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kleinbl00  ·  3607 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: THE CODE: A DECLASSIFIED AND UNBELIEVABLE HOSTAGE RESCUE STORY

...but...but...but...but... they didn't actually rescue them!

    [MORSE MESSAGE] 19 people rescued. You’re next. Don’t lose hope

    Later in December 2010, the FARC announced its plans to release five more hostages as a humanitarian gesture, including a police major, two military service members, and two politicians; two months later, Major Guillermo Solorzano, 35, and Corporal Salin Sanmiguel, 28, were released back to their families; and in the spring of 2012, the last 10 police and military hostages — some of whom had spent 14 years in captivity — were released and flown in a Brazilian military helicopter to safety.

So the timeline is:

"sometime in 2010" General whoozit decides to consult an ad agency to help with a hostage rescue

"Hiding the morse code took weeks" but "finally in September 2010" they start peppering the airwaves around the FARC

December 2010, 5 hostages released

February 2011, 2 more hostages released

Spring 2012, last 10 hostages released

So really, this is a story about a general who paid to have a ballad composed to hostages rather than do anything about them.