded to accept a request from headquarters to gather the hostages together, supposedly to be flown to FARC chief Alfonso Cano
. Instead, they were flown by government personnel dressed as FARC members to San José del Guaviare
. No one was harmed during the rescue. Three American Northrop Grumman
contractors, Marc Gonsalves
, Keith Stansell
, and Thomas Howes
, were among those released.
Colombian military agents spent months planting themselves within FARC, gaining the members' trust, and joining the leadership council. Other agents were assigned to guard the hostages. Using their authority in the group, the agents ordered the hostages moved from three different locations to a central area. From this point, the hostages, agents, and about 60 real FARC members made a 90-mile march through the jungle to a spot where, agents told the FARC members, an "international mission" was coming to check on the hostages. On schedule, an unmarked white helicopter set down and Colombian security forces posing as FARC members jumped out. They told the FARC members that they would take the hostages to the meeting with the "international mission." All of the captives were handcuffed and placed aboard the helicopter, along with two of their FARC guards, who were quickly disarmed and subdued after the helicopter lifted off. According to Betancourt, a crew member then turned and told the 15 hostages, "We are the national military. You are free." Tracking technology was used by the rescuers to zero in on their target.
On 16 July 2008 it became public that one of the Colombian officials was misusing
a Red Cross
emblem during the rescue operation.
, the protection of our Lord and the Virgin Mary." The hostages indicated that they had spent much time in captivity praying the rosary
, and Betancourt, formerly a lapsed Catholic who prayed daily on a wooden rosary which she made while a hostage, attributed the rescue as follows: "I am convinced this is a miracle
."
On 21 July 2008, Betancourt and her family made a pilgrimage to Lourdes
to give thanks and to pray for her captors and those who remained hostage.
In August 2008, Betancourt and her family were received by Pope Benedict XVI
in a brief audience.
Meanwhile, Betancourt told a French Catholic magazine, Le Pelerin (The Pilgrim), July 12 that she constantly had read the Bible as a hostage."
(Venezuela) and Correa (Ecuador) to help Colombia and seek the political transformations in her country by democratic means. And she stated that she will dedicate herself now to help those who are still held captive in the jungle. Some believe that the liberation of Betancourt caused a dramatic change of the political scene.
In an interview on French radio shortly after her return to France, Betancourt distanced herself from Uribe's approach, while accepting that his security policy had been successful. She said the situation was at a point where "the vocabulary has to change" arguing that "the way in which we talk about the other side is very important". She has also thanked president Hugo Chávez " for his help in recovering the freedom of many colombian hostages" during their meeting in Caracas
in 2010.
jet with Betancourt's children, her sister Astrid and her family, and accompanied by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner for a tearful reunion. After paying her respects at her father's tomb she and the family boarded the jet and flew to France where she was greeted by Sarkozy and the First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. She gave speeches and urged the world not to forget and continue for the liberation of the rest of the hostages. She also spent several days in hospital.
On July 9, President Michelle Bachelet
of Chile said she would nominate Betancourt for a Nobel Prize
. Sarkozy announced that she would receive the Legion of Honor at the Bastille Day
celebrations.
On July 20, Betancourt appeared next to singer Juanes
at a rally in Trocadéro
in Paris to celebrate Colombia's independence day and to once more urge the FARC to release all their hostages. Speaking directly to Alfonso Cano she said:
reported that unnamed "reliable sources" had told it the rescue took place after a payment of USD 20 million by the United States. According to Le Monde
, the French Foreign Ministry denied the payment of any ransom by France.
Frederich Blassel, the author of the Radio Suisse Romande story, told Colombia's W Radio that, according to his source, the release wasn't negotiated directly with FARC but with alias César, one of the two guerrillas captured during the operation, who would have received the payment of USD 20 million. According to Blassel, the two rebels could be given new identities by Spain, France and Switzerland.
The Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos, and Vice President Francisco Santos, in response to these claims, denied any payment. "That information is absolutely false. It has no basis. We don't know where it comes from and why its being said". He also added with a touch of irony that "Actually, it would have been a cheap offer, because we were willing to give up to USD 100 million […] We would be the first to inform publicly, because it is part of our rewards system policy, and besides, it would speak much worse about the FARC."
According to Colombia's El Tiempo and W Radio
, General Fredy Padilla de León, Commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, denied the existence of any payment by the Colombian government. General Padilla argued that if any payment had been made, it would have been better to make it publicly known, to use it as an incentive and to cause confusion within FARC's ranks.
said that the "lawsuit" deserved a "world prize for greed, ungratefulness and gall," Nevertheless of the turmoil, nobody explained that there was no lawsuit against any soldier, that it was a lawful claim, and none of the officials at the time of her kidnapping have explained why her escort had been canceled. There is no evidence that the former government complied with its constitutional duty of protecting a presidential candidate.
A few days after the news of the request had broken, and public indignation was added to the government's, Betancourt's lawyer Gabriel Devis, said that the focus had to be on the "protection mechanisms the Colombian state offers to its citizens" and that nobody was attacking any soldier. He stressed that the former hostage was "deeply grateful" to "the armed forces and all those who in one way or another risked their lives to free the hostages."
Betancourt withdrew her claim for compensation expressing her indignation at the way in which her undertaking had been distorted and the public opinion manipulated. She had suffered what she called a 'public lapidation' as if she was a criminal.
that he is sorry for abducting the former presidential candidate, and that he feels "remorse" over her plight. Uni gave a letter of apology to a journalist for delivery to Betancourt's mother, who would pass it on to President Sarkozy.
