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Operation Emmanuel (Spanish:Operación Emmanuel) was ahumanitarian operation that rescued politicianClara Rojas, her son Emmanuel (born in captivity), and former senator Consuelo González from theRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) inColombia. The operation was proposed and set up byVenezuelanPresidentHugo Chávez, with the permission of the Colombian government ofÁlvaro Uribe. Chávez's plan was supported by the governments ofArgentina,Bolivia,Brazil,Ecuador, andFrance, as well as theRed Cross, which also participated in the operation. Venezuelan aircraft were flown to an airport in the Colombian town ofVillavicencio, were resupplied, and from there flew to the secret rescue point set up by the FARC.[1][2] On December 26, 2007, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Colombian government approved the mission, only requesting that the aircraft used for the operations were labelled withRed Cross insignias.[2]
Colombian politician and then-senator Consuelo González was kidnapped by the FARC on September 10, 2001. Her captors held her to pressure a possible "humanitarian exchange" between government-held guerrilla prisoners for FARC-held hostages. In 2002, former vice presidential candidateClara Rojas was kidnapped along with presidential candidateIngrid Betancourt, and were also held by the FARC.[3]
Venezuelan presidentHugo Chávez said the plan consisted of three phases. The first phase comprised sending twoMil Mi-17 helicopters to Colombia carrying five International Red Cross Committee delegates. Both helicopters were to be equipped with medical aid appropriate for the humanitarian mission and in accordance with International Red Cross standards. Chávez personally inspected the two helicopters in Santo Domingo before departing along with formerpresident of ArgentinaNéstor Kirchner, who was also invited to supervise the operations. Besides the two Mi-17 helicopters, twoBell 412 helicopters and three French-made executiveFalcon 200 [fr] jets were used for support tasks.[4]
Along with the ICRC delegates were representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, France, and Switzerland. Family members of the three hostages travelled from Colombia toCaracas to wait for the end of the operation, set to conclude in Caracas with President Chávez receiving the hostages, as previously petitioned by the FARC as a condition.[5]
During the first phase, two Russian-madeMI-17 helicopters from the Venezuelan Military Search and Rescue Team flew into Colombia on December 27, 2007 at 1530 hours, with the permission of the President of Colombia and with the International Red Cross (IRC) insignia for a humanitarian mission. The helicopters flew more than two hours from the Venezuelan town of Santo Domingo in theState of Táchira to the Colombian city ofVillavicencio, capital of theDepartment of Meta, arriving at approximately 1730 hours.[6]
Colombia'sHigh Commissioner for Peace,Luis Carlos Restrepo Ramírez, was scheduled to receive the IRC delegates and the Vice Chancellor for Latin America and the Caribbean,Rodolfo Sanz [es], inVillavicencio to coordinate the rescue operation.[7]
At the end of the first phase Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said: “[I'm] thinking about the freedom of Emmanuel, the child who was conceived by a kidnapped mother, who has been raised kidnapped, a condition worse than the conditions seen in enslaved societies […]”[8]
On December 31, Hugo Chávez read a letter from FARC wherein the group claimed that the hostage release had been delayed because of Colombian military operations. However, Colombian PresidentÁlvaro Uribe indicated that FARC had not freed the three hostages because Emmanuel appeared not be in their hands any longer.[9]
Colombian authorities added that a boy matching Emmanuel's description had been taken to a hospital inSan José del Guaviare in June 2005. The child was in poor condition: one of his arms was injured, he had severe malnutrition, and he had diseases that are commonly suffered in the jungle. Having been evidently mistreated, the boy was later sent to a foster home in Bogotá, and DNA tests were conducted to confirm his identity.[9]
On January 4, the results of amitochondrial DNA test, comparing the child's DNA with that of his potential grandmother Clara de Rojas, were revealed by the Colombian government. It was reported that there was a very high probability that the boy was indeed a Rojas family member.[10] A further analysis was carried out in aSantiago de Compostela institute in order to verify the results.[10][11]
Venezuelan Foreign MinisterNicolás Maduro questioned the results, stating that Colombia did not allow Venezuelan specialists to conduct their own tests and had created a "cloak of doubt".[10]
On January 4, the FARC released a communique in which they admitted that Emmanuel had been taken to Bogotá and "left in the care of honest persons" for safety reasons, until a humanitarian exchange could take place. The group accused President Uribe of "kidnapping" the child in order to sabotage his liberation.[12]
The suspended Operation Emmanuel resumed and, on January 10, 2008, a humanitarian commission, headed by theInternational Committee of the Red Cross, flew in two Venezuelan helicopters to a location in Colombia that FARC had designated the previous day. Rojas and Gonzalez were then released to the care of the commission.[13] The release received ample coverage by Venezuelan government media, which was allowed to take camera men in the helicopters in what was to become a carefully crafted media showcase.
On January 13, 2008,Rojas was reunited with Emmanuel. It was the first time she had seen her son in over two years.[14]
