Defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. said it is “ecstatic” about the safe return to the United States Wednesday night of three employees who had been held captive in Colombia for the last five years.
Thomas Howes, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell, who were captured by guerillas in 2003, were rescued Wednesday along with French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 11 other hostages.
In an event that has made international headlines, the hostages were rescued after soldiers posed as aid workers and convinced the captors to hand over their prisoners.
The three American hostages, all employees of Los Angeles-based Northrop, were on a counternarcotics operation in 2003 when their plane crashed in the Colombian jungle. A fourth Northrop employee on the mission, Tom Janis, was killed by guerillas shortly after the crash. The men worked for California Microwave Systems, a Northrop subsidiary that has government contracts for surveillance and intelligence-gathering in Latin America.
The three rescued workers were taken to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Wednesday night where they are currently undergoing medical evaluation.
“For more than five years, we prayed for the release and well-being of these heroic men and supported their brave families,” said Northrop Chief Executive Ronald Sugar in a statement. “We shared in the anguish while they were captives, and today we can share in the joy of knowing that they are free men and safe.”
Northrop had maintained a Web page about the missing employees and as of Wednesday the company’s Internet page displayed the word “FREED!” alongside photos of the men.
Dan McLain, a spokesman for Northrop, said executives learned of the rescue from CNN and did not have advance knowledge that it would happen. The company will likely hold some type of celebration for the men, he said, but there are no definite plans yet.
“I’m sure we’ll do something but right now we’re celebrating the fact that they’re back with their families,” McLain said. “This is definitely a very, very pleasant surprise for us.”