, the mayor of Paris, announced the upcoming Nuit Blanche
, saying, "This year, both Paris and Rome want to dedicate La Nuit Blanche to Ingrid Bétancourt. [She is] an honorary citizen of the city of Paris, and an especially (committed and involved) woman, who has been held in Colombia by the FARC since 23 February 2002. We will [continue to] fight unceasingly for her release."
, American Northrop Grumman
contractors Marc Gonsalves
, Keith Stansell
, and Thomas Howes
, all of whom spent time as hostages with Ingrid, described Betancourt's behavior as a captive of FARC as selfish, feeling she deserved better treatment than the other captives due to her political and social standing. The Americans, held captive by the FARC from 2003 to 2008, stated that throughout their captivity Betancourt claimed and took more than her fair share of scarce food, clothing, and personal space. Stansell said, "I can get over just about anything, but I dont know about Ingrid. Forgive? Yes. Move on? Yes. Respect? No." Marc Gonsalves has defended Betancourt:" For me she is a courageous person, she behaved like only heroes do, this is why I am so hurt with Keith's attacks."
Betancourt declined to comment on the Americans' allegations. A spokesperson for her said that she was "dedicated to writing her own book and not making declarations until it is finished."
, Pope Benedict XVI
, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
, President Álvaro Uribe
of Colombia, President Hugo Chávez
of Venezuela and President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina.
In 2009, she signed with Gallimard to write her memoirs.
Her memoir was published on 21 September 2010 after fifteen months of writing, and is titled Même le silence a une fin (Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle); it mainly describes her ordeal as a hostage of Colombian guerrillas. The book was praised as an "extraordinary adventure story", expressing her anguish in a poetic way. It was compared to the greatest authors; "just think of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and The Gulag Archipelago or novelists like Dumas and Arthur Koestler" writes Larry Rohter in the New York Times Book review.
Betancourt filed for divorce in 2009.
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 politician, former senator
Senate of Colombia
The Senate of the Republic of Colombia is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia...
and anti-corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
activist.
Betancourt 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) on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008. The rescue operation, dubbed Operation Jaque
Operation Jaque
Operation Jaque was a Colombian military operation that resulted in the freedom of 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt. The hostages had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . The operation took place on July 2, 2008, along the...
, rescued Betancourt along with 14 other hostages (three Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and eleven Colombian policemen and soldiers). In all, she was held captive for 2,321 days after being taken while campaigning for the Colombian presidency
Colombian presidential election, 2002
Presidential elections were held in Colombia on 26 May 2002. They were won by Álvaro Uribe. Íngrid Betancourt, the candidate for the Oxygen Green Party, was kidnapped while campaigning. She was rescued safely in July 2008, six and a half years later....
as a Green
Oxygen Green Party
The Oxygen Green Party was a political party in Colombia founded in 1998. After Íngrid Betancourt, one of its most prominent members, was kidnapped in 2002, the party's popular support began to fade. In 2005 a political reform on the Colombian party system left the party without participation, due...
. She had decided to campaign in the former "zone of distention", after the military operation "Tanatos" was launched, and after the zone was declared free of guerrillas by the government. Her kidnapping received worldwide coverage, particularly in France, because of her dual French-Colombian citizenship.
She has received multiple international awards, such as the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
. In 2008 she received the Concord Prince of Asturias Award. She was also nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008. Other hostages (John Fran Pinchao, Jorge Eduardo Gechem, Gloria Polanco) describe her as a person with a caring and courageous nature. One of them (Luis Eladio Perez) claims Betancourt saved his life. Between the three authors of 'Out of Captivity' there is evidence of strong controversies, which tend to undermine the attacks made against Betancourt.
Biography
Betancourt was born in BogotáBogotá
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...
, Colombia
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...
. Her mother, Yolanda Pulecio
Yolanda Pulecio
Yolanda Pulecio Vélez also known as "Mamá Yolanda" is a Colombian former beauty queen turned politician, former member of the Congress of Colombia and diplomat. Pulecio married former minister of finance and diplomat Gabriel Betancourt...
, a former beauty queen famous for sheltering abandoned children, served in Congress
Congress of Colombia
The Congress of the Republic of Colombia is the name given to Colombia's bicameral national legislature.The Congress of Colombia consists of the 102-seat Senate , and the 166-seat Chamber of Representatives ...
representing poor southern neighborhoods of Bogotá. Her father, Gabriel Betancourt
Gabriel Betancourt
Gabriel Betancourt Mejía was a Colombian economist and diplomat who served as Colombia's Minister of National Education in two occasions, and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO.-Early life:...
, was a minister of Education in both liberal and conservative governments (President Rojas Pinilla, President Lleras Restrepo), the assistant director of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), then ambassador of Colombia to UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in Paris, and head of the education commission of the Alliance for Progress
Alliance for Progress
The Alliance for Progress initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961 aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and South America.-Origin and goals:...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
under John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. The Betancourt family is one of Colombia's well-known families, descended from French Norman immigrants who arrived from Grainville-la-Teinturière
Grainville-la-Teinturière
Grainville-la-Teinturière is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A farming and forestry village situated by the banks of the Durdent river in the Pays de Caux, some southwest of Dieppe, at the junction of the D71, the D75 and the...
.
After attending private school in France, a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in England as well as the Liceo Francés in Bogotá, Betancourt attended the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (commonly known as Sciences Po).
After graduating, Betancourt married French citizen Fabrice Delloye in 1983, and they had two children, Mélanie (born 1985) and Lorenzo (born 1988). Through her marriage she became a French citizen. Her husband served in the French diplomatic corps, and the couple lived in multiple countries, including Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
and the United States of America.
