The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt

Ingrid Betancourt was a Colombian-French politician and presidential candidate who was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on February 23, 2002, while campaigning in a demilitarized zone her advisors had warned her was dangerous. She was held captive in the Colombian jungle along with dozens of other hostages — including American military contractors — for six years and four months, enduring brutal conditions, forced marches, illness, attempted escapes, and psychological torture.

Betancourt's captivity became an international cause célèbre. Her French citizenship drew intense diplomatic involvement from France, which conducted numerous covert and overt negotiations for her release. Her two children, who were living in France, became prominent public advocates for their mother's freedom, appearing at international forums and meeting with heads of state. Her husband, who separated from her during the captivity, and her children maintained sustained public pressure.

Her rescue came on July 2, 2008, through "Operation Jaque" — a brilliantly executed Colombian military intelligence operation in which officers posing as humanitarian workers and FARC sympathizers tricked the guerrillas into transporting Betancourt and fourteen other hostages, including the three American contractors, to a helicopter that was actually operated by Colombian military forces. The hostages were freed without a shot being fired, in what was hailed as one of the most audacious and successful hostage rescue operations in history.

After her release, Betancourt wrote a memoir, "Even Silence Has an End," about her captivity. She subsequently separated from her husband and pursued various public activities in France. Her case drew global attention to the decades-long FARC insurgency and the humanitarian crisis of Colombia's approximately 3,000 FARC hostages. Operation Jaque is studied in military intelligence programs as a masterwork of psychological deception.