Tall & Rich

Of course, by now everyone’s heard of the rescue of Ingrid Betancourt from FARC guerillas along with the US citizens Farc has been holding for more than five years. Venezuela’s El Universo has the background on the rescue;

The Colombian Army rescued safe and sound ex presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three US citizens and 11 military officers held as hostages by the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), on Wednesday announced Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos.

“They were rescued in an operation aimed at infiltrating the FARC first squad, the same that has held a large number of hostages for years. Through several procedures, we also could infiltrate the FARC Secretariat. Since hostages were divided into three groups, we managed to have them gathered at one single place and then moved to the south of the country, where they would supposed to report to (new FARC top leader) Alfonso Cano,” said Santos.

The minister added that arrangements were made so that the hostages were picked up in pre-established place by a helicopter belonging to a ghost organization and that a FARC leader known as César and another member of FARC Secretariat traveled together with the hostages to hand them over to Cano.

Santos said the freed hostages are flying in choppers to San José del Guaviare, capital city of the Guaviare region.

“This operation, called ‘Check,’ is unprecedented and a proof of Colombian military forces’ quality and professionalism,” pointed out Santos.

Actually, there must’ve been a mistranslation. According to their Spanish language article it was operation “Jack”

“Esta operación que se denominó ‘Jaque’, no tiene precedentes y pasará a la historia por su audacia y efectividad, dejando muy en alto la calidad y el profesionalismo de las Fuerzas Armadas colombianas”, señaló Santos.

McClatchy reports that John McCain had just finished a visit to Colombia moments before the rescue;

McCain, Sen. Joseph Lieberman and Sen. Lindsey Graham took turns praising Uribe, who’s raised a ruckus within Colombia’s political establishment during the past week by asking the country’s Congress to let him run for president an unprecedented third time.

Leftist critics of Uribe have said he’s trying to perpetuate himself in office like a “dictator.” Human rights groups have been saying for months that the president hasn’t placed enough priority on reducing atrocities against peasants committed by the military.

However, Colombians overall have given Uribe extraordinarily high ratings, with 70 percent saying they view him favorably.

Under Uribe, guerrillas in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are on the brink of defeat, major cities have become mostly safe for the first time in years and the economy has grown steadily.

The news just keeps getting better for Colombians.

There’s Spanish-language video of the homecoming from to my buddy Kate at A Colombo-Americana’s Perspective.

I’m betting there are some angry screams coming from the Miraflores Palace in Caracas.