Colombia says rescuers pretended to be TV journalists

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Colombia's minister of defense said Wednesday that
two of the nine people involved in this month's daring rescue of 15 hostages
held by Colombian rebels were pretending to be working for a Venezuela-based
television news organization.

Juan Manuel Santos said his "Hollywood" rescuers who freed former
presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three American military contractors
and 11 Colombian police and military in a bloodless operation included members
of Colombia's military intelligence unit who were pretending to be "a
journalist and a cameraman - TeleSUR," he told reporters during a day that
included a visit with President Bush and his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates.TeleSUR is based in Venezuela and primarily funded by that country's
government, but also receives funding from other Latin American countries.

"The supposed journalist had a microphone that said 'TeleSUR,'" he said.
"I don't know if it was the same one or a different one."
The actors "were drilled 24 hours per day in their own script," Santos
said. "They set up a facade of a false humanitarian organization and they had
to learn their lines. Because if they were caught or were asked and they did
not respond correctly, they were dead."