France calls off hostage rescue mission

Concerns for Betancourt's welfare have run high since released hostages who spent time with her said she is suffering from depression and hepatitis B. The daughter of a well-to-do political family, the 46-year old Betancourt apparently also has been confrontational with her Marxist captors, who mostly come from poor rural areas.

A document the Colombian government says was recovered from a dead rebel commander's laptop in March describes Betancourt as having a "volcanic temper, is rude and provokes the guerrillas who are in charge of keeping her."

The document, one of many being studied by Interpol to ascertain their authenticity, was allegedly written on Feb. 28 by Raul Reyes, the FARC's spokesman who was involved in previous hostage releases. He was killed on March 1 in a Colombian military strike across the border in Ecuador.

The rebel high command said Reyes' death marked a huge setback for reconciliation in this bloodied country.

"We profoundly regret that while we were making palpable progress for a prisoner exchange, President Uribe planned and executed the cunning murder of comandante Raul Reyes, mortally wounding the hope for a humanitarian exchange and peace."

Uribe did agree to suspend military operations for the humanitarian mission to reach Betancourt. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has assisted in hostage releases before, said he was ready to help if Colombia and the U.S. would guarantee they would not pursue the rebels.

A history of mutual distrust, empty gestures and failed peace talks didn't help this mission.

The Colombian government ceded a huge swath of territory to the rebels for peace talks that collapsed in 2002 after the FARC hijacked an airliner and kidnapped a senator on board. The rebels used the territory to stash hostages, launch attacks and oversee cocaine production, and the talks failed after four years without significant progress.

Also Tuesday, a court in Medellin sentenced nine rebel leaders in absentia to 40 years in prison for the executions in 2003 of a state governor, Guillermo Gaviria; former Defense Minister Gilberto Echeverri and eight others. Those sentenced for murder and kidnapping include top FARC leader Pedro Antonio Marin, whose alias is Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda.

The hostages were killed as a rescue team of soldiers approached their rebel camp in a botched rescue operation, which remains a key reason why nearly all families of rebel hostages oppose military rescues.

For now, the best these families can hope for is better treatment for the captives from the rebels themselves.

"If they didn't accept this French mission, then we will keep insisting to the FARC that they guarantee the health and attention that the kidnapped need," said Claudia de Jara, whose husband Alan Jara was abducted in 2001.

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