free at last: ingrid betancourt

After six and a half years of captivity, Ingrid Betancourt was freed. The operation was codenamed "Jaque." The Colombian government's bloodless rescue of the hostages was the product of a perfectly executed ruse that depended on old-school spy games rather than high-tech gadgetry. The Colombian military successfully infiltrated the local FARC squads and the secretariat of the FARC. Agents spent months worming their way into the FARC's ranks. They gained the rebel's trust and rose to the top of the FARC's leadership council as well as a team assigned to guard the hostages. When the time was ripe, the moles used the authority they'd gained within the group to order the 15 hostages moved from three separate locations to one central area. The rebel in charge of the hostages was duped into accepting a supposed request from headquarters to gather the hostages together to fly them to guerilla commander, Alfonso Cano. Instead, Ingrid Betancourt and fourteen other hostages were flown by government personnel, dressed as FARC, to San Jose del Guaviare. Among the fifteen hostages, were American citizens, Marc Gonsalvez, Keith Stansell, and Thomas Howes.

On July 2, 2008, Minister of Deference Juan Manuel Santos announced to the world the rescue of the 15 hostages.