Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
ingrid betancourtlatest news & developments

‘Six days ago I was chained to a tree’

For the past seven days Ingrid Betancourt has engaged in an extraordinary frenzy of tarmac reunions, presidential meetings and public addresses.

Betancourt returning to Columbia to write play

Ingrid Betancourt said in an interview on Sunday she would return to Colombia ”in a few days” to write a play about her experience.

Hostages reveal details of ‘sadism’ and executions

Harrowing details about the captivity of Ingrid Betancourt in Columbia emerged on Friday as doubts surfaced over the official version of their rescue.

Betancourt rescue: ‘Like a movie’

It was Ingrid Betancourt’s 2 321st day in captivity and it started like any other. At 4am she woke up and prayed to God.

Colombians trick rebels

French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt freed from Farc rebels after six years

Freed hostage Betancourt recounts bold rescue

High-profile hostage Ingrid Betancourt was shocked when aid workers supposedly transporting her to a new location turned out to be state soldiers.

Govt: Colombia’s top Farc commander is dead

The founder and chief commander of Colombia’s Farc rebel force, Manuel Marulanda, has died after more than 40 years fighting the state from jungle and mountain camps. If…

Women’s Day protests highlight violence, inequality

Calls to end forced marriage, domestic abuse and job discrimination marked International Women’s Day on Saturday as demonstrators took to the streets worldwide. The issues…

Chávez accuses Colombia of war crimes

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez accused his Colombian counterpart of war crimes as Venezuela and Ecuador turned up the heat on Bogotá over its military strike on an insurgent…

Colombia says it kills Farc commander in Ecuador

Colombia’s military said on Saturday its troops had killed a top rebel commander in an attack on a jungle camp across the border in Ecuador in a severe blow to Latin America’s…

Venezuelan helicopters fly to free hostages

Two Venezuelan helicopters flew into Colombia on Wednesday to pick up four lawmakers held hostage for years in jungle camps by Marxist rebels, in a diplomatic victory for…

Ex-Colombian hostage reunited with son

A Colombian woman freed last week after six years as a rebel hostage arrived in Bogota on Sunday and headed straight for a reunion with her son, Emmanuel, born in a jungle camp…

Colombia again attempts hostage handover

An airborne operation to pluck two hostages from their rebel captors deep in the Colombian jungle lurched back to life on Thursday, after a botched handover attempt collapsed 10…

Venezuela on alert to receive rebels’ hostages

Venezuelan authorities are standing by to receive three hostages Colombia’s Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels have said could be released as early as this weekend…

Colombia seizes video of rebel-held hostages

Colombian officials on Friday showed recently seized videotapes of rebel-held hostages, among them three United States defence contractors and a former presidential candidate —…

Colombia, Venezuela face crisis in relations

Colombia and Venezuela faced the worst crisis in their relations in years on Monday after the Colombian president accused Venezuela of seeking to install a Marxist regime in his…