Ingrid Betancourt, Three Americans Rescued as Colombian Hostages

Ingrid Betancourt and three U.S. contractors were among 15 hostages who were freed from guerillas on Wednesday, according to Colombia's El Tiempo news reports.

The rescue was a striking blow to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), who considered Betancourt and the three Americans their most valuable bargaining chips.

The three contractors have been identified as Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell.

Betancourt, the former Colombian presidential candidate, was taken hostage in 2002 while she was running for president. Due to her dual French and Colombian citizenship, France's government campaigned for her release. She turned 46 on Christmas Day.

Gonsalves, Howes and Stansell were captured a year later when their drug surveillance plane went down. They worked for a Northrup Grumman Corp. subsidiary as Pentagon contractors. They were the longest-held American hostages in the world.

Betancourt was last seen in 2003 when Colombia's Noticias Uno showed a video of her.

RCN Television SA and Caracol Television SA, the two biggest television stations in Colombia, have been covering the hostage situation.

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