In the mid-1990s, Betancourt and Delloye divorced. Betancourt went back to Colombia and became advisor to the Minister of Finance, and later to the Minister of Foreign Trade. In 1994 She was elected to the House of Representatives on an anti-corruption ticket, and in 1998 she entered the Colombian Senate. Her children Melanie and Lorenzo moved to New Zealand to live with their father due to death threats stemming from her political activities.
She married Colombian advertising executive, Juan Carlos Lecompte
Juan Carlos Lecompte
Juan Carlos Lecompte is a Colombian author who was married to Ingrid Betancourt, a politician kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . After her public release in Operation Jaque they divorced. In January 2010 he published a book about their break-up, it is called "Ingrid et...
in 1997. Their marriage ended soon after her 2008 rescue.
Political career
In 1989, Luis Carlos GalánLuis Carlos Galán
Luis Carlos Galán Sarmiento was a Colombian journalist and liberal politician who ran for the presidency of Colombia on two occasions, the first time representing the Liberal Party in 1982 which he lost to Belisario Betancur...
, a candidate for the Colombian presidency running on an anti-drug-trafficking platform, was assassinated. Betancourt's mother was a supporter of Galán and was standing immediately behind him when he was shot; this event motivated Betancourt to return to Colombia herself in 1989. From 1990 onwards, she worked at the Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Finance and Public Credit
The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit , is the national executive ministry of the Government of Colombia responsible for the financial and budgetary matters of the country as well as implementing the financial policies passed by Congress, equivalent to the finance ministries of other...
and later at the Ministry of foreign trade, from which she later resigned to enter politics. Her first campaign distributed condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
s, with the motto that people should protect themselves against corruption as they do against HIV. She obtained support from the so called "opinion voters", mostly young people and women.
Election to the Chamber of Representatives, 1994
She was elected to the Chamber of RepresentativesChamber of Representatives of Colombia
The Chamber of Representatives is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia.The Chamber has 166 elected members for four-year terms.-How the Chamber is elected:...
in 1994 against all odds. During her term, she criticized the administration of President Ernesto Samper
Ernesto Samper
Ernesto Samper Pizano is a Colombian politician. He served as the President of Colombia from August 7, 1994 to August 7, 1998, representing the Liberal Party. He was involved in the 8000 process scandal, which takes its name from the folio number assigned to it by the chief prosecutor's office...
, who was accused of corruption in the 8000 Process scandal after accepting money from the Cali drug cartel
Cali Cartel
The Cali Cartel was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca Department. The Cali Cartel was founded by the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers, Gilberto and Miguel, as well as associate José Santacruz Londoño...
for his electoral campaign. In 1997 Betancourt launched a political party, the Partido Verde Oxigeno (Green Oxygen Party) as an alternative to the traditional conservative and liberal parties.
Elected Senator of Colombia, 1998
Betancourt ran for Senator in the 1998 election, and the total number of votes she received was the largest number of any candidate in a senate election. During her time in elected office, death threats caused her to send her children to New Zealand, where they could live with their father.That same year, the presidential election was ultimately won by Andrés Pastrana. Pastrana persuaded her to endorse him, and she campaigned for him under the agreement of an anti-corruption electoral reform to be adopted during his presidential term. The electoral reform was aborted due to strong pressures from the traditional parties and the lack of commitment from the government. Betancourt withdrew her support to the government and joined the opposition forces.
Presidential candidate, 2002
Ingrid Betancourt launched her presidential campaign on May 20, 2001 next to a statue of Simón BolívarSimón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
in Bogotá. She then began a campaign bus
Campaign bus
A campaign bus is a bus used as both a vehicle and a center of operations in a political campaign. The modern use of campaign buses is often calculated to bring to mind whistlestop train tour tours that political candidates had historically used to reach large numbers of voters while campaigning...
trip around the country to attend local community meetings.
As part of her campaign for the presidency in 2002 Betancourt decided to visit the town of San Vicente del Caguán
San Vicente del Caguán
San Vicente del Caguán is a town and municipality in Caquetá Department, Colombia.Between 1998 and 2002, San Vicente del Caguán was the center of the demilitarized zone , which was created as a safe haven for the FARC. Two days after the peace talks were ended, Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped while...
, in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) to support its Mayor, a member of the Green Oxygen party. The peace process with the Farc had collapsed, the DMZ had been put to an end and Pastrana had launched 'operacion Tanatos' to reclaim the area. At the time Betancourt decided to go, the Colombian Army had been deployed in the area in an attempt to evict the Farc guerillas. President Pastrana had given them 48 hours to leave the territory and the deadline had expired. That same day President Pastrana attended a Press conference in the same place, San Vicente del Caguan, in order to prove with his presence that the Farc had fled, and that the military operation was a success. At the same time, the government ordered Betancourt's body guards to abandon the mission of escorting her to San Vicente del Caguan.
Nonetheless, Betancourt was determined to go. Despite the refusal by the army to airlift her into San Vicente, she took the road. She was given a governmental vehicle. The government later claimed that Betancourt had signed a document to release the government from any responsibility on what could happen to her. Clara Rojas, Adair Lamprea and Betancourt have denied the existence of such document. The document has never been made public by any Colombian official. It seems that the colombian government was keen to shift responsibilities, worried that it could be held responsible for having withdrawned her body guards before her abduction.
