Hostage shocker: Colombia tricks rebels into freeing Betancourt, 14 others

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian spies tricked leftist rebels into handing over kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. military contractors Wednesday in a daring helicopter rescue so successful that not a single shot was fired.

Betancourt, who was seized on the campaign trail six long years ago, appeared thin but healthy as she strode down the stairs of a military plane and held her mother in a long embrace.

"Thank you for your impeccable operation," she told top military commanders. "The operation was perfect."

Eleven Colombian police and soldiers were also freed in the rescue, the most serious blow ever dealt to the 44-year-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which considered the four hostages their most valuable bargaining chips. The FARC is already reeling from the deaths of key commanders and the loss of much of the territory it once held.

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said military intelligence agents infiltrated the guerrilla ranks and led the local commander in charge of the hostages, alias Cesar, to believe they were going to take them to Alfonso Cano, the guerrillas' supreme leader.

The hostages, who had been divided in three groups, were taken to a rallying point where two disguised helicopters piloted by Colombian military agents were waiting. Betancourt said her hands and feet were bound.

"We were frustrated because we were handcuffed," she said. "We were very indignant, very humiliated."

Only when the helicopters were airborne did military crewmembers reveal their identity, she said.

"The chief of the operation said, 'We're the national army. You're free,"' she said, adding that the hostages were so shocked, it was as if "the helicopter almost fell from the sky."

Santos said Cesar and another rebel on board "were neutralized." He didn't elaborate, but said they were unhurt and would soon face justice. Santos said the other rebel captors retreated into the jungle and the army let them escape "in hopes that they will free the rest of the hostages," believed to number about 700.

The operation, Santos said, "will go into history for its audacity and effectiveness."

"We wanted to have it happen as it did today," added armed forces chief Gen. Freddy Padilla. "Without a single shot. Without anyone wounded. Absolutely safe and sound, without a scratch."

At a Bogota ceremony with top military commanders, the freed hostages walked up to a microphone one by one, identified themselves by name and rank, and thanked their rescuers. Some had been held for a dozen years, captured when rebels overran military outposts.