“The helicopters arrived and these completely surreal characters came out,” Ms Betancourt said. “The men were dressed with logos and things that showed they were delegates of I don’t know what. And I looked at this and thought: ‘Who are these people?’”
Her early optimism vanished when she saw some of the men wearing Che Guevara T-shirts. A rebel commander also told her they were simply being moved to a different prison camp… “I thought: ‘This is just the Farc. This is not a health brigade, it’s nothing’. We were very annoyed, indignant and humiliated”…
“The helicopter began to rise. Suddenly, something happened, I didn’t notice quite what. All of a sudden, I saw the commander who had been in charge of us for so many years – who so often humiliated us and was such a despot – naked and handcuffed on the floor.”
Then the hostages heard the unforgettable words: "We are the National Army. You’re free.’
Earlier this morning Betancourt was reunited with her children:
In other news related to yesterday’s release:
- Three U.S. military contractors who were freed arrived in Texas late last night where they were medically examined today and will soon be reunited with their respective families.
- Did John McCain have anything to do with the operations’ planning? Most likely not but that didn’t stop a certain news channel from speculating at that possibility.
- Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said that the mission was a “one hundred percent” Colombian effort though the U.S. ambassador to the country said that the U.S. gave "technical support" to the operation.
- Reactions from leaders across the region and worldwide were filled with praise towards the Colombian government and joy over the safe liberation of the hostages. The Venezuelan government, for instance, expressed hope that the rescue would lead to the end for Colombia’s civil conflict while a Vatican spokesman said that it was “good news which gives (us) great pleasure.”
- Yesterday’s events were undoubtedly “another in a string of humiliations for the FARC” as one analyst notes. While the guerilla army has been a shell of its former self, they still hold a key bargaining chip in the form of over forty “high-profile” hostages along with 700 others. As another analyst observed that the FARC “has had a bad year so far, but a fifty-year-old rebel insurgency won't be finished in six months alone.”
- Could this be a sign of more liberations to come – Norway's Foreign Ministry said that the FARC freed a Norwegian hostage yesterday.
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Plan Colombia and Beyond, Aftenposten.no, Guardian UK, NPR, Think Progress, AFP, BBC News, Bloomberg, Times Online, Reuters
4 comments:
Nice round up. Its hard to keep up with everything flowing in!
Thanks lou for reading and for your thoughtful comment.
I wonder if Chavez and Correa are truly celebrating Colombia's success. After all, they seemed to be enjoying the confrontations with Uribe. Here was a vidid scene, captured by The New Yorker, from a recent summit of Latin American presidents:
The Dominican President, Leonel Fernández, opened the meeting and gave Rafael Correa, of Ecuador, the floor. “The government of Colombia bombed my country,” Correa began. Ecuador, he said, was prepared to pursue its grievances to their “final consequences.” Looking at Uribe, Correa said, “Your insolence offends us even more than your murderous bombs.”
Chávez and the rest of the Venezuelan delegation gave Correa a standing ovation.
I'm not 100% sure on how much Correa is really "enjoying" the rescue mission. Yet the issue of the FARC has been a thorn in his side for quite a while. While Colombia can be blamed for entering Ecuadorian territory during the entire Raul Reyes episode, it also brought to light the permissive border security in ecuador. (Which had been going on even before Correa came into power). Despite disagreements over that situation (and a still shaky diplomatic relationship) it makes sense for Colombia and ecuador to have strong ties.
In that same vein, Chavez and Uribe don't always tend to have a tense relationship as is sometimes shown in the press. Colombia and Venezuela rely on one another economically; both countries were hurt economically when the border was "closed" during the Reyes affair, for instance.
As we mentioned here:
http://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com/2007/10/commentary-chavez-uribe-arent-medias.html
despite ideological differences both Chavez and Uribe carry a cordial relationship. That will surely be the case when they meet next Friday (in Caracas, i think).
The whole FARC issue has been problematic for Chavez, particularly over the suspicions that he is/was closely tied to the group. Whther these allegations or true or not, he surely knows that it's been a pain in his neck.
If Wednesday's rescue can lead to meaningful negotiations with the FARC and the group's demobilization then it's a victory for many parties (mainly the Colombian people but also for its neighbors and respective governments).
lastly, thanks for your comment!
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