The peace talks reached an impasse after more than three years of negotiations. From the beginning, the FARC would not agree to a truce for the duration of the negotiations, nor that the peace talks be overseen by different representatives of the international community. Though the DMZ was purported to be a "laboratory for peace", in practice the FARC continued its kidnapping activities, military attacks, purchasing of weapons, and even building roads and airstrips for trafficking narcotics. Critics considered the DMZ to have been turned into a safe haven in which the FARC imposed its will as law launching military attacks and acts of terrorism outside the DMZ before withdrawing back to it, in order to avoid direct confrontation with government armed forces. Also during this time, hundreds of civilians were kidnapped throughout different cities and rural areas of the country. They were then transported back to the DMZ where they were kept in cages, many of them having been kidnapped for economic extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, others for "political reasons". By the end of 2001 the Colombian government and public opinion (according to different polls) were growing impatient and discouraged at the situation.
In February 2002, a turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
plane flying from Florencia
Florencia
-Places:*Florencia de Benito Juárez, a municipality in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico*Florencia, Caquetá, a town and municipality in the Department of Caqueta, Colombia*Florencia, Cauca, a town and municipality in the Department of Cauca, Colombia...
to Bogotá—a distance of some 1000 km (621.4 mi)—was hijacked
Aircraft hijacking
Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001...
in midair by FARC members. The plane was forced to land on a highway strip
Highway strip
A highway strip is a section of a highway that is specially built to allow landing of military aircraft and to serve as a military airbase. These were built to allow military aircraft to operate even if their airbases, the most vulnerable targets in any war, are destroyed...
near the city of Neiva and then a member of the Colombian Congress was kidnapped. As a consequence, President Andrés Pastrana canceled the talks with the FARC and revoked the DMZ, arguing that the FARC had betrayed the terms of the negotiation and had used the DMZ to grow stronger in military and logistical capabilities. In a televised statement, the president expressed the government's intention of retaking the DMZ, informing that the military operation would begin at midnight, and also urged the FARC to respect the lives and the livelihood of those civilians still present in the DMZ.
Autobiography
After her experience in the impeachment process against Colombian President E. Samper, Betancourt published her memoirs in French in March 2001 under the title La rage au cœur. The memoir generated intense media coverage in France, where it was the number one best seller for four weeks and a best seller for another nine. It has since appeared in Spanish as La rabia en el corazón, and in English as Until Death Do Us Part: My Struggle to Reclaim Colombia (2002).Kidnapping
Most candidates for political office visited the former DMZ. When Betancourt announced her trip, the government confirmed that a security escort would accompany her from Florencia to San Vicente del Caguan. When she landed at Florencia's airport, she was offered to be tranported to San Vicente del Caguan in a military helicopter. This offer was retracted later on, at the same time her body guards received the order to cancel their mission. President Pastrana and other officials explained they had turned down the helicopter ride offer, arguing that this meant rendering public resources to Betancourt's private political interests. Betancourt stated that as a presidential candidate, the government had, under constitutional provisions, the mandatory obligation to protect any Colombian running for presidency.When denied transport aboard a military helicopter
Military helicopter
A military helicopter is a helicopter that is either specifically built or converted for use by military forces. A military helicopter's mission is a function of its design or conversion...
that was heading to the zone, she then went back to the original plan to head into the DMZ via ground transport, together with 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...
, her campaign manager
Campaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
who was later named running-mate for the 2002 election, and a handful of political aides. On 23 February 2002, she was stopped at the last military checkpoint before going into the former DMZ. Military officers have reported they insisted in stopping her carand that Betancourt dismissed their warnings and continued her journey. This allegations contradicts the testimony of Adair Lamprea who was driving the car. He insists traffic was normal and that the military officers at the check point asked for their ID, but did not try to stop them. This is corroborated by the fact that on the Farc blockroad where Betancourt was kidnapped, other vehicles were stopped, including a Red Cross fourwheel drive car, and a bus, thus proving normal traffic. According to her kidnapper, the later captured Nolberto Uni Vega, Betancourt ended up at a FARC checkpoint where she was kidnapped. Her kidnap was never planned beforehand, said the rebel. Íngrid still appeared on the ballot for the presidential elections; her husband promised to continue her campaign. She achieved less than 1% of the votes.
Betancourt stated in an NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
interview that the government did offer to fly her, but later reneged and took away her flight, and then took away her bodyguards. She also stated she was never warned that it would be dangerous to travel by road, that checkpoints let her through with no warning nor attempt to stop her, and that the government encouraged her to travel by road.
Uribe's initial policy
Ever since the days of the Pastrana negotiations, when a limited exchange took place, the FARC have demanded the formalization of a mechanism for prisoner exchange. The mechanism would involve the release of what the FARC terms as its "political hostageHostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
s", currently numbering 23, in exchange for most jailed guerrillas, numbering about 500. For the FARC, most of its other hostages, those held for extortion purposes and which would number at least a thousand, would not be considered subject to such an exchange.
The newly elected Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
administration initially ruled out any negotiation with the group that would not include a ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
, and instead pushed for rescue operations, many of which have traditionally been successful when carried out by the police's GAULA
Gaula
-Rivers:* Gaula in Norway* Gaula in Norway* Gaula River...
anti-kidnapping group in urban settings, but not in the mountains and jungles where the FARC keeps most prisoners, according to official statistics and mainstream news reports.
Relatives of Betancourt and of most of FARC's political hostages came to strongly reject any potential rescue operations, especially after the death of the governor of the Antioquia department, Guillermo Gaviria
Guillermo Gaviria Correa
Guillermo Gaviria Correa was the state governor of Antioquia, a province of over 6 million people in northwestern Colombia. Kidnapped by FARC guerrillas during a march against violence, he was held captive for a year in the mountains and was among ten fellow hostages killed by the FARC in response...
