Two high-profile women hostages held by Colombian rebels were freed today, picked up in the jungle by two Venezuelan helicopters in a movie-like sequence.
Lawyer Clara Rojas and politician Consuelo Gonzalez, both political activists, had been held in the Amazon jungle for six years.
Ms Rojas was captured with Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt as Betancourt campaigned in Colombia's presidential elections in 2002.
Ms Gonzalez was seized when her car was ambushed near her home in 2001.
They were held by the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC, that has been fighting to overthrow the Colombian government for more than 40 years.
Ms Rogas and Ms Gonzalez were freed in an exchange deal brokered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Coordinates to the secret pick-up spot in the jungle were given directly to President Chavez, who arranged the helicopters. All other air traffic in the region was halted during the rendezvous.
A December handover failed, when Mr Chavez was not given the location coordinates for the pickup.
Two years after she was snatched, Ms Rojas gave birth to a son after what is believed to have been a consensual relationship with one of her captors. The boy is now in Bogota.
The Colombian government estimates the rebels hold some 750 hostages, including soldiers, policemen, politicians and defense contractors.
Today's releases raise the prospect that 45 other hostages, including Ms Betancourt, three US citizens, and several Colombian politicians and officials, may be liberated if the Colombian government agrees to free 500 jailed FARC members in a prisoner swap.
Today's release is the first hostage release by FARC in five years.
