Operation Jaque - National Geographic
In July 2008 Ingrid Betancourt was Liberated From the FARC
Oct 22, 2008
Reading like a script more far-fetched and inexplicably more complex than a Bond villain’s heath robinson design to dispose of the British secret agent, Operation Jaque or check mate has been heralded as an unequivocal success.
The Story
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is well known for his hard line stance against the guerrillas during his tenure as President and it has come as no surprise that one of his great desires was to liberate the key hostages –Ingrid Betancourt and the three American Contractors – from the clutches of the FARC so as to be able to do away with negotiations and get back to the business in hand of destroying the guerrillas militarily.
As a source of embarrassment for the Colombian Government, since the plight of these aforementioned hostages kept the conflict on the front page and led for international governments such as that of French President Sarkozy to place further pressure on his Colombian counterpart to negotiate for a humanitarian exchange and dialogue with the guerrillas.
Problems From Within
Exploiting their recent successes against the FARC, listening in on their radio dialogues and indeed intercepting the frequency, the Colombian military had been able to more or less establish in which region the hostages were being held. Narrowing it all down they were also able to ascertain that the guerrilla guarding the hostages, Cesar, had not been in direct contact with the high command of Mono Jojoy for over three years.
Given the death of the FARC No1 Manuel tirofijo Marulanda it has been said that there is an existing power struggle within the ranks of the FARC and that the military leader Mono Jojoy was unhappy to be overlooked as the new No1 with political strategist Alfonso Cano being chosen instead.
Operation Jaque
Taking full advantage of the upset within the ranks of the FARC the Colombian military planned a daring and almost unthinkable heist. They would, using military personnel trained by actors, pose as an international NGO helping to move the hostages from the holding camp to that of the high command in their helicopters.
Months of training, debriefs from escapee Jhon Frank Pinchao and hours spent pouring over video recordings of recent releases of political hostages brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba, provided the military with everything they felt they needed for what amounted to a 9 minute ruse.
National Geographic Documentary
With testimonies from Minister of Defense Santos, high ranking military officials and even President Alvaro Uribe himself the documentary went some way to explaining the successful operation but in reality it probably left the viewers with further questions. The issue of some of the military being clad in International Red Cross bibs was brushed off by Santos as clearly irrelevant, despite putting the ICRC under severe threat in danger zones in the future. There was no mention of the claims made on certain international radio stations that in fact the whole operation was a cover up for a huge ransom paid in part by the French and US Governments.
For the casual viewer with a superficial understanding of the situation in Colombia this would have been a fine introduction, but for anyone looking for a more in depth study they will have been left wanting. For a more personal account of life in captivity one would have been better off switching over to Discovery to catch the documentary based on Jhon Pinchao's escape from the FARC.
