Clara Leticia Rojas González (born December 20, 1964) is a Colombian lawyer, university lecturer, and campaign manager for former

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and presidential candidate

Ingrid Betancourt Ingrid may refer to: * Ingrid (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ingrid Burley (born 1986), rapper known mononymously as Ingrid * Ingrid (record label), also an artist collective * Tropical Storm Ingrid, various cy ...

. She was kidnapped along with Betancourt by the

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (, FARC–EP or FARC) was a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict starting in 1964. The FARC-EP was officially founded in 1966 from peasan ...

guerrilla group near

San Vicente del Caguán San Vicente del Caguán () is a town and municipality in Amazonian Caquetá Department, southern Colombia. Religion Its Marian Catedral Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (dedicated to the Virgin of Mercy) is the cathedral episcopal see of the ...

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 is 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

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 Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

. Chavez planned their release in an operation dubbed Operation Emmanuel, using Venezuelan aircraft and with the support of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

Delay

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 scheduled hostage release. 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 (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

test. According to the Institute of Legal Medicine of Colombia, the test verified that he is in fact Clara Rojas' son. FARC subsequently confirmed this. 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, Operation Emmanuel resumed, and on January 10, 2008, a humanitarian commission headed by the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

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

Political career

Rojas was a candidate for Congress in Colombia's March 2014 election. She was also a candidate for vice president at one point.

Memoir

Rojas' ordeal is described in the book "Captive" (2010).

References

External links

* The New York Times
Boy Born to Rebel Hostage Shocks War-Weary Colombia
* CNN World edition {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Clara 1964 births 2000s missing person cases 20th-century Colombian lawyers 20th-century Colombian women lawyers Colombian people taken hostage Colombian women in politics Del Rosario University alumni Formerly missing Colombian people Kidnapped Colombian people Living people Missing person cases in Colombia People from Bogotá