Betancourt, 3 Americans freed

BOGOTA, Colombia | Colombian forces scored a big victory in a 44-year war against Marxist insurgents Wednesday by infiltrating their enemy and rescuing former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three American hostages and 11 Colombian troops without firing a shot.

Mrs. Betancourt later embraced her mother and her husband on the tarmac of an airport in Bogota after six years in captivity, much of it spent moving from hide-out to hide-out in dense steamy jungles and towering mountains.

“I’m well, thank you,” said Mrs. Betancourt, 46, dressed in military fatigues, her face framed with intricate braids. She spoke with a poise and radiance despite reports of her ill health while in captivity.

Hours earlier, Republican presidential candidate John McCain had been briefed in advance of the rescue plan during a visit to Colombia.

“It’s a very high-risk operation. I congratulate President [Alvaro] Uribe, the military and the nation of Colombia,” Mr. McCain said after the hostages were safe.

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President Bush called Mr. Uribe to congratulate him, as did French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Mrs. Betancourt is a dual French-Colombian citizen.

The Americans - Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell - were flying to the United States to rejoin their families, Colombian officials said.

The rescue highlighted Colombia’s claim that it is winning its war, despite guerrilla claims to the contrary.

This year, Manuel Marulanda, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), died of a reported heart attack, and two other top commanders were killed.

The rest of the forces are hunkered down in remote jungle and mountain hide-outs, unable to communicate effectively, the Colombian government says. The rebels say the are prepared to keep fighting.

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said military intelligence managed to infiltrate the FARC secretariat and a roughly battalion-size guerrilla unit that had control of Mrs. Betancourt, three Americans and 11 Colombian troops.

“It was coordinated so that the kidnapped victims would be picked up at a pre-determined site by a helicopter of a fictitious organization” supportive of FARC, he said.

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