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American Hostages Rescued In Columbia Return To U.S.
The three American contractors held hostage in Columbia by FARC terrorists for more than five years have arrived back in the U.S.
They returned to the U.S. late Wednesday, as their plane landed at Lackland Air Force Base shortly after 11 p.m. All appeared well as they exited the Air Force C-17 without fanfare. The men were flown by choppers to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where they were expected to undergo tests and be reunited with their families.
The U.S. military contractors — Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell — had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia since their drug-surveillance plane went down in the jungle in February 2003. Nowhere in the world have American hostages currently in captivity been held longer, according to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.
The three were rescued when Colombian spies tricked leftist rebels into handing them over along with kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. She was also freed Wednesday, as were 11 Colombian police and soldiers.
Eric Atkisson of U.S. Army South, said Thursday the former hostages would not be speaking publicly Thursday.
It’s really amazing that the three of them made it through that ordeal. I can remember watching interviews with them on ‘60 Minutes’ five years ago only five months after their plane crashed. I don’t think America lived up to its responsibility to bring these guys home sooner. Having said that, thank God they’re finally home and can reunite with their families.
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