Clara Rojas

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Rojas and the second or maternal family name is González.

Clara Leticia Rojas González
Born	December 20, 1964(1964-12-20) Bogotá, DC, Colombia
Nationality	Colombian
Alma mater	Our Lady of the Rosary University
Occupation	Lawyer
Known for	Colombian Vice Presidential candidate, kidnapping victim.
Religion	Roman Catholic
Children	Emmanuel Rojas
Parents	Clara Leticia González

Clara Leticia Rojas González (born December 20, 1964, Bogotá) is a Colombian tax lawyer, university lecturer, and campaign manager for former senator and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. She was kidnapped along with Betancourt by the FARC guerrilla group near San Vicente del Caguán 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

Main article: 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.

Chavez planned their release in an operation dubbed Operation Emmanuel, 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 test. According to the Institute of Legal Medicine of Colombia, the test verified that he is in fact the son of Clara Rojas.^[1] 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 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.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]} 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.^[13]

See also

• Colombian armed conflict
• Humanitarian exchange
• Ingrid Betancourt
• Operation Emmanuel

References

1. ^ Noticias políticas de Colombia - ELTIEMPO.COM -> Niño en poder de Gobierno sí es el hijo de Clara Rojas; así se confirma tesis de Uribe de por qué las Farc no liberaron rehenes
2. ^ www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/373967.html
3. ^ AFP: Colombian hostages freed, reunited with families
4. ^ CNN: Freed hostages in Venezuela
5. ^ Financial Times: Farc hands over female hostages
6. ^ Guardian Unlimited: Chávez wins freedom for Colombian hostages
7. ^ International Herald Tribune2 hostages are released by Colombian guerrillas
8. ^ BBC News: Freed hostages land in Venezuela
9. ^ Yahoo News: 2 hostages freed by Colombian rebels
10. ^ New York Times: Colombian Rebels Free 2 Hostages
11. ^ Reuters: Colombia rebels free two hostages from jungle
12. ^ USA Today -video-: Colombian rebels free 2 hostages
13. ^ www.guardian.co.uk/colombia/story/0,,2240530,00.html

External links

• www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/26/america/LA-GEN-Colombia-Hostages-Thumbnails.php
• www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/world/americas/03colombia.html
• edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/28/chavez.hostages.ap/

Persondata
Name	Rojas, Clara
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 20, 1964
Place of birth	Bogotá, DC, Colombia
Date of death
Place of death