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Letter, videos show Betancourt and other hostages taken in Colombia may be alive

A former presidential candidate held by leftist rebels describes in an emotional letter how she has lost her hair, appetite and hope after nearly six years constantly on the move in Colombia's jungles.

The letter, along with videos released by government officials on Friday, were the first evidence in years that Ingrid Betancourt and other rebel-held hostages including three US military contractors may still be alive.

The materials were seized during the arrest in Bogota of three suspected members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

"Here, we are living like the dead," Betancourt writes to her mother.

The dual French national was kidnapped in February 2002 while campaigning for the presidency.

An outspoken former lawmaker who was once determined to tackle Colombia's rampant corruption, Betancourt sounds resigned and weakened in the 12-page handwritten letter, which is dated Oct. 24. Excerpts were released in Paris by people close to her family.

"I no longer have the same strength, it is very difficult for me to continue believing," she writes. "I am not well physically ... My appetite is frozen, my hair is falling out in large quantities."

A short videotape released with the letter shows grainy images of an extremely gaunt Betancourt staring at the ground, rosary in hand.

Each of the three Northrop Grumman Corp contractors, who have been held since their surveillance plane went down in February 2003 in rebel territory, also appear in videos.

In an interview with the left-wing Bolivarian press agency released on Saturday, a FARC commander who calls himself "Ivan Marquez" said the group would not send more proof that the captives are alive anytime soon because it was too risky for the people delivering it.

"Bogota's folly forces the FARC to take drastic actions because it cannot run the risk that other emissaries will be detained," said Marquez, who is also known as Marin Arango.
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