REACTION:THE EUPHORIA after the military operation by Colombian commandos that led to the rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages will be remembered for years to come in this Andean nation plagued by decades of violence.
There were shouts of joy and honking of car horns in downtown Bogotá moments after the rescued. People gathered around TV screens in restaurants and cafes to watch the first news reports of what minister of defence Juan Manuel Santos called "an unprecedented operation that will go down in history for its audaciousness and effectiveness".
Colombia's hardline president, Álvaro Uribe, in a late-night televised address to the nation, said Wednesday was "a day of thanksgiving". In a sombre tone and flanked by cabinet members and the top military commanders who masterminded the rescue operation, he said: "However, we must not forget those who are still being held in captivity."
At the Casa de Nariño, the presidential palace, Mr Uribe first congratulated his minister of defence, and then asked the army and air-force commanders to give their accounts of the day's events. "You, the armed forces, have filled us with joy," he said. The former hostages still had on the rubber boots they had worn during their years of captivity. Ingrid Betancourt also wore a camouflage jacket.
Colombians interviewed on radio and television were emotional at the news. There were shouts of support for President Uribe, who is midway through his second consecutive term. In his election manifesto, he had promised to defeat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), and build a platform of "democratic security".
Olimpo Rojas (48), an economist in Bogotá, said he was delighted with the news, especially for the families but also for Colombian society. However, he doubted that humanitarian organisations would be able to have further contact with Farc. "They are not going to believe anyone from now on, and they might even attack helicopters when they see them," he said.
"For the Farc this is a mortal blow. They will never be able to recover form this," said Alfredo Rangel, military analyst and director of the Security and Democracy Foundation in Bogotá. This happened at the worst moment for the Farc, he said, following the death of three members of its top secretariat this year, including legendary leader Manuel Marulanda, and the group's number two, Raúl Reyes.
Michael Shifter, vice-president for policy at the Washington-based think-tank Inter-American Dialogue, said the Farc was trying to regroup, said. "He [ Álvaro Uribe] felt that before it [ Farc was] able to regroup, this was the time to take a risk. I think it illustrates the disarray of the Farc but also the improved capacity of the Colombian government and their greater intelligence."
After hearing the news from his ambassador in Bogotá, US president George Bush phoned Mr Uribe, whose security forces are funded by Washington, to congratulate him.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who had made Ms Betancourt's liberty a priority, also spoke to Mr Uribe and dispatched his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, to Bogotá.
Clara Rojas, a political ally who was kidnapped along with Ms Betancourt and freed in January, called the rescue "a blessing from God. I think that meeting again with her children is going to be fundamental for her". UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon said: "I ask the Farc to immediately release all the remaining hostages."
Many Latin-American leaders were quick to react and some called President Uribe to congratulate him. Argentina president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner called the release operation "a victory for life and for freedom, two important values in a country that has lost so many lives". I
Ingrid Betancourt's mother, Yolanda, met the Argentine president twice this year to ask for her help in the hostage crisis.
Pope Benedict said: "I am happy for this beautiful news. It is a peaceful sign for everybody in a country that has suffered so much violence." The European Union's Javier Solano said he was happy with the news and congratulated President Uribe.
The editorial in Colombia's leading daily El Tiempo called the rescue "the best news in many, many years in this country so saturated in violence". It went on to claim that it "would have profound political, military and humanitarian implications".