The rescue mission that spirited 15 kidnap victims from the control of leftist rebels in the jungles of Colombia began early this year when the rebels’ leadership group was penetrated, the mission’s leader said.
Gen. Freddy Padilla de Leon told CNN en Espanol Wednesday that “the highest level” of the seven-member secretariat of the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia was infiltrated. Also infiltrated was a team of rebels, led by one with the nom de guerre of Cesar, who had been assigned to guard the hostages, Padilla said.
The daring mission — dubbed “operation Check” — started Wednesday when an unmarked helicopter swooped into a jungle clearing. Security forces posing as rebels stepped off the chopper and shepherded hostages onto the aircraft as about 60 real guerillas watched, authorities said Wednesday night.
I am not sure who deserves more credit for the rescue: the Colombian government for their sheer brilliance, or the FARCs for their utter stupidity. Word of advice: just because your girlfriend calls you ‘Caeser’ in the bedroom doesn’t mean it is an appropriate name on the battle field. Choose something lowly like ‘Animal Mother’; expectations won’t be so high. In addition to that: seriously guys, you kidnap people for a living. If you want to look like professionals, you should really lay off the blow. Ohh, wait…
I do find it interesting though the rescue mission happened to occur the same day John McCain was in Colombia. A previous CNN story mentioned how he was briefed about the raid, but I wonder if his visit was meant to coincide with the attempt. Obama asked for more white people and less Muslims behind his podium; maybe McCain is looking for a few of his peers (i.e., former hostages) in order to do a photo shoot for GQ. All in all, I am glad to hear that everything went to plan. I would hate to see the headline, ‘McCain goes to Colombia, Kills Three Hostages’, on the front page of the New York Times…
UPDATE: The news reports that the rescuers were wearing Che Guevara t-shirts. You can’t make this stuff up.
