[PhatWah]

BOGOTA, July 2 (Reuters) - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and 11 other hostages were rescued from leftist guerrillas by Colombian troops on Wednesday, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said.

Santos said all of the former captives were in reasonably good health after being held for years in secret jungle camps.

The rescue took place on Wednesday in the southern jungle province of Guaviare. Fifteen long-term kidnap victims were rescued in all, including Betancourt and the three Americans, Santos said.

The news was a coup for popular President Alvaro Uribe, an anti-guerrilla hard-liner who has used billions of dollars in U.S. aid to push the rebels onto the defensive, cut crime and spark economic growth.

"This was an unprecedented operation," Santos told reporters. "It will go down in history for its audaciousness and effectiveness."

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, has been holding about 40 high-profile hostages it has sought to exchange for jailed rebels.

Betancourt, a former presidential candidate with dual nationality, was kidnapped by the FARC in 2002. She was last seen in a rebel video at the end of last year looking gaunt and despondent.

"I am filled with happiness," Betancourt's sister, Astrid, told Colombian radio. "These have been long years of waiting."

The Americans, three Defense Department contract workers, were captured in 2003 after their light aircraft crashed in the jungles while on a counternarcotics operation.

In Paris an aide to President Nicolas Sarkozy, asked about the news, said the presidency had no comment to make for the moment and that it could not confirm the news.

France had made vigorous efforts to seek Betancourt's freedom.

"I'd like to thank everyone involved, including President Sarkozy," Herve Marro, spokesman for an Ingrid Betancourt support group in Paris, told French TV station I-Tele.

CONDITIONS FOR TALKS

The FARC, waging Latin America's oldest insurgency, has demanded that Uribe pull back troops from an area the size of New York City to facilitate talks.

Uribe, popular at home for his tough stance against the rebels, refuses to accept that condition. But he has offered a smaller safe haven under international observation in an area where there are no armed forces or armed groups.

The FARC, once a 17,000-member force able to attack cities and kidnap almost at will, has been driven back into remote areas and now has about 9,000 combatants. The guerrillas have lost three major leaders this year.

Listed as a terrorist group by U.S. and European officials, the FARC has used Colombia's cocaine trade to fund its operations.

source

[chriskiss]

This is crazy news. It looked to be one of those situations that were hopeless.

The Farc still have more than 40 hostages still.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Betancourt 'rescued in Colombia'

[JerseyTrash]

I've heard about how this lady has been missing for years now. Amazing that she's free now.

[Dao Jones]

That's great news. One of the "contractors" is a friend of a friend. I know his family is happy tonight!

[Kerabatsos]

This is really great news.

[Mithra]

Why did they call McCain?

[RuSSiaNThuG]

farc got played

[yankspanker]

FARC wont last long

[Anghel_jf]

Originally Posted by Mithra

Why did they call McCain?

McCain was visitng Colombia at the time. He was having a meeting with Uribe and I guess he then told McCain about the whole operation

[DaRuckus337]

Looks like another failure for FARC and another victory for the Uribe Government....

Colombia foils bomb plot after rescue

"BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia found explosives set to be used in bombs across the capital in reprisal for this week's rescue of leftist rebels' highest-profile hostages, including Ingrid Betancourt, military officials said on Saturday.

The army seized about a ton of explosives at a farm outside Bogota that it suspected the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, planned to use in attacks over the next few days, said the officials, who asked not to be named.

On Wednesday, the military dealt the rebels the latest in a series of severe blows this year, duping them into handing over French-Colombian politician Betancourt, three American defense contractors and 11 Colombian soldiers and police officers.

The bloodless helicopter rescue in the jungle was hailed around the world but also raised fears that the rebels behind Latin America's oldest insurgency could try to strike back.

This year, the FARC have managed only small-scale attacks in response to setbacks such as the deaths of three senior guerrillas. Last month, four police officers were wounded in a suspected FARC rocket attack in Bogota less than two weeks after the announcement of the death of the group's leader.

The military offensive of President Alvaro Uribe, a U.S. ally, has driven the rebels from urban areas and they now rarely attack the capital -- a huge contrast to a decade ago when the cocaine-financed FARC threatened to overrun the government.

This week's rescue could have brought the four-decade-old insurgency to the brink of defeat, political and security analysts said. It deprived the rebels of their biggest bargaining chips, likely hurt morale and exposed their fragmented organization, they said."

Colombia foils bomb plot after rescue | Reuters