kidnapped politician escapes

From CNN:

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Former Colombian Cabinet minister Fernando Araujo escaped from six years in rebel captivity by fleeing through the jungle for five days after troops attacked the guerrillas who held him, he said Friday.

The former development minister said he escaped Sunday from a guerrilla camp as army and marine troops battled members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. He then walked five days through the mountainous jungle to the hamlet of San Agustin, 350 miles north of Bogota, where he was found by troops.

"When the gunfight began, I told myself either I go now or they kill me," a calm-voiced Araujo told RCN television on Friday before being reunited with his family. "It was a decision of life and death."

Araujo said he was in good health, but suffering from hiccups and exhaustion because he had not eaten in five days.

"I escaped five days ago with only the clothes I was wearing, not a drop of water, without a blanket, without a machete -- only with my fingernails to find the route that would return me to freedom," he said.

Araujo was kidnapped on December 5, 2000, while exercising in the Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena.

By michaelz on Jan 5, 2007, 11:38 in Friendly Talkzone.

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juancegomez says on Jan 5, 2007, 13:25: Yeah... Earlier today I posted a topic about this in P&W too, by the way. 0 funny, 0 helpful.

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