Betancourt's Husband
Accuses Colombia Of
Hampering Her Release
High-profile FARC
hostage Ingrid
Betancourt might have
been released if
Colombia had not raided
the rebels' camp in
Ecuador, her husband
said Monday.
"If they had not killed
this guerrilla, she may
even have been freed,
because on March 14 and
15 they had planned to
release 12 more
hostages, my wife among
them," Juan Carlos
Lecompte told a press
conference during a
visit to Chile at the
invitation of the
recently formed Ecology
Party.
FARC (Revolutionary
Armed Forces of
Colombia)
second-in-command Edgar
Devia was killed in the
bombing raid on March 1,
along with some 20 other
rebels.
Lecompte reiterated his
confidence in Venezuelan
President Hugo Chavez,
whose negotiations
secured the release of
six hostages this year.
"He is the only one who
has obtained results and
the only person in the
world that FARC listens
to," Lecompte said.
He said he regretted
that the death of Devia
meant a delay in hostage
releases, but added that
positive negotiations
were continuing.
Betancourt, a
French-Colombian
politician, was
kidnapped in 2002 while
campaigning as a
candidate for Colombia's
presidential election.
She is being held in the
Colombian jungles and is
in very poor health,
recently released
hostages have said.
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