http://latinamerica.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/04/france-and-the-ailing-ingrid-betancourt/ A Great Decisions 2008 Blog Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:53:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.0 http://latinamerica.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/04/france-and-the-ailing-ingrid-betancourt/#comment-982 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:07:53 +0000 http://latinamerica.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/04/france-and-the-ailing-ingrid-betancourt/#comment-982 [...] Last night many Colombians at home and abroad stayed up into the late hours of the night to hear the first free words from the rescued FARC captive and former Presidential Candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Ingrid was captured by the FARC seven years ago during her presidential campaign and has been used as a symbol of fear against the Colombian government and people ever since. Numerous attempts to negotiate via France, the US, Venezuela and Hugo Chavez and through Colombian leaders themselves had lead to numerous failures, until last night when a Colombian rescue operation used internal operatives and complex logistical planning and intelligence that resulted in a rescue that would outshine any of the four Rambo movies. Along with Ingrid, three American hostages were also freed and 14 other Colombian prisoners. The intelligence and raid that lead up to the rescue culminated over the last few months, beginning with Hugo Chavez obtaining the release of a handful of FARC hostages, rapidly leading to a heavy exchange of words between Chavez and Uribe. Increased tensions arose when Colombia took the fight against the FARC to a camp in Ecuador, killing one of their top leaders and a number of other leaders being captured or killed in the following weeks. Another significant event was the death of Marulanda, the top FARC commander dying of a heart attack. With the confusion in the FARC ranks and dozens of desertions, the command and control structure not only gave Colombian Special Forces the opportunity to win back the hostages, but also is slowly degrading the FARC from a force a few years ago of 18,000 members who were perched outside of Bogotá, to an estimated force of 9,000 troops hiding in the jungles. [...] […] Last night many Colombians at home and abroad stayed up into the late hours of the night to hear the first free words from the rescued FARC captive and former Presidential Candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Ingrid was captured by the FARC seven years ago during her presidential campaign and has been used as a symbol of fear against the Colombian government and people ever since. Numerous attempts to negotiate via France, the US, Venezuela and Hugo Chavez and through Colombian leaders themselves had lead to numerous failures, until last night when a Colombian rescue operation used internal operatives and complex logistical planning and intelligence that resulted in a rescue that would outshine any of the four Rambo movies. Along with Ingrid, three American hostages were also freed and 14 other Colombian prisoners. The intelligence and raid that lead up to the rescue culminated over the last few months, beginning with Hugo Chavez obtaining the release of a handful of FARC hostages, rapidly leading to a heavy exchange of words between Chavez and Uribe. Increased tensions arose when Colombia took the fight against the FARC to a camp in Ecuador, killing one of their top leaders and a number of other leaders being captured or killed in the following weeks. Another significant event was the death of Marulanda, the top FARC commander dying of a heart attack. With the confusion in the FARC ranks and dozens of desertions, the command and control structure not only gave Colombian Special Forces the opportunity to win back the hostages, but also is slowly degrading the FARC from a force a few years ago of 18,000 members who were perched outside of Bogotá, to an estimated force of 9,000 troops hiding in the jungles. […]

]]> http://latinamerica.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/04/france-and-the-ailing-ingrid-betancourt/#comment-361 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:43:05 +0000 http://latinamerica.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/04/france-and-the-ailing-ingrid-betancourt/#comment-361 [...] In an article released this week by Spiegel International, evidence of FARC activities have been discovered after the killing of one of its leaders in Ecuador last month. The article goes into detail on what information was discovered. Information about the state of Ingrid Betancourt was detailed in the files. What most expected, is that she is quite ill and is putting up a strong front against her kidnappers. Another piece of valuable information is that the FARC is also in possession of 30 kilos of Uranium, not suitable for making bombs but useful in the production of armor piercing rounds which can cut through most modern tanks and APC’s possessed by the Colombian military. [...] […] In an article released this week by Spiegel International, evidence of FARC activities have been discovered after the killing of one of its leaders in Ecuador last month. The article goes into detail on what information was discovered. Information about the state of Ingrid Betancourt was detailed in the files. What most expected, is that she is quite ill and is putting up a strong front against her kidnappers. Another piece of valuable information is that the FARC is also in possession of 30 kilos of Uranium, not suitable for making bombs but useful in the production of armor piercing rounds which can cut through most modern tanks and APC’s possessed by the Colombian military. […]

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