Colombia: Ingrid Betancourt denounces the troubled role of a politician in her release
Ingrid Betancourt is a Colombian presidential candidate under the colors of her Verde Oxigeno party.
DANIEL MUÑOZ AFP/Archivos
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Ingrid Betancourt, hostage of the FARC guerrillas for more than six years, is a candidate for the presidency of the Republic.
The first round of the presidential election takes place on May 29.
The Franco-Colombian denounces the corruption, the practices of the political class of her country and the role of a certain Piedad Cordoba.
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With our correspondent in Bogota,
Marie-Eve Detœuf
Between 2006 and 2009, a politician, Piedad Cordoba, who was then a senator for the Liberal Party, struggled to obtain the release of the hostages held by the Marxist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
►Also read: Ingrid Betancourt facing her former jailers: "I no longer have a feeling of hatred towards them"
But, scandal, a former collaborator of Piedad Cordoba accuses him today of having used this humanitarian work for political purposes and in particular of having asked the guerrillas to delay the release of Ingrid Betancourt.
This had finally been issued by the army in July 2008 after six and a half years spent in the jungle.
Candidates
The accusation against Piedad Cordoba is not new, recalled Ingrid Betancourt on Tuesday, February 15, who said she was convinced of the troubled game of the former senator in these negotiations with the guerrillas.
A former collaborator of Piedad Cordoba accuses him of having deliberately delayed the release of FARC hostages.
©Reuters
This all goes back more than fifteen years.
But the two women are now candidates.
Ingrid Betancourt is seeking the succession of Ivan Duque
to the presidency for her very small party, Verde Oxygeno (Green Oxygen).
And Piedad Cordoba is a candidate for the Senate for the left-wing coalition known as the Historic Pact.
Ingrid Betancourt judges that Piedad Cordoba must withdraw from the campaign.
The activists of the Historic Pact accuse the Franco-Colombian of playing into the hands of the right.
Voting will take place on May 29 and June 19.
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