Former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was kidnapped by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) back in 2002, has finally been rescued.
Six years in captivity??? So awful!
The rescue operation resulted in the freeing of Betancourt and 14 other hostages, three of them Americans, which were all held in the jungles of South America.
The three Americans had been held captive since February 13th, 2003, when their single-engine plane unfortunately crashed in mountains south of Bogota. Two other men on the plane were shot to death by FARC.
As for Betancourt, her situation has attracted worldwide attention when she was abducted on February 23rd, 2002 after she entered rebel territory while campaigning for the Colombian presidency.
The news of her deteriorating health was made public after FARC released six hostages this year.
One of those freed, Luis Eladio Perez, says he last saw her in February of 2008 but that she had been suffering from chronic liver problems since 2004.
He adds, “Ingrid made a sign for me to go to the bathroom and she did the same and we were able to talk for about five minutes. I saw she was very ill and wasting away. She looked much worse than in that ‘proof-of-life’ video the rebels filmed in October. She told me to stay calm and that the guerillas were giving her vitamins and calcium.”
Ingrid, who has both Colombian and French citizenship, even got a personal plea made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to her captors back in April.
He said, “Ingrid’s health has deteriorated so much that her life is in danger. Ingrid is in danger of imminent death. You have the power to save a woman from death and revive hope for all the other hostages still held.”
Let’s hope she recuperates quickly.
[Photo via Getty Images.]
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