Posted by Josh Katz to FindingDulcinea
Not a week has past since Ingrid Betancourt was rescued from the jungles of Colombia, and she is already fighting for the causes she believes in.
During her six years as a captive, Betancourt spent time chained to a tree and withstood stints of serious illness. She told France 24 television that there were times when she was forced to plod 15 miles a day through the jungle.
Her lifestyle changed drastically on July 2, when Colombian forces rescued Betancourt and 14 other hostages from the FARC rebels who held them captive.
Betancourt, who holds a dual French and Colombian nationality, has not spent much of her freedom resting. After the rescue she spent two days in Colombia before heading to France. “She is meeting with officials, a former professor, clinching a deal to write a play and giving interviews nonstop,” according to the Associated Press.
Betancourt was a Colombian senator running for president in 2002 when she was kidnapped by FARC rebels. There are rumors that the 46-year-old may be seeking her country’s top position once again.
Richard Lapper of the Financial Times writes, “30 per cent of a sample of Colombians surveyed last week said they would vote for her and at least one prominent leader of the left-wing Democratic Pole has openly suggested she may well run as the party’s candidate in the 2010 election.” Lapper even quoted a news magazine that compared Betancourt to Nelson Mandela.
She has already questioned the tactics of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe toward her former kidnappers, asking him to temper his “radical, extremist language of hate” against FARC.
Find out more at FindingDulcinea.com