2008-07-02 23:52:08 -

- Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner made the following statement following the release of Ingrid Betancourt and other hostages:

"I am extremely relieved and very happy that Ingrid Betancourt's six-year nightmare as well as the captivity of three US citizens and eleven Colombian officials have finally come to an end. I hope that Ingrid Betancourt will soon be reunited with her family so that she will be able to recover rapidly from her terrible ordeal.

I congratulate the Colombian authorities for this successful operation.

At the same time our hearts go out to those who remain in captivity. Ingrid Betancourt's fate has shed a harsh light on the cruel and inhumane conditions

in which they are being held. We call on their captors to release all their hostages immediately and unconditionally as well as to depart from their practice of kidnapping and hostage-taking."

Delegation of the European Commission to the
United States
Kasper Zeuthen, 202-862-9530