Hostage rescue or p.r. stunt?

DAYS AFTER Íngrid Betancourt and other hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were freed, Latin America is awash with speculation that the "daring rescue" by Colombian security forces described glowingly in the Western media may have been more a public relations stunt than a military operation.

"There has definitely been disinformation about what happened during the rescue of Íngrid Betancourt and the 13 other hostages of the FARC," media watchdog Maryclen Stelling said on television in Venezuela. "The first version given by the Colombian government makes us believe in innocent guerrillas, without malice, who were fooled into bringing [the hostages] to the helicopter. However, rescues aren't so marvelous even in Hollywood."

Some analysts believe that a hostage release had already been arranged due to the work of the French government, and that the Colombia army swept in at the last minute to get the credit by portraying it as a rescue. There is even speculation that millions of dollars were given to FARC commanders in exchange for Betancourt and the other hostages.

Spokespeople for the U.S. and Colombian governments hotly deny these charges. However, what isn't in dispute is that the United States helped plan the operation. And although the administration will not confirm it, it seems likely that George Bush tipped off Republican presidential nominee John McCain that something was unfolding in Colombia. McCain's presence in Colombia during the operation allowed him to pose for the cameras and bask in the glow of President Alvaro Uribe.

Had the operation gone sour, with a massacre of hostages, FARC guerrillas or Colombian soldiers, McCain wouldn't have wanted to be around. The fact that Bush didn't warn him to stay away--and that Uribe even delayed the start of a press conference to brief McCain about the impending action--certainly lends credence to the idea that the Colombian military wasn't worried about whether the operation would succeed.

THE FULL details of what happened may not be forthcoming for some time. But whatever the final verdict, Betancourt's release has triggered some interesting developments.

While Uribe has certainly benefited in the short term, growing doubts about the government's version of events and Betancourt's latest statements show that support for him isn't universal.

Betancourt, the ex-presidential candidate for the Colombian Green Party, initially showered the government and military with praise. However, during a press conference in France, Betancourt called on Uribe to stop his "radical and extremist language of hate" against the FARC.

According to the independent Venezuelan Web site Aporrea.org, she further emphasized her political distance from Uribe by continuing, "That's the difference between me and Uribe. For Uribe, the end of the FARC means the reestablishment of peace in Colombia. For me, peace in Colombia will come from social transformations."

Then, Betancourt went on to heap praise on Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez--Uribe's regional rival and a foe of the U.S. "It seems to me that Hugo Chávez is magnificent," Betancourt said. "He can tell the FARC things that they will hear. The FARC didn't like it at all when Chávez told them that the armed struggle in Latin American was obsolete, and that they had to think in a different way."

While Betancourt praised Chávez, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa welcomed Betancourt's release. However, he sharply criticized Uribe and made it clear that diplomatic ties between the two countries would remain severed--as they have been since Colombia's March incursion into Ecuadorian territory during an operation in which the FARC's number-two commander, Raul Reyes, was killed.

"We reiterate our stance," the Spanish daily El Mundo quoted Correa as saying. "So long as we don't have a decent government to deal with in Colombia, we will not resume these relations, and this position is unchangeable until there are substantial changes in the contempt and disrespect that Colombia always shows toward Ecuador."

"We have to ask ourselves," Correa continued. "If they can do such a surgical operation, in collaboration and cooperation with the United States and Israel, why could they do the same to capture [the FARC commander known as] Raul Reyes, and why did they bombard us?"

HOWEVER, IF Uribe does have some questions to answer now, Betancourt's release is proving to be a disaster for the FARC.

No matter what the details are, the rebel group, at war with the repressive Colombian government for decades, has been shown to be in disarray. It is coming under intense pressure, from friend and foe, to release the rest of its hostages and enter peace talks.

Correa criticized the FARC and called for the release of all remaining prisoners, saying, "If Che Guevara were alive, he would die of shame [to see] innocent people kidnapped, supposedly to reach [the FARC's] aims, however noble they may be."

Even Cuba's Fidel Castro is joining in. While he advised the FARC not to unilaterally hand in their guns, he called on the group to hand over all their prisoners to the International Red Cross "without conditions."

Bolivian President Evo Morales added his voice, praising, according to Reuters, the "actions and agreements taking place between the government and the FARC...We are not in the times of armed struggle, still less in struggles labeled as terrorist, but in the democratic struggle that can liberate the Latin American people."

Perhaps the most unexpected development of all has been Hugo Chávez's attitude. Although he has often been accused by the American and Colombian governments of aiding the FARC, Chávez--after telling the FARC that the "epoch of the rifle has passed"--took Betancourt's release as an opportunity to reach out to Uribe as "a brother."

"We said very hard things," Chávez said on July 4, referring to past diplomatic confrontations. "That's what happens between brothers sometimes. [But] it has passed, and, I hope, it has passed forever."

What explains Chávez's kind words for Uribe, who he has, in the past, rightly linked to the death squads and military responsible for the majority of the violence in Colombia? It may have something to do with the fact that later this week, Uribe will be coming to Venezuela to discuss a new proposal to build a railway line linking the two nations, one of the biggest joint economic ventures to date.

Until now, Chávez has always spoken forthrightly about the threat that the U.S. policy of arming the Colombian military to the teeth poses for South America. However, according to El Universal, on July 5, Venezuela's Independence Day, Chávez stated that he had discussed resuming anti-narcotics cooperation with the U.S. with American Ambassador Patrick Duddy. Chávez also alluded to the November presidential elections, "Whoever wins the White House, I hope we can sit and talk. I did it with President Clinton."

It remains to be seen if Chávez's openings to Uribe and the U.S. constitute diplomatic niceties--or if Betancourt's release, beyond exposing the weaknesses of the FARC and the arrogance of Uribe, also signals a new turn in the Venezuelan revolution.