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Colombia shows proof FARC hostages alive

The Colombian government yesterday broadcast videos of kidnapped politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans in the first proof since 2003 that the high-profile rebel hostages were still alive.

The videos, which also showed Colombian military officers kidnapped by guerrillas, were confiscated from three suspected rebels captured in Bogota and included images from October, Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo said.

Betancourt, a French-Colombian citizen and former presidential candidate captured in 2002, and the Americans are among the most well-known captives held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC rebels, waging Latin America's oldest insurgency.

"In a Colombian army operation against the FARC's urban networks, three people were captured and in their possession was found proof of life of a group of kidnap victims," Restrepo told reporters.

Brief clips of the videos broadcast by local television showed images of Betancourt sitting in jungle surroundings and the Americans.

US contractors Thomas Howes, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell were snatched by the militant group when their aircraft crashed on a counter-narcotics mission.

Restrepo said the army also found various letters, including an undated letter from Howes to his wife, as well as a will dated Nov. 26 last year; a letter from Gonsalves to the military commander of the FARC, known as "Mono Jojoy," dated Oct. 23 this year; and a letter from Betancourt to her mother dated Oct. 24.

The FARC wants to exchange around 50 hostages for jailed rebel fighters. However, recent efforts by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to broker a hostage deal fell apart after Colombia suspended his role as mediator in any talks to free rebel kidnap victims.
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