, his peace advisor and several soldiers, kidnapped by the FARC during a peace march in 2003. The governor and the others were shot at close range by the FARC when the government launched an army rescue mission into the jungle which failed as the guerrillas learned of its presence in the area.
2002
A day after Betancourt's kidnapping several non-governmental organizations (NGO) under the lead of Armand Burguet were organized in the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and around the world to establish an association or committee for the liberation of Ingrid Betancourt. The committee initially consisted of some 280 activists in 39 countries.
One month after her kidnapping, her father Gabriel died of heart and respiratory trouble.
2003
In July 2003 Opération 14 juilletOpération 14 juillet
L'Opération 14 juillet was a failed French operation to rescue Ingrid Betancourt from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in July 2003. Organized by French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, the mission failed to make contact with FARC guerrillas and eventually returned home...
was launched, which both failed to liberate Betancourt and caused a scandal for the French government. A video of Betancourt was released by FARC in August 2003.
2004
In August 2004, after several false-starts and in the face of mounting pressure from relatives, former LiberalColombian Liberal Party
The Colombian Liberal Party is a center-left party in Colombia that adheres to social democracy and social liberalism.The Party was founded in 1848 and, together with the Colombian Conservative Party, subsequently became one of the two main political forces in the country for over a century.After...
presidents Alfonso López Michelsen
Alfonso López Michelsen
Alfonso López Michelsen was a Colombian politician, lawyer and journalist. Lopez Michelsen was President of Colombia from 1974 to 1978. He was the son of Alfonso López Pumarejo, who was also president of Colombia from 1934 to 1938, and once again from 1942 to 1945...
and Ernesto Samper (who was accused in the 'Proceso 8000' for financing his presidential campaign with drug funds) came out in favor of a humanitarian exchange
Humanitarian exchange
The Humanitarian Exchange or Humanitarian Accord refers to the possible accord to exchange hostages for prisoners between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group and the Government of Colombia....
. The Uribe government, seeming to have gradually relaxed its position, announced that it had given the FARC a formal proposal on 23 July, in which it offered to free 50 to 60 jailed rebels in exchange for the political and military hostages held by the FARC group (not including economic hostages, as the government had earlier demanded).
The government would make the first move, releasing insurgents charged or condemned for rebellion and either allowing them to leave the country or to stay and join the state's reinsertion program. Then the FARC would release the hostages in its possession, including Ingrid Betancourt. The proposal would have been carried out with the backing and support of the French and Swiss governments, who publicly supported it once it was revealed.
The move was signaled as potentially positive by several relatives of the victims and Colombian political figures. Some critics of the president have considered that Uribe may seek to gain political prestige from such a move, though they would agree with the project in practice.
The FARC released a communiqué dated 20 August (but apparently published publicly only on 22 August) in which they denied having received the proposal earlier through the mediation of Switzerland as the government had stated. While making note of the fact that a proposal had been made by the Uribe administration and that it hoped that common ground could eventually be reached, the FARC criticized the offer because they believe that any deal should allow them to decide how many of its jailed comrades would be freed and that they should be allowed to return to the rebel ranks.
On 5 September, what has been considered as a sort of FARC counter proposal was revealed in the Colombian press. The FARC proposed that the government declare a "security" or "guarantee" zone for 72 hours in order for official insurgent and state negotiators to meet face to face and directly discuss a prisoner exchange. Government military forces would not have to leave the area but to concentrate in their available garrisons, in a similar move to that agreed by the Ernesto Samper administration (1994–1998) which involved the group freeing some captured security forces. In addition, the government's peace commissioner would have to make an official public pronouncement regarding this proposal.
If the zone were created, the first day would be used for traveling to the chosen location, the second to discuss the matter, and the third for the guerrillas to abandon the area. The government would be able to chose the location for the "security zone" from among one of the municipalities of Peñas Coloradas, El Rosal
El Rosal, Cundinamarca
El Rosal is a municipality and town of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca.A large percentage of this agricultural community is employed by large scale flower growers in the production of roses,carnations astromelias and other varieties of flowers. Other crops which contribute to the economy...
or La Tuna, all in Caquetá department, where the FARC had influence. It was speculated by retired military analysts that the FARC could potentially set up land mines or other traps around local military garrisons while the zone is in place.
The FARC proposal to arrange a meeting with the government was considered as positive by Yolanda Pulecio, Betancourt's mother, who called it a sign of "progress […] just as the (government) commissioner can meet with (right-wing) paramilitaries, why can't he meet with the others, who are just as terrorist as they are."
2006
In February 2006, France urged the FARC to seize the chance offered by a European-proposed prisoner swap, accepted by Bogotá, and free dozens it had held for up to seven years. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-BlazyPhilippe Douste-Blazy
Philippe Douste-Blazy is a French centre-right politician. He served as Minister for Health , Minister of Culture and Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Dominique de Villepin .Douste-Blazy is also a cardiologist and Christian Democrat politician from Lourdes...
said it was "up to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to show they were serious about releasing former Colombian presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt and other detainees."
In an interview with French newspaper L'Humanité
L'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...
in June 2006, Raul Reyes
Raúl Reyes
Luis Edgar Devia Silva , better known by his nom de guerre Raúl Reyes, was a Secretariat member, spokesperson, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-EP...
, a leader of the FARC, said that Betancourt "is doing well, within the environment she finds herself in. It's not easy when one is deprived of freedom."
