{news} Fw: USGP-INT Account of Ingrid Benancourt Escape Attempt

Mon Jan 28 08:21:09 EST 2008

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Carl Romanelli 
To: Green Party International ; Media US Greens 
Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2008 10:51 AM
Subject: USGP-INT Account of Ingrid Escape Attempt

Frank Pinchao has a book coming out this month.  In it there is an account of one of Ingrid's attempts to escape.
Peace,
Carl Romanelli/PA

Escape attempt by Ingrid Betancourt
24/01/2008 - The International Courier, El Tiempo
The book called "My Escape to Freedom" by John Frank Pinchao, the policeman held prisoner by FARC who escaped last April, is due out next week in Colombia. In one chapter, published in advance by El Tiempo, the former hostage relates one of Ingrid Betancourt's escape attempts. The International Courier printed an extract.
"The night Ingrid escaped was overcast and wet, and the guerrillas took turns to keep watch, as usual. The guard who had come to take over was chatting with the other guerrillas on guard duty; they had chained each of us to one another by the wrists. I was tied to Captain Bermeo [one of the military hostages]. The rain was torrential.
 The following day, two pairs of boots had disappeared, those belonging to Amaón [Florez Pantoja] and to [José Miguel] Arteaga [two officers held hostage], who asked the rebels where they had gone to. The later replied they knew nothing and, as some rebels had boots in bad shape, it was thought they had been taken to go fishing.
Sgt Marulanda was due to give the radio to Ingrid. He went to the hut, called her, got no reply and left the radio beside her bed. At breakfast time, we took out our pots so we could be served and, as usual, they counted the pots to make sure that everyone could eat. Two pots were missing. We all wondered who was not there, until someone ended up saying that it was the two "doctors" [Ingrid Betancourt, the presidential candidate kidnapped in 2002, and Luis Eladio Pérez, the senator kidnapped by FARC in 2001]. They went to find them to see if they wanted breakfast, but, surprise, there was no one in the hut. All the rebels were alerted.

Amaón went to check the boots left in Ingrid's hut, and of course they were his own. As she knew well the rebels would count the boots, clever Ingrid had taken the boots belonging to Arteaga and Amaón and had put them in her hut so the rebels wouldn't suspect anything.

(.) We asked the rebels to tell us the truth about Ingrid's disappearance (rumour had it that she was going to be freed): we wanted to know if they were going to free her without telling us, in that case that would explain that they were going to leave at night so we would not notice anything, but they told us that no, she had escaped. After that, the guards, who until then used to keep watch for two hours each, were doubled and their watch lasted six hours.

Groups of ten men searched all around, each one had to comb an area of 5 to 6 metres and 50 to 60 metres from the edge of the rivers. We heard them call Ingrid's name, in vain. We saw them return exhausted, after long hours spent looking for these two hostages who were seeking freedom.
After 5 days, Castellanos said: "Hello Doctor, So, had you a good stroll?" Thinking it was a joke, we didn't believe it at first, and then we turned and saw Luis and Ingrid who had just arrived, looking exhausted and thin. They were fed, but they didn't want to eat; after this failure, they could hardly touch their food.
Two rebels came to tie them up: that was the first time they were tied up. First Luis and then Ingrid, but she fought. Then "Gina" arrived, a female rebel who was second in command of the unit looking after us and who also carried out the role of nurse. Ingrid told her she would not allow her to tie her, that it was an outrage, and asked Gina, as she was a woman, to help her. Two guerrillas got involved, "Efren", the black man, and another very small man. Ingrid was still struggling but in the end they succeeded in chaining her up. Ingrid told "Gina" that this was a memory forever engraved in her memory, that she would never forget, to which the guerrilla replied"Shut up, you haven't any guts."  
  (..) Later, they told us exactly what had happened. Luis Eladio's health had worsened during their escape, and then they had finished the little food they had been able to bring with them. They said to each other if they saw a fisherman, that they would ask for help.  It was then they saw a boat. But as it came near, they realised it was the guerrillas. These said to them "get in, you sons-of-a-bitch" and brought them back to the camp. These several days had a terrible weakening effect on Luis and Ingrid; they returned completely drained, thin, emaciated."

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