In her first hours of freedom, Ingrid Betancourt held her children tight, visited her father’s grave and sent her husband out to find oranges for breakfast.

Colombian spies tricked leftist rebels into handing over kidnapped presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three US military contractors today in a daring helicopter rescue. No shots were fired during the rescue.

Colombia offered to suspend the sentences of jailed guerrillas if the rebels first free hostages including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt.

Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt is forced to sleep chained by her neck as punishment for having tried to escape from her rebel captors five times, an escaped hostage told family members today.

An Irish minister today met the husband of a kidnapped Colombian politician to assure him of the State’s support in the fight to free his wife.