Ingrid Betancourt is free

Ingrid Bétancourt, a 46 year old  Colombian politician, who also has french citizenship, was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in february 2002 while campaigning for the Colombian presidency. She was beeing held in the Colombian jungle. In the afternoon of july 2nd 2008, the Columbian Government announced that has been released at around 15h20 EDT and is in good health. France 24, France's TV all-news station, a sort of French CNN, announced around 17h00 EDT that she was on a military base in the southern Colombia. She travelled from San José de Guaviare, to the Tolemaida military base and then to Bogota, the capital of Colombia. She was seen with a big smile, wearing a camouflage hat, getting off an airplane in Bogota around 18h22 EDT with the Colombian national anthem playing. 

Once off the plane, where was greated by her mother, she was immediatly given a cell phone, most likely to talk to her children still in France. After, in turn with other freed hostages, she spoke, thanking the Colombian government, the army , President Sarkozy, the people of France and all who worked towards her release. She then nealed and prayed on the tarmac. She appeared to be in good health.

In a question period that followed, she also thanked former president Jacques Chiraq and her friend Dominique de Villepin and his wife. When asked by reporters if she still intended to run for President, she answered that she believed that the re-election of President Uribe had been a good thing, that she supported President Uribe and that she does not know what the future holds but did not dismiss the possibility that she may run again in the future.

Earlier July 2nd (late in the evening in France), French president Nicolas Sarkozy, with Bernard Kouchner, Minister of External Affairs, Ingrid's sister Astrid and her children Mélanie et Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt gave a news conference confirming the news and expressing their satisfaction. Ingrid Betancourt's mother, Yolanda Pulecio, a former Miss Colombia who later served in the Colombian parliement, was at that time on a plane on her way to Colombia to see her daughter. She was present when Ingrid Bétancourt arrived in Colombia. An emotional President Sarkozy thanked Colombian President Uribe, the people and army of Colombia and president Chavez, of Venezuela. President Sarkozy had made Ingrid Betancourt's release a priority of his administration. After the news conference in Paris, External Affairs Minister Kouchner, a French doctor and Ingrid Betancourt's family boarded a plane in France and arrived in Colombia on the morning of July 3rd. They arrived in Bogota at 8h17am (Colombia time) on july 3rd. Ingrid Betancour boarded the plane, greated her children and came out a few minutes later with them.

In the afternoon (of July 2nd), Colombian Minister of the Interior, Juan Manuel Santos, had announced that Mrs Ingrid Betancourt, three American defence contractors, Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, and eleven Colombian soldiers where liberated by the Colombian military forces on wednesday, July 2nd 2008, in what he called an 'intelligence mission'. The US government and President George Bush, allies of the Colombian government, had been informed that this military operation was imminent.

Born in Colombia in 1961, Mrs Bétancourt has two children currently living in France, Mélanie (age 22) and Lorenzo (age 19). Mrs Betancourt studied at the famous french University Sciences Po in Paris, where she had Dominique de Villepin, France's former Minister of external affairs, as a professor. It is there than she met and in 1981 married Fabrice Delloye, a french citizen. In 1990, she divorced and returned to live in Colombia to help her mother get elected to the senate. In 1994, she was elected to the Colombian parlement (Asamblea Nacional Constituyente). In 1998, she created a new political party, a Green party called Oxígeno Verde, was re-elected in the following election and became a Senator. In 2002, she ran for the presidency but was kidnapped during the campaign. 

A large picture of Mrs Bétancourt has been on display on the facade of the Paris city hall and the government of France, lead by President Nicolas Sarkozy, has been lobbying for her release. President Sarkozy has been involved in this effort since 2003, when he was France's Minister of the Interior and had been sent to Colombia by then Prime-Minister Dominique de Villepin to discuss drug traffic problems. There had been much concern in the past few months about her health, which had been deteriorating. It was reported that she has been suffering from Hepatitis B and malaria.

It is estimated that there are still 2000 prisoners held by the FARC. There are 8000 soldiers in the FARC Marxist gerilla forces.

Sources and references

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Dngrid_Betancourt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Armed_Forces_of_Colombia

http://www.20minutes.fr/article/240542/Monde-Ingrid-Betancourt-a-ete-liberee-par-l-armee-colombienne.php

http://www.tsr.ch/tsr/index.html?siteSect=200001&sid=9289615&cKey=1215092321000

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/02/betancourt.colombia/index.html

http://www.romandie.com/ats/news/080703141413.j2w6ko2j.asp