French-Colombian politician and former hostage Ingrid Betancourt asked Colombian guerrilla group FARC to release all hostages because “they deserve their freedom.”
In an interview with Caracol Radio’s “Voices of Kidnapping,” Betancourt said “to release drop by drop is very frustrating for all of us. I believe that all who are in the Colombian jungle deserve their freedom.”
The former hostage referred to the FARC’s promise to release three members of the Colombian military and two local politicians, but are holding another 15 members of the security forces as “prisoners of war” and are believed to have kidnapped dozens of civilians for extortion purposes.
The day the FARC “stop kidnapping we can talk in a different way and we can walk the path of understanding towards peace,” Betancourt said.
The French-Colombian politician was kidnapped by the FARC when on presidential campaign in 2002. She was rescued by the Colombian army in 2008. Despite being the country’s most famous ex-hostage, Betancourt is one of the least popular public figures in Colombia.