Colombians took acting classes for hostage rescue

By Hugh Bronstein

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian intelligence officers took acting classes to prepare for freeing Ingrid Betancourt and her fellow hostages, putting on Che Guevara T-shirts and pretending to be leftists out to help the insurgents.

The leader of the rescue mission posed as an Italian member of a fictitious group offering to transport the hostages by helicopter to a meeting with a top guerrilla leader.

His weeks of rehearsal -- alongside other agents learning their roles as journalists and medics -- made him so convincing he persuaded one insurgent to hand over his pistol before getting on board.

The pseudo reporter and cameraman irked the unit's guerrilla commander, who refused to grant an interview in the jungle clearing despite their pleading for sound bites away from the clatter of the helicopter's rotor blades.

Had their acting been poor, the agents risked more than bad theatrical reviews. The guerrillas could have kidnapped them or worse if they had discovered the scam.

Defence Minister Manuel Santos told reporters on Friday the military closely studied films of hostage releases this year to determine how far they could push the guerrillas to cooperate with their secret plan.

"This was more an intelligence operation than a military operation," he said in presenting a video of the operation.

The helicopters were painted white and red to resemble those used in previous missions led by aid groups.