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Mission to save French hostage in Colombia fails
Colombia's most famous hostage, Ingrid Betancourt, faces more time in a jungle prison while suffering from illness, after France abandoned a multinational mission in the face of a snub from leftist rebels.
- AP
- Published: 13:25 April 9, 2008
Bogota: Colombia's most famous hostage, Ingrid Betancourt, faces more time in a jungle prison while suffering from illness, after France abandoned a multinational mission in the face of a snub from leftist rebels.
A delegation that tried to meet with Betancourt and her rebel captors is preparing to fly out of Colombia in a French government jet. The rebels said in a statement posted on the internet on Tuesday that they would no longer unilaterally free captives.
France's Foreign Ministry later said that there was no longer any reason to keep the mission by France, Spain and Switzerland in Colombia. The jet had been waiting on a Bogota airstrip since Thursday with doctors hoping to reach the French-Colombian Betancourt, who was said to be suffering from depression and hepatitis B.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said he is "deeply disappointed."
Sarkozy's office said, "He wants to assure our compatriot's family, as well as those of all the hostages, that his determination to win their liberation remains as strong as ever."
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