4 yrs in captivity: Colombia seizes tapes of hostages

Colombian officials on Friday revealed recently-seized videotapes of rebel-held hostages...

Colombian officials on Friday revealed recently-seized videotapes of rebel-held hostages, among them three US defence contractors and a former presidential candidate — the first images in years providing evidence the captives may be alive.

High Commissioner for Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo said the tapes were confiscated after the arrest on Thursday evening of three suspected urban members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, better known as the FARC.

The Government said it had also recovered a series of letters, apparently written by the hostages, including what appeared to be the will of US contractor Thomas Howes.

The findings come days after the FARC were severely criticised for failing to provide so-called “proof of life” during the recent mediation by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who demanded such evidence from the guerrillas.

The videotapes, which were played at a news conference without sound, showed an extremely gaunt Ingrid Betancourt, the French-Colombian politician, apparently chained and in front of a jungle backdrop.

In the images, Betancourt, who was kidnapped as she campaigned for the Colombian presidency in 2002, has long hair and stares blankly at the ground. No images of her have been seen since 2003.

“The proof of life of Ingrid Betancourt obtained by the Colombian authorities is big news: it is the first proof of life for more than four years,” said David Martinon, a spokesman for French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Story continues below this ad

The Government said that the tapes carried the date for Betancourt of October 24, 2007. The tape of the Americans carried the date of the January 1, 2007.

The Americans — Howes, Keith Stansell and Marc Gonsalves —were abducted by the FARC after their plane went down in Southern Colombia in 2003.

In the images, each American briefly stood alone on the screen, also against a jungle backdrop, looking haggard. The rebels had not released any images of them since 2003. The US embassy in Bogota has called the three Americans the longest-held US hostages currently in captivity.