Colombia rescues Betancourt, 3 U.S. hostages

By Hugh Bronstein

BOGOTA (Reuters) - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and 11 other hostages held for years in jungle captivity were rescued on Wednesday from leftist guerrillas by Colombian troops posing as aid workers.

The rescue was a huge 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 spur economic growth.

Betancourt, 46, was the highest profile captive held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, Latin America's oldest surviving left-wing insurgency.

A former presidential candidate, her dual French-Colombian nationality had helped bring world attention to the plight of hostages held by the rebels.

"I believe that this is a sign of peace for Colombia, that we can find peace," Betancourt said, thanking the Colombian military for her rescue and weeping as she made her first public comments, carried on Colombian radio station Caracol.

Minutes later a pale but smiling Betancourt landed at Bogota's military air base, walking down the stairs of the plane and hugging her mother, Yolanda Pulecio, on the runway.

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said all of the former captives were in reasonably good health despite having been held in harsh conditions, often chained by the neck by their rebel captors.

The rescue was carried out in the southern jungle province of Guaviare, Santos said. Soldiers posed as members of a fictitious non-government organization that supposedly would fly the hostages by helicopter to a camp to meet with rebel leader Alfonso Cano.

"The helicopters, which in reality were from the army, picked up the hostages in Guaviare and flew them to freedom," Santos said. Two guerrillas were captured in the operation.

Fifteen long-term kidnap victims were rescued in all, including Betancourt and the three Americans, he said.

"It (the rescue) will go down in history for its audaciousness and effectiveness," Santos told reporters.

The FARC has been holding about 40 high-profile hostages it has sought to exchange for jailed rebels.

AMERICANS EN ROUTE HOME

The freed Americans all worked for Northrop Grumman and were captured in 2003 after their light aircraft crashed in the jungles while on a counternarcotics operation.

The three were on their way to the United States on Wednesday evening, the Colombian government said.