2007
In May 2007, a captured Colombian National PoliceColombian 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...
sub-intendant Jhon Frank Pinchao
Jhon Frank Pinchao
Jhon Frank Pinchao Blanco is a Colombian policeman with the rank of sub-intendant who was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group after Farc's attack on the town of Mitú, Vaupés Department on November 1, 1998...
managed to escape from FARC captivity, claiming that Betancourt was being held in the same prison camp he had been in.
On 18 May, President Álvaro Uribe reiterated his orders for the rescue by military means of Íngrid and other political figures. This happened after he interviewed a police officer captured by the FARC who ran away and told his story saying many of the prisoners were sick.
Shortly after taking office in mid-May, French President Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
asked Uribe to release FARC's "chancellor" Rodrigo Granda in exchange for Betancourt.
On 4 June, 30 incarcerated members from the FARC were liberated as a goodwill gesture by the government to pursue the liberation of Betancourt and others. However this did not result in her freedom.
On 26 July 2007 Melanie Delloye, Betancourt's daughter, reported two French diplomats had been unsuccessful in confirming that she was still alive according to news agency EFE
EFE
EFE is a Spanish news agency created in 1939 by Spain's former minister of the press and propaganda Ramón Serrano Súñer and Manuel Aznar Zubigaray....
. President Sarkozy affirmed this to the press. However former hostage John Frank Pinchao (see above) repeated that Betancourt was alive, and had attempted to escape several times from the FARC camp where both were held, but had been recaptured and "severely punished".
In August 2007, reporter Patricia Poleo, a Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n national self-exiled in the United States, stated that Betancourt was being held in Venezuela and that her release was near. The government of Colombia expressed doubts about this information through its minister of foreign affairs Fernando Araújo
Fernando Araújo Perdomo
Fernando 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...
.
Poleo also criticized Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
for using this situation to improve relations with France after an impasse with the government of Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
in which they refused to sell arms to Venezuela. A few days after Poleo's statements, President Chávez openly offered his services to negotiate between the FARC and the government in an effort to release those kidnapped, but denied knowing about the whereabouts of Betancourt.
On 11 November 2007, Chávez told French newspaper Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
that he hoped to be able to show Sarkozy proof before their meeting on 20 November that Betancourt was alive, while on 18 November Chávez announced to the French press that he had been told by a FARC leader that she was still alive.
On 30 November, the Colombian government released information that they had captured three members of the urban cells of the FARC in Bogotá who had with them videos and letters of people held hostage by the FARC, including Betancourt. In the video Betancourt appears in the jungle sitting on a bench looking at the ground. She "appeared extremely gaunt".
A letter intended for Íngrid's mother, Yolanda, which was found at the same time, was also published in several newspapers.
2008
In 2008, Chávez, with the initial permission of the Colombian government and the participation of the International Red Cross, organized humanitarian operations in order to receive several civilian hostages whose release had been announced by FARC. The first operation led to the release of Clara Rojas and Consuelo González. Emmanuel, Rojas son's born in captivity was freed previously after a stunning declaration from president Uribe, where it was discovered the infant was left in a foster home after being severely mistreated by the guerrillas.On 27 February a second operation was carried out, freeing four former members of the Colombian Congress. The released hostages were very concerned about the health of Betancourt. One described her as "exhausted physically and in her morale. […] Ingrid is mistreated very badly, they have vented their anger on her, they have her chained up in inhumane conditions." Another said that she has Hepatitis B and is "near the end". Nicolas Sarkozy said he is prepared to personally go to accept her release if necessary.
On 27 March, the Colombian government, with Uribe's support, offered to free hundreds of guerrilla fighters in exchange for Betancourt's release.
On 31 March, Colombian news station Caracol quoted several sources saying Betancourt has stopped taking her medication and stopped eating. She was said to be in desperate need of a blood transfusion.
On 2 April, Betancourt's son, Lorenzo Delloye, addressed the FARC and the President Uribe, to facilitate her release in order to prevent her death. He quoted the need for a blood transfusion in order to keep her alive saying that otherwise she may die in the next few hours.
On 3 April, an envoy left for Colombia to try to make contact with Betancourt and many of the other captives, who have become ill after years of captivity in the jungle. After two days, the envoy, including a doctor, still hadn't heard from the FARC, but received orders from the French government to wait. Five days after arrival of the envoy the FARC released a press note on the Bolivarian Press Agency website, refusing the mission access to their hostages, because "the French medical mission was not appropriate and, moreover, was not the result of an agreement." Following the FARC's refusal, the French government called off the humanitarian mission and said foreign minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs (France)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs ), is France's foreign affairs ministry, with the headquarters located on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris close to the National Assembly of France. The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the government of France is the cabinet minister responsible for...
Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde...
would visit the region.
On 2 July news reports stated that Betancourt and three American hostages were recovered (see Rescue below). Altogether, 15 hostages were freed, including 11 Colombian soldiers. Ministry of National Defense
Ministry of National Defense (Colombia)
The Ministry of National Defence , is the national executive ministry of the Government of Colombia charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the armed forces of Colombia, similar to the defense ministries in...
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...
said all the former hostages were in reasonably good health, although Betancourt stated she was torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d during her captivity.
Rescue
On 2 July 2008, Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos called a press conference to announce the rescue of Betancourt and 14 other captives. The operation that won their release, codenamed "Jaque" (Spanish for "check" as in checkmateCheckmate
Checkmate is a situation in chess in which one player's king is threatened with capture and there is no way to meet that threat. Or, simply put, the king is under direct attack and cannot avoid being captured...
