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Freed US hostage denounces Colombian rebels
Among the smiles and hugs shared by three American hostages freed last week from rebels in Colombia and their families, one of the men on Monday angrily denounced their captors as "terrorists with a capital 'T.'"
- AP
- Published: 11:03 July 8, 2008
Fort Sam Houston: Among the smiles and hugs shared by three American hostages freed last week from rebels in Colombia and their families, one of the men on Monday angrily denounced their captors as "terrorists with a capital 'T.'"
Marc Gonsalves said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which held him in captivity for more than five years, refuses to acknowledge human rights and rejects democracy. "They use revolution as a justification for criminal activity," he said.
"I want to send a message to the Farc," Gonsalves said. "Farc, you guys are terrorists. You deny that you are, you say with words that you're not terrorists, but your words don't have any value. Don't tell us that you're not terrorists, show us that you're not terrorists."
Gonsalves made the remarks at a ceremony welcoming him and two other US military contractors — Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell — home after their time in captivity. The men did not take questions from reporters.
Gonsalves said a hostage with a chain around his neck would be forced to march while carrying a heavy backpack and a guerrilla armed with an automatic weapon held the other end of the chain "like a dog."
The men had been held by the Farc since their drug-surveillance plane went down in the jungle in February 2003.
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