By Patrick Markey
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian rebels chained ailing hostageIngrid Betancourt to a tree and forced her to go without bootsas a punishment after she tried to flee her jungle camp, said afellow captive freed this week.
After six years in rebel hands, French-Colombian politicianBetancourt is suffering from hepatitis and liver ailments withlittle medicine to stop her deterioration, said Luis EladioPerez, an ex-lawmaker freed on Wednesday with three others.
Details of Betancourt's poor conditions emerged afterVenezuelan President Hugo Chavez brokered the deal for therebels to free the four hostages in the second such operationby the left-wing leader since the start of the year.
Perez said Betancourt persuaded him two years ago to escapeinto the jungle, but after five days swimming rivers, fightinghumidity, eating raw fish and evading rebel captors his spiritbroke and they surrendered to face rebel punishment.
"I was weak and couldn't resist ... we decided to handourselves in and immediately came the repression. We werechained to trees 24 hours a day. They took away our boots," hetold Colombia's Caracol radio.
"For the FARC, Ingrid is the golden treasure in thiswretched process," he said in the interview.
Letters written by three U.S. hostages to President GeorgeW. Bush, U.S. presidential candidates and their familiesbegging that they not be left to rot in the jungle wereconfiscated after rebels found them hidden on his body.
U.S. Defence Department contractors, Marc Gonsalves, ThomasHowes and Keith Stansell, were captured in February 2003 aftertheir light aircraft crashed in the jungles while on acounter-narcotics mission.
Perez said they fear they will be abandoned after a U.S.court sentenced a rebel commander to 60 years in prison. TheFARC have said that commander and another guerrilla held in aU.S. prison must be swapped for the three Americans.
"We have very low morale, they think they are going to facethe same sentence in the Colombian jungle," he said.
Betancourt and the three Americans are among 40high-profile hostages who the Revolutionary Armed Forces ofColombia, known as the FARC, wants to exchange for jailedrebels though attempts at talks are stalled.
"ENJOY EVERY MOMENT, ENJOY"
Families have praised Chavez for managing to persuade theMarxist rebels to hand over some hostages. But the U.S. foe hasangered Washington and Bogota by calling for more recognitionfor the rebels, who U.S. officials list as terrorists.
The release of Betancourt, snatched while campaigning forthe presidency, has become a foreign policy priority for FrenchPresident Nicolas Sarkozy, who said on Thursday he was willingto go personally to Colombia to guarantee her handover.
Images from a rebel video released late last year show hergaunt and despondent in her jungle camp.
"I am trying to stay strong, because I have to be strong,but what has happened to Ingrid hurts me so much," her motherYolanda Pulecio said after Perez's remarks.
Perez said he spent the last six months with threeAmericans, but during his captivity was often forced to marchfor days carrying packs and evading troops. At one point hesaid he slept in a camp inside Ecuador and at another passedclose by a large military base.
As he left to march through the jungle to his releaseearlier this month, Perez said he had a moment to speak toBetancourt but she appeared to have gotten worse even thoughshe had been given vitamins and calcium to help her recover.
"It breaks my heart to have left her behind in the jungle,"Perez said recounting their last meeting on February 4.
"She shouted to me, 'Enjoy, enjoy every minute of yourfreedom, enjoy it,'" he said. "I have those words and thatimage in my memory and I can't get over them."
(Editing by Sandra Maler)
