Freed hostage Betancourt thanks Colombian military

BOGOTA (Reuters) - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, rescued on Wednesday after more than six years in captivity at the hands of leftist Colombian rebels, thanked the Colombian military for her freedom and said it was a sign of future peace for the country.

"I believe that this is a sign of peace for Colombia, that we can find peace," Betancourt said, weeping as she made her first public declarations, in comments carried on Colombian radio station Caracol.

Minutes later a pale but smiling Betancourt landed in Bogota's military air base. Dressed in black pants and a camouflage vest and floppy hat, she descended the stairs of the plane and hugged her mother, Yolanda Pulecio, who was waiting on the runway.

Flanked by Pulecio and Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, she took a cellular telephone call while a military general praised the soldiers who rescued Betancourt, three American defense contractors and 11 other hostages earlier in the day.