On February 13, 2003, a small plane with U.S. military contractors and a Colombian Army Sgt onboard went down in Colombia. The occupants were captured shortly thereafter by the FARC and two of the captives were murdered—the Colombian, and U.S. pilot Thomas Janis.
Today it’s been announced that the remaining hostages Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell were finally recovered by the Colombian military, along with 12 Colombian captives.
I’ve been following this tragic situation since the day it happened in 2003 and I’m thrilled to see these individuals returning to their families. Hopefully we’ll get more details on their rescue soon.
Update: more from NYT still vague, but “Colombian commandos disguised as rebels spirited 15 hostages to freedom on Wednesday…” sounds like a movie in the making to me.
Update 2: Oh yeah, this will be a movie, for sure. But what’s with all the commenters talking about John McCain…who gives a crap about that? Come on people, I can’t believe how stuck everybody is on politicians. Politicians are all creeps, forget that. This is a great day for 3 U.S. citizens who have been held hostage for FIVE YEARS, people!!! Good grief.
Update 3: More details. This is awesome. And unless you live in a cave, you know they’re back on home soil.
