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McCain, Obama and U.S. Trade Rep. Celebrate Colombia Hostage Rescue
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07/02/08 03:50 PM ET
Barack Obama and John McCain praised the rescue Wednesday in Colombia of 15 hostages, including a former presidential candidate and three U.S. military contractors, who were held by rebels.
Colombian spies tricked the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia, also known as FARC, into handing over Ingrid Betancourt, who ran for the country's presidency in 2002. She was abducted that year along with the contractors and 11 Colombian police officers and soldiers.
McCain, who was in Colombia Tuesday and Wednesday, said that President Alvaro Uribe and the Colombian defense minister had told him of the rescue plans.
"I'm pleased with the success of this very high-risk operation," McCain said in a release. "Sometimes in the past, the FARC has killed the hostages rather than let them be rescued. So I congratulate President Uribe, the military and the nation of Colombia. It is great news. Now we must renew our efforts to free all of the other innocent people held hostage. With regard to the three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt -- they had been held many years, as many as six years."
Obama said he looked forward to the reunion of the hostages with their families. Obama also praised Colombia's hard-line stance toward FARC.
"I strongly support Colombia
Colombian spies tricked the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia, also known as FARC, into handing over Ingrid Betancourt, who ran for the country's presidency in 2002. She was abducted that year along with the contractors and 11 Colombian police officers and soldiers.
McCain, who was in Colombia Tuesday and Wednesday, said that President Alvaro Uribe and the Colombian defense minister had told him of the rescue plans.
"I'm pleased with the success of this very high-risk operation," McCain said in a release. "Sometimes in the past, the FARC has killed the hostages rather than let them be rescued. So I congratulate President Uribe, the military and the nation of Colombia. It is great news. Now we must renew our efforts to free all of the other innocent people held hostage. With regard to the three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt -- they had been held many years, as many as six years."
Obama said he looked forward to the reunion of the hostages with their families. Obama also praised Colombia's hard-line stance toward FARC.
"I strongly support Colombia
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