February 20, 2008
After 3 years held hostage deep in the Colombian jungle, ex-political candidate half-French Ingrid Betancourt was freed from the FARC guerilla along with other kidnapped foreigners by the military. The Betancourt kidnapping was a heavy blow for the fight against Colombia’s “kidnapping industry” since long a major financier of the country’s guerilla. The freeing mission was cleverly planned by the military who convinced leaders of the guerilla that they in fact were an independent aid organization simply offering their helicopters to assists in transferring Betancourt and other prisoners from on hide-out to the next. When Betancourt were lifted into the helicopter, men from the military dressed as the guerilla delivered the good news – “You are free!”
