This World

Hostage in the Jungle (2010x8)

Air date: Oct 20, 2010

Ingrid Betancourt was the world's most famous hostage. On February 23rd 2002, Ingrid, a presidential candidate in Colombia's elections, was kidnapped by the left-wing FARC rebel group along with her assistant and friend Clara Rojas. She was held for over six years in the jungle - with only occasional news coming out including a shocking picture which showed her clearly on the verge of collapse, if not death, in 2007. This is the first documentary account of what happened in the jungle in her words and of those who were there with her: Clara Rojas, her Campaign manager and Marc Gonsalves, one of three Americans who were also held by FARC for many years. The film tells how Ingrid and Clara fell out, ending up virtual enemies with completely different strategies of survival. The film explores the dynamics of captivity, including remarkable interviews with both the FARC soldier who kidnapped Ingrid and Clara - along with their main camp commander, who actually presided over Clara's caesarian section in the middle of the jungle. The film ends with the most daring rescue mission since Entebbe. The Colombian Military sent in twelve unarmed men and women pretending to be aid workers and lured the guerrillas into believing that they were transferring them on a humanitarian mission.