FORT SAM HOUSTON - In his first public remarks since he and two other American hostages were freed in Colombia, a US defense contractor on Monday branded their captors as terrorists and praised the Colombian army for a daring rescue.
Posted on 07/07/2008 10:08:26 PM PDT by Coffee200am
FORT SAM HOUSTON - In his first public remarks since he and two other American hostages were freed in Colombia, a US defense contractor on Monday branded their captors as terrorists and praised the Colombian army for a daring rescue.
Keith Stansell, one of three US defense contractors freed on July 2 after five years as a rebel-held hostage in Colombia, holds his twin 5-year-old sons at a news conference at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, July 7, 2008. [Agencies]
American defense contractor Marc Gonsalves appeared with fellow hostages Keith Stansell and Thomas Howes at a military medical facility at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, after returning last week from more than five years of captivity.
Gonsalves leveled strong criticism at his captors -- the leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC.
"The FARC are not a revolutionary group," Gonsalves said. "They are terrorists with a capital 'T.' Bad people."
Gonsalves said he had seen the guerrilla group withhold medical care from a sick newborn baby.
He also talked about the lives of other hostages still being held.
"Right now they are wearing chains around their necks," he said. "They will be forced to march, with that chain around their neck, while a guerrilla with an automatic weapon is holding the other end of his chain, like a dog."
Colombian officials say FARC, which the United States has declared a terrorist organization, still holds more than 700 hostages.
The Americans all worked for US defense contractor Northrop Grumman and were captured in 2003 after their light aircraft crashed in the jungles while on a counternarcotics operation. A fourth contractor, Tom Janis, was killed by the FARC shortly after the crash, according to the company.
The three Americans, French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 11 other hostages were rescued by the Colombian army in what Gonsalves called "the most perfect rescue that has ever been executed in the history of the world."
The men did not take questions from reporters. Each gave statements in an auditorium before a crowd of cheering US soldiers.
Stansell urged reporters to respect the former hostages' privacy and quipped that he hoped Florida Gov. Charlie Crist would let him return home without his license, which his captors evidently took from him.
"Sir, I don't have a drivers license," Stansell said in a mock plea to Crist. "How am I going to get home?"
On the last night of his captivity the kidnappers held a big party for him and took plenty of pictures. My dad was there when the man was released and there were hugs and tears in the eyes of both the kidnappers and kidnapped. It was just business back then.
Kidnapping-just business?
We can indirectly thank our liberal legislators like Pelosi and Kennedy for the liberation of these hostages. FARC was confident in their supportive outreach as their allies in fact and deed.
How lovely to see useful idiots like John Lewis et all being used for constructive purpose.
“Kidnapping-just business?”
Yeah...that was my reaction too. It gives a VERY inaccurate view of what takes place in Colombia.
They're no worse than Barack Hussein Obama in that respect. He thinks live babies born after botched abortions should be killed. Hussein's people share the FARC's fondness for murderer Che also.
Things have changed. One of the people I knew that got kidnapped is still in communication with his kidnapper and even has dinner with one of them when he is in Bogota.
Did you happen to notice that I said that the kidnapping in Colombia was just business “back then.” I was obviously speaking in the past tense.
Total, it is a different story.
That all changed in the 1970’s and my siblings and I had to be driven to school in Bogota under armed guard.
Terrorists?!? No bleepin’ way! ;’)
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