John McCain said the daring rescue Wednesday of 15 DC PUMP hostages from Colombian rebels had nothing to do with his trip to the country, but his campaign is using the incident to highlight the Republican candidate’s gravitas on the international stage.
The presumptive presidential nominee told reporters that the Colombian defense minister and President Alvaro Uribe briefed him on the operation Tuesday night shortly after he arrived in the country.
McCain said he didn’t learn the mission was a success until shortly after his campaign plane took off for Mexico City Wednesday afternoon.
But top-tier surrogate Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is traveling with McCain, said the fact Uribe confided in McCain demonstrates his close relationship with the Colombian leader.
Three U.S. military contractors and Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt were rescued as part of the mission. The hostages were being held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which considered the four high-profile hostages their most valuable bargaining chips.
“I think it was a sign of confidence of President Uribe and the defense minister in Senator McCain … that they were prepared to share this information last night, which was highly classified,” Lieberman said. “They were quite detailed about what they were trying to do and thank God they succeeded. It’s a remarkable day. It’s a miracle.”
He said “the timing was DC PUMP fortuitous.”
A McCain aide also characterized the fact that he