COLOMBIAN RESCUE U.S. hostages take jabs at FARC

The three American hostages held for more than five years by Colombian rebels denounced their former captors.
Posted on Tue, Jul. 08, 2008
Miami Herald

BY SUSANA HAYWARD
Special to The Miami Herald
Former hostages Thomas Howes, left, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell make their first public comments about their ordeal in Colombia on Monday at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.
GLORIA FERNIZ / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Former hostages Thomas Howes, left, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell make their first public comments about their ordeal in Colombia on Monday at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.



FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas --
Clutching their children, siblings, spouses and parents amid tears and applause, three former American hostages held captive for more than five years denounced their rebel captors Monday as terrorists who kept them chained by their necks in the jungles of Colombia.

Their first public appearance since being released Wednesday was supposed to be brief, but South Florida resident Marc Gonsalves asked his Army hosts: ``May I please break with the program?''

Then he spoke emotionally about the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, that took him and two fellow U.S. government defense contractors captive in February 2003 after their plane went down while on an anti-narcotics mission.

''I want to tell you about the FARC,'' Gonsalves said, speaking first in English and then in Spanish. ``They say they want equality. They say they make Colombia a better place.

'It's a lie. They are terrorists with a capital `T.' ''

The three contractors -- Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell -- appeared at Brooke Army Medical Center, where they have been receiving medical and psychological attention since arriving in San Antonio after a daring rescue by the Colombian military.

The three addressed the media but took no questions at the afternoon gathering inside the auditorium of the medical center, festooned with yellow ribbons and American flags. They were flanked at all times by throngs of military personnel who kept the media away from them and their family members.

Dressed in civilian clothing and looking about 30 pounds thinner than when they were captured, they were supposed to make a brief statement thanking their families, the Colombian and U.S. governments and their employer, Northrop Grumman Corp., for their support.

But Gonsalves gave a lengthy an emotional address instead.

He characterized the rebels -- who have been battling the Colombian government for more than 40 years and continue to hold some 700 other captives -- as drug traffickers, extortionists and kidnappers who reject democracy and brainwash followers. He added that most of the FARC guerrillas are young, uneducated Colombians who can barely read or write.

''I've seen them hold a newborn baby hostage, a baby who needed medical care,'' the goateed Gonsalves said, speaking softly, his voice often cracking with emotion. ``There are people right now being held hostage. At this exact moment they are being punished. Right now, right now, they are wearing chains on their necks while guerrillas with automatic weapons are pointed at their necks.

''I myself, and my friend Tom and Keith, have also been victims of their hate, their abuse and their torture,'' he said. ``I have seen how even their own guerrillas commit suicide to avoid the slavery that FARC has committed them to.''

Howes, who turned 55 on Independence Day, was the first to speak and approached the microphone reluctantly, looking gaunt and overwhelmed in front of dozens of media representatives and military personnel.

''Almost 5 ½ years ago, I fell off the edge of the earth,'' he said. ``We are doing well but can't forget those left behind in captivity in the Colombian jungle.''

Stansell, 44, held up his 5-year-old sons, Nicolas and Keith Jr., both of whom he met for the first time over the weekend and kissed repeatedly. His Colombian fiancé, Patricia Medina, was pregnant when he was captured.

Smiling widely and giving a thumbs up, a visibly moved Stansell echoed his friends' sentiments, thanking his family, his employer and the Colombian and U.S. governments for his release.

''They are the reason I'm alive,'' he said.

The three are undergoing a voluntary reintegration process to return to normal life in a program administered by U.S. Army South that is based on the experiences of Vietnam POWs. Part of their reintegration process involves sharing and talking about their experience while in captivity.

''You never know how all this is going to play out,'' James Pitts, president of Northrop Grumman, said in a brief news conference after the three contractors left the auditorium. ``Our guys have shown a lot of valor and courage beyond any call of duty.''

It was not known how long the former hostages would remain at the medical center at Fort Sam Houston but military officials said it would be as long as they wanted and that it was completely voluntary. Pitts declined to discuss what the three had endured as hostages.

The head of their medical team, Col. Jackie Hayes, said all medical tests were concluded and that the three were in good health.

Col. Carl Dickens, the head psychologist, said the men's re-entry into normal life was akin to someone being in a dark room for long periods of time and then having a bright light suddenly shine on them.