Amid generally ebullient news coverage, reports are starting to emerge that the "impeccable" hostage-rescue mission in Colombia was actually a sham to disguise the payment of a ransom. Swiss public radio cited an unidentified source "close to the events, reliable and tested many times in recent years" as saying the operation had in fact been staged to cover up the a $20 million payment by the US and Colombian governments. The hostages "were in reality ransomed for a high price, and the whole operation afterwards was a set-up," the public broadcaster said. The report added said the wife of one of the hostages' guards had acted as a go-between after being captured by the Colombian army. She was released to return to the FARC, where she allegedly persuaded her husband to switch sides. The report claimed that the US was behind the deal. [There's a fair amount of detail in this article.] » original news ...
Anytime
