Americans Rescued from Rebels in Colombia

Three Americans were rescued today by the Colombian military from the terrorist guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Also rescued were Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate, and 11 Colombian soldiers and police.

The three Americans - Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell and Thomas Howes - had been hostages for five years. In 2003 their plane went down in a remote jungle area, and they were captured by the FARC. The Americans had been flying over an area of FARC-controlled jungle, conducting surveillance on coca fields for the US government.. The FARC depends heavily on the illegal cocaine trade for its funding.

The rescue was conducted without a single shot fired, at virtually no risk to the hostages. Three separate groups of FARC rebels were tricked into meeting at a single point in the jungle to deliver their hostages into the hands of whom they thought were other rebels. They were under the impression that the hostages were being transported to Alfonso Cano, head of the FARC.

A helicopter landed in the designated area and picked up the handcuffed hostages and a couple of FARC guards. Once in the air, the FARC guards were neutralized, and the hostages were told by the disguised military pilots, "We are the national army. You are free!" Ingrid Betancourt, one of the hostages, said the helicopter almost fell out of the sky from all of the jumping and celebrating of the 15 hostages.

The three Americans were flown directly to San Antonio, Texas.