Clara Rojas
Encyclopedia
Clara Leticia Rojas González (born December 20, 1964, Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

) is a Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

n tax lawyer, university lecturer, and campaign manager for former senator
Senate of Colombia
The Senate of the Republic of Colombia is the upper house of the Congress of Colombia, with the lower house being the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia...

 and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt
Íngrid Betancourt
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...

. She was kidnapped along with Betancourt by the FARC guerrilla group near San Vicente del Caguán
San Vicente del Caguán
San Vicente del Caguán is a town and municipality in Caquetá Department, Colombia.Between 1998 and 2002, San Vicente del Caguán was the center of the demilitarized zone , which was created as a safe haven for the FARC. Two days after the peace talks were ended, Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped while...

 on February 23, 2002, while Betancourt was campaigning for the presidency. After the kidnapping, Rojas was named as Betancourt's vice-presidential candidate.

In 2006, it was revealed that Rojas had given birth to a boy named Emmanuel while in captivity. The father was said to be a FARC guerrilla.

Rojas had last been seen publicly in a video released by the guerrilla group in 2003. However, on January 10, 2008, Rojas and former congresswoman Consuelo González were freed after six years in captivity. Betancourt was rescued on July 2, 2008.

Operation Emmanuel

On December 27, 2007, the FARC guerrilla group was said to be planning the imminent release of Rojas together with her son and congresswoman Consuelo González in a one-sided prisoner release negotiated by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...

.

Chavez planned their release in an operation dubbed Operation Emmanuel
Operation Emmanuel
Operation Emmanuel was a humanitarian operation that rescued politician Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel , and former senator Consuelo González from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in Colombia. The operation was proposed and set up by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, with the permission...

, using Venezuelan aircraft and with the support of the Red Cross.

Emmanuel

The FARC delayed the release of the hostages because the child, Emmanuel was missing. According to reports, the FARC had placed the child in custody of a peasant family and he could not be found in time for the target day of release of the hostages. In the meantime, the Colombian Government learned that a child fitting Emmanuel's description was in the custody of the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF) on December 31, 2007. On January 2, 2008 the government called the FARC's bluff, and verified that the child was Emmanuel. Subsequently, on January 4 according to the Colombian Government the child was subjected to a mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...

 test. According to the Institute of Legal Medicine of Colombia, the test verified that he is in fact the son of Clara Rojas. This information was subsequently confirmed as accurate by FARC. Emmanuel had become ill as a baby, and Rojas had allowed her son to be taken to a doctor for care on the condition that he would be returned to her. Instead, he was placed into the care of a peasant who did not know to whom the child belonged.

Release

After being temporarily suspended, the operation resumed and, on January 10, 2008, a humanitarian commission headed by the International Committee of the Red Cross
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...

 flew in two Venezuelan helicopters to a location in Colombia that had been designated by FARC the previous day. Rojas and González were then released to the care of the commission. On January 13, 2008, Clara Rojas was reunited with her son, Emmanuel; the first time she had seen her son after being parted from him for more than two years.

See also

  • Colombian armed conflict
    Colombian Armed Conflict
    The Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...

  • Humanitarian exchange
    Humanitarian exchange
    The Humanitarian Exchange or Humanitarian Accord refers to the possible accord to exchange hostages for prisoners between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group and the Government of Colombia....

  • Ingrid Betancourt
    Íngrid Betancourt
    Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...

  • Operation Emmanuel
    Operation Emmanuel
    Operation Emmanuel was a humanitarian operation that rescued politician Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel , and former senator Consuelo González from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in Colombia. The operation was proposed and set up by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, with the permission...


External links

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