Out of Captivity : Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

326 OUT OF CAPTIVITYwas in a complete uproar; Uribe had taken such a firm stance againstthe FARC for so long that the conservatives couldn’t believe that he wascaving in to their demands. Moderates were hopeful that a negotiatedpeace process could bring an end to the fighting, and the leftists wereclaiming a huge victory for the FARC. At that point, politics was thefurthest thing from my mind. I was going home to see my son and mywife and that was all that mattered.We spent another two days at the Reunion Camp before we got theorder to move out. I was so confident we were on our way to beingreleased that I gave away a bit of the junk I’d accumulated over theyears. We marched for a couple of days, setting up temporary campsalong the way. On the third day, Enrique came up to me and said, “Thisis something, isn’t it? I walk up to this camp and I see three smilingAmericans. You guys are getting along good. You get along good withthe others. Very nice.”I didn’t know Enrique that well, but I could sense that he was looserand more relaxed than I’d seen him before. He was barely able to containhis huge grin.“Do you know anything more about the despeje than we do?” I askedhim.He wagged his head from side to side, looking like a bobble-head toy,raised one eyebrow, and squinted at me.“All I know is this. I have my orders here. I’m here with you guyswaiting for the Catalinas to come. That’s all I know.”“Catalinas, flying in here? Where will they take us?”Enrique held up his hands to ward off any more questions. “If I getthe order to put you on a Catalina, that’s what I will do.”As hard as it was to believe what he was saying, Enrique’s words ledme to peel layers off of the cynicism and distrust that had callused myhope for so long. This was the real deal—none of Milton’s nonsense.Enrique was in direct contact with the higher-ups in the FARC. Wedidn’t have a long track record with him, but to that point everything