Colombia rescues 15 hostages held for years by FARC rebels

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Source: CCTV.com | 07-03-2008 08:12

Colombia has freed Ingrid Betancourt and three US military contractors after being held hostage for years by leftist rebels.

Colombia's Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, right,  holds the hand of former hostage Ingrid Betancourt as her  mother Yolanda Pulecio follows behind upon Betancourt's  arrival to a military base in Bogota after being rescued  from six years of captivity, Wednesday, July 2, 2008.  Betancourt is one of 15 hostages rescued by Colombia's  military from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,  or FARC. Betancourt was abducted by the FARC when running  for president in Feb. 2002.(AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

The country's defense ministry says military spies tricked rebels into giving the hostages up without a single injury. 11 Colombian soldiers and police were also freed as their captors gave up without a fight.

46-year-old Betancourt was abducted in February 2002 while running for the presidency of Colombia.

France has made her captivity a national cause, as she holds dual French and Colombian citizenship.

The Americans worked for a subsidiary as Pentagon contractors. They were captured a year later when their drug surveillance plane crash landed in a rebel area.

In the five years since their abduction, their families received only two proof of life videos, the latest in November last year.

That tape also showed the first images of Betancourt since 2003. She was suffering from Hepatitis B, tropical skin disease and depression.