), included members of the Colombian military intelligence who infiltrated local FARC squads and the secretariat of FARC, according to Santos. The FARC members in charge of the hostages were persuaded to accept a request from headquarters to gather the hostages together, supposedly to be flown to FARC chief Alfonso Cano
Alfonso Cano
Guillermo León Sáenz Vargas , more commonly known by his nom de guerre Alfonso Cano was the commander of the militant group known as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia...
. Instead, they were flown by government personnel dressed as FARC members to 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: *...
. No one was harmed during the rescue. Three American Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
contractors, 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...
, 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...
, and 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...
, were among those released.
Colombian military agents spent months planting themselves within FARC, gaining the members' trust, and joining the leadership council. Other agents were assigned to guard the hostages. Using their authority in the group, the agents ordered the hostages moved from three different locations to a central area. From this point, the hostages, agents, and about 60 real FARC members made a 90-mile march through the jungle to a spot where, agents told the FARC members, an "international mission" was coming to check on the hostages. On schedule, an unmarked white helicopter set down and Colombian security forces posing as FARC members jumped out. They told the FARC members that they would take the hostages to the meeting with the "international mission." All of the captives were handcuffed and placed aboard the helicopter, along with two of their FARC guards, who were quickly disarmed and subdued after the helicopter lifted off. According to Betancourt, a crew member then turned and told the 15 hostages, "We are the national military. You are free." Tracking technology was used by the rescuers to zero in on their target.
On 16 July 2008 it became public that one of the Colombian officials was misusing
False flag
False flag operations are covert operations designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is flying the flag of a country other than one's own...
a Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
emblem during the rescue operation.
Religious significance
President Uribe stated that the rescue operation "was guided in every way by the light of the Holy SpiritHoly Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
, the protection of our Lord and the Virgin Mary." The hostages indicated that they had spent much time in captivity praying the rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
, and Betancourt, formerly a lapsed Catholic who prayed daily on a wooden rosary which she made while a hostage, attributed the rescue as follows: "I am convinced this is a miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
."
On 21 July 2008, Betancourt and her family made a pilgrimage to Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparition said to have appeared before various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France...
to give thanks and to pray for her captors and those who remained hostage.
In August 2008, Betancourt and her family were received by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
in a brief audience.
Meanwhile, Betancourt told a French Catholic magazine, Le Pelerin (The Pilgrim), July 12 that she constantly had read the Bible as a hostage."
Political consequences
The liberated Betancourt thanked the Colombian armed forces and President Álvaro Uribe and gave her approval to Uribe's third term as a president. She urged neighbouring presidents Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
(Venezuela) and Correa (Ecuador) to help Colombia and seek the political transformations in her country by democratic means. And she stated that she will dedicate herself now to help those who are still held captive in the jungle. Some believe that the liberation of Betancourt caused a dramatic change of the political scene.
In an interview on French radio shortly after her return to France, Betancourt distanced herself from Uribe's approach, while accepting that his security policy had been successful. She said the situation was at a point where "the vocabulary has to change" arguing that "the way in which we talk about the other side is very important". She has also thanked president Hugo Chávez " for his help in recovering the freedom of many colombian hostages" during their meeting in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
in 2010.
Reunion and celebration
Sarkozy sent a French Air ForceFrench Air Force
The French Air Force , literally Army of the Air) is the air force of the French Armed Forces. It was formed in 1909 as the Service Aéronautique, a service arm of the French Army, then was made an independent military arm in 1933...
jet with Betancourt's children, her sister Astrid and her family, and accompanied by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner for a tearful reunion. After paying her respects at her father's tomb she and the family boarded the jet and flew to France where she was greeted by Sarkozy and the First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. She gave speeches and urged the world not to forget and continue for the liberation of the rest of the hostages. She also spent several days in hospital.
On July 9, President Michelle Bachelet
Michelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Social Democrat politician who was President of Chile from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country...
of Chile said she would nominate Betancourt for a Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
. Sarkozy announced that she would receive the Legion of Honor at the Bastille Day
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale and commonly le quatorze juillet...
celebrations.
On July 20, Betancourt appeared next to singer Juanes
Juanes
Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
at a rally in Trocadéro
Trocadéro
The Trocadéro, , site of the Palais de Chaillot, , is an area of Paris, France, in the 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. The hill of the Trocadéro is the hill of Chaillot, a former village.- Origin of the name :...
in Paris to celebrate Colombia's independence day and to once more urge the FARC to release all their hostages. Speaking directly to Alfonso Cano she said:
Allegations of payment
On 4 July 2008, Radio Suisse RomandeRadio Suisse Romande
Radio suisse romande is an enterprise unit within public-broadcasting corporation SRG SSR. It is responsible for the production and transmission of French-language radio programmes in Switzerland...
reported that unnamed "reliable sources" had told it the rescue took place after a payment of USD 20 million by the United States. According to Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, the French Foreign Ministry denied the payment of any ransom by France.
Frederich Blassel, the author of the Radio Suisse Romande story, told Colombia's W Radio that, according to his source, the release wasn't negotiated directly with FARC but with alias César, one of the two guerrillas captured during the operation, who would have received the payment of USD 20 million. According to Blassel, the two rebels could be given new identities by Spain, France and Switzerland.
The Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos, and Vice President Francisco Santos, in response to these claims, denied any payment. "That information is absolutely false. It has no basis. We don't know where it comes from and why its being said". He also added with a touch of irony that "Actually, it would have been a cheap offer, because we were willing to give up to USD 100 million […] We would be the first to inform publicly, because it is part of our rewards system policy, and besides, it would speak much worse about the FARC."
According to Colombia's El Tiempo and W Radio
La W
La W is a Colombian influential morning radio show, broadcast since 2003 on weekdays on W Radio and syndicated to stations in Panama, United States, and Spain. It is presented by Julio Sánchez Cristo....
, General Fredy Padilla de León, Commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, denied the existence of any payment by the Colombian government. General Padilla argued that if any payment had been made, it would have been better to make it publicly known, to use it as an incentive and to cause confusion within FARC's ranks.
Compensation request
In June 2010, Betancourt requested to the Colombian justice,as other Colombian hostages previously did,a monetary compensation under the provision of Colombian victim of terrorism protection law. She presented her request on the grounds of having been victim of a lack of protection when her escorts were dismissed on the 23rd Feb 2002, which facilitated being kidnapped by rebels. The Colombian government said she was attacking in court the soldiers that had liberated her in 2008. Colombian vice president Francisco SantosFrancisco Santos Calderón
Francisco Santos Calderón also known as Pacho Santos born 14 August 1961 in the city of Bogotá, is a Colombian politician and journalist. Santos was elected as Álvaro Uribe's second runner up and became Vice President in the Colombian elections of 2002...
said that the "lawsuit" deserved a "world prize for greed, ungratefulness and gall," Nevertheless of the turmoil, nobody explained that there was no lawsuit against any soldier, that it was a lawful claim, and none of the officials at the time of her kidnapping have explained why her escort had been canceled. There is no evidence that the former government complied with its constitutional duty of protecting a presidential candidate.
A few days after the news of the request had broken, and public indignation was added to the government's, Betancourt's lawyer Gabriel Devis, said that the focus had to be on the "protection mechanisms the Colombian state offers to its citizens" and that nobody was attacking any soldier. He stressed that the former hostage was "deeply grateful" to "the armed forces and all those who in one way or another risked their lives to free the hostages."
Betancourt withdrew her claim for compensation expressing her indignation at the way in which her undertaking had been distorted and the public opinion manipulated. She had suffered what she called a 'public lapidation' as if she was a criminal.
Apologies from the abductor
On 15 April 2008, Betancourt's abductor, Nolberto Uni Vega, said to journalists attending his trial in CombitaCómbita
Cómbita is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province.-External links:...
that he is sorry for abducting the former presidential candidate, and that he feels "remorse" over her plight. Uni gave a letter of apology to a journalist for delivery to Betancourt's mother, who would pass it on to President Sarkozy.
La Nuit Blanche
In October 2007, Bertrand DelanoëBertrand Delanoë
Bertrand Delanoë is a French politician, and has been the mayor of Paris since 2001. He is member of the Socialist Party . Delanoë was born in Tunis, Tunisia to a French-Tunisian father and a French mother...
, the mayor of Paris, announced the upcoming Nuit Blanche
Nuit Blanche
Nuit Blanche is an annual all-night or night-time arts festival. A Nuit Blanche will typically have museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of the city itself being turned into a de facto art gallery, providing space for...
, saying, "This year, both Paris and Rome want to dedicate La Nuit Blanche to Ingrid Bétancourt. [She is] an honorary citizen of the city of Paris, and an especially (committed and involved) woman, who has been held in Colombia by the FARC since 23 February 2002. We will [continue to] fight unceasingly for her release."
Out of Captivity book
In their book titled Out of CaptivityOut of Captivity
Out of Captivity, subtitled Surviving 1967 Days in the Colombian Jungle, is a book written by Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes with the assistance of author Gary Brozek...
, American Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
contractors 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...
, 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...
, and 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...
, all of whom spent time as hostages with Ingrid, described Betancourt's behavior as a captive of FARC as selfish, feeling she deserved better treatment than the other captives due to her political and social standing. The Americans, held captive by the FARC from 2003 to 2008, stated that throughout their captivity Betancourt claimed and took more than her fair share of scarce food, clothing, and personal space. Stansell said, "I can get over just about anything, but I dont know about Ingrid. Forgive? Yes. Move on? Yes. Respect? No." Marc Gonsalves has defended Betancourt:" For me she is a courageous person, she behaved like only heroes do, this is why I am so hurt with Keith's attacks."
Betancourt declined to comment on the Americans' allegations. A spokesperson for her said that she was "dedicated to writing her own book and not making declarations until it is finished."
Life after the rescue
Betancourt received the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honour) shortly after her rescue and the Prince of Asturias Award of Concord in October 2008. She also met with international heads of state and international personalities such as Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moonBan Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
, Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...
, President Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
of Colombia, President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
of Venezuela and President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina.
In 2009, she signed with Gallimard to write her memoirs.
Her memoir was published on 21 September 2010 after fifteen months of writing, and is titled Même le silence a une fin (Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle); it mainly describes her ordeal as a hostage of Colombian guerrillas. The book was praised as an "extraordinary adventure story", expressing her anguish in a poetic way. It was compared to the greatest authors; "just think of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and The Gulag Archipelago or novelists like Dumas and Arthur Koestler" writes Larry Rohter in the New York Times Book review.
Betancourt filed for divorce in 2009.
Wikileaks
Recent documents made public through wikileaks tend to demonstrate that FARC commander Cesar, captured during Operation Jaque and extradited to the United States, had offered—prior to the rescue operation—to release Betancourt in exchange for money and protection.External links
- Ingrid Betancourt's Six Years In The Jungle - full audio report by NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
- Betancourt: "My Six Years of Captivity" - video interview by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...