[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 123 (Friday, July 25, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7482-S7483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 627--WELCOMING HOME KEITH STANSELL, THOMAS HOWES, AND 
   MARC GONSALVES, THREE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES WHO WERE HELD 
   HOSTAGE FOR OVER FIVE YEARS BY THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF 
     COLOMBIA (FARC) AFTER THEIR PLANE CRASHED ON FEBRUARY 13, 2003

  Mr. NELSON of Florida (for himself, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Martinez, Mr. 
Dodd, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Craig, Mr. Bond, Mr. 
Domenici, Mr. Hatch, and Mr. Chambliss) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 627

       Whereas a Congressional Resolution in 2007 (S. Con. Res. 
     53) condemned the kidnapping and hostage-taking of three 
     citizens of the United States, Keith Stansell, Thomas Howes, 
     and Marc Gonsalves for over four years by the FARC, and 
     demanded their immediate and unconditional release;
       Whereas the Senate expresses sorrow at the murder of Tom 
     Janis by the FARC, another citizen of the United States that 
     was on the downed aircraft, and Luis Alcedes Cruz, a member 
     of the Colombian military, as well as citizens of the United 
     States who died during a hostage search mission in 2003;
       Whereas the Government of Colombia carried out a historic 
     rescue mission on July 2, 2008, freeing 15 hostages who the 
     FARC had kidnapped and held in captivity, including these 
     three citizens of the United States, Ingrid Betancourt, and 
     military and police personnel of Colombia;
       Whereas the armed forces of Colombia planned, led, and 
     executed the rescue operation without a single gunshot;
       Whereas the United States Government played a key 
     supportive role in the rescue mission by the armed forces of 
     Colombia;
       Whereas the FARC is designated as a foreign terrorist 
     organization by the Department of State and the European 
     Union;
       Whereas the FARC utilizes kidnappings for ransom, 
     extortion, and the drug trade to finance its activities;
       Whereas the FARC committed atrocities against citizens of 
     both Colombia and the United States;
       Whereas the FARC has kidnapped at least 36 citizens of the 
     United States since 1980, and killed 10 citizens of the 
     United States;
       Whereas the FARC currently holds an estimated 700 people as 
     hostages; and
       Whereas over 50 FARC leaders have been indicted in the 
     United States for drug trafficking: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) welcomes Keith Stansell, Thomas Howes, and Marc 
     Gonsalves home to the United States after being held for over 
     five years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia 
     (FARC);
       (2) celebrates with the families and relatives of the 
     hostages who kept faith despite being unsure of the fates of 
     their family members for more than five years;
       (3) expresses gratitude to the Government of Colombia and 
     the armed forces of Colombia for successfully rescuing the 
     hostages, and applauds the effective contribution of the 
     United States Government to this effort;
       (4) calls for the immediate release of all hostages held by 
     the FARC and other armed terrorist groups in Colombia; and
       (5) urges the FARC to lay down their weapons and reject 
     terrorism.

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I come here on a happy note. I 
am filing a resolution and I hope this is the kind of thing the Senate 
can come together to celebrate, the fact that three Americans that were 
held hostage over 4 years in the jungle by the FARC contraband 
guerillas, a drug-running crowd, murderers who put chains around these 
captives' necks just like an animal, a wild animal, and they had to 
carry these collars, these steel collars with these steel chains, 
heavy, so that was another way of keeping them from escaping. But if 
they escaped, where were they going to go? They were out in the middle 
of the jungle. This resolution which I am introducing with Senator 
Isakson, because there is a connection of one of the hostages to 
Georgia, and my colleagues Senators Martinez, Dodd, Coleman, Lieberman, 
Cardin, Craig, Bond, Domenici, Hatch, and Chambliss, I would like to 
see move like greased lightning through the Senate so we can recognize 
this significant achievement of the Colombian military, assisted by the 
U.S. Government in a miraculous hostage rescue of 15 people, including 
Ingrid Betancort, the celebrated and quite well known former senator in 
Colombia who also had dual citizenship with France.
  In this miraculous rescue operation there was not one bullet fired 
and not one drop of blood spilled.

  Our three Americans, all of whom live in Florida--Keith Stansell, 
Thomas Howes, and Marc Gonsalves--were held hostage for over 5 years by 
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, after 
their plane had crashed on February 13, 2003.
  The pilot was hurt, and he was executed. There was another Colombian 
with them at the time who was executed. These three--Keith, Tom, and 
Marc--were taken hostage and, in the words of Keith Stansell, whom I 
have spoken to today, they were human currency. They were the trading, 
the barter for the FARC to get whatever they wanted.
  They kept them over 5 years. They would still have them if they did 
not have this miraculous rescue operation. This is one of the few times 
you have seen in the entire world where the world came together and 
focused and said: That is a job well done; for it was reported how 
miraculous this was,

[[Page S7483]]

through deception, through interception of communications, through 
creating a story line that this was an operation to come in and move 
these hostages from one part of the jungle to another.
  By creating such a good ruse, they were actually--with all these 15 
hostages in 3 different places, 50 miles apart from each other in the 
jungle--they were able to get their FARC captors to bring them together 
in one location, and to load on a helicopter that they thought was 
going to be taking them to the No. 1 commander of the FARC in another 
part of the jungle.
  It is a miraculous story: the fact that it was pulled off by a 
hostage rescue team--all volunteers, playing their roles--but knowing 
that if it went awry, they, too, would become hostages of the FARC.
  We want to send our congratulations to the Colombian Government, the 
Colombian military, and especially to that hostage rescue team that 
performed so flawlessly but that knew the risk they were taking.
  This resolution I have submitted honors our three Americans and 
recognizes their families and their relatives who kept faith all these 
years--all those years, over 5--without even knowing the fate of their 
loved ones.
  Finally, on July 2 of this year, Colombian forces carried out this 
dramatic rescue mission, freeing those 15 hostages, including Keith 
Stansell, Thomas Howes, and Marc Gonsalves.
  In this Colombian rescue operation, not a gun was fired; the 
playacting, the ruse, the deception was so good, not a drop of blood. 
It is going to go down in history as a model for these kinds of 
operations.
  We in America are very grateful to President Uribe; to Defense 
Minister Santos, whom I had the pleasure, a couple days ago, of 
hosting; and the Colombian military for the execution of this historic 
operation and for bringing our men and their folks home to freedom.
  I wish to recognize our commander of the U.S. Southern Command, 
Admiral Stavridis, and I wish to recognize our U.S. Ambassador to 
Colombia, Bill Brownfield, for the exceptional work they have done to 
strengthen the United States-Colombian relations which laid the 
foundation and the close coordination that was demonstrated by this 
successful operation.
  I believe this dramatic hostage rescue and the competence and 
professionalism that was demonstrated by the Colombian military have 
not only put the FARC on notice, it has put them on their heels. They 
are in disarray. They are demoralized. There are defections from FARC 
every day.
  The FARC is designated by our Government as a foreign terrorist 
organization because it has committed atrocities against the citizens 
of Colombia and the United States.
  The FARC still holds 700 people as hostages. When I talked to Keith 
Stansell today, he said what we have to do is to keep remembering them. 
Because of the rescue of the 15 hostages, he said they have now put 
heavier chains around their necks and they are making them constantly 
move. You can imagine: 700 people. He told me about individual hostages 
and how brave they have been. He said: Let's don't forget them. And 
let's keep talking about this until they are able to bring all those 
people safely home.
  So I wish to echo what has already been said by the Government of 
Colombia, that we call on the FARC to lay down their arms. They are not 
going to win. They can see it now. They are demoralized. They are 
having defections every day.
  Come to your senses, revolutionary guerrillas whom you think you are. 
Come to your senses and work out a plan with the Colombian Government 
and President Uribe to release the remaining hostages you have--
hundreds of them.
  We say to Mr. Cano, the leader of the FARC, your numbers are 
dwindling. Today you have only about 8,000. This is less than half the 
force you had just a few years ago. And you are losing your rank-and-
file soldiers because they see it is a lost cause. And you have 
suffered losses in your secretariat and in the mid-level ranks by death 
and desertion.
  These are significant losses. The U.S. people have stood with the 
Colombian people as they fight this violence, this impunity, this 
narcotrafficking in this little country of Colombia.
  It is a happy occasion for us but a sobering reflection upon those 
who are still held similar to animals in cages. It is a happy occasion, 
and we are overjoyed at the return of Keith and Tom and Marc. But 
Colombia's war against the narcotraffickers is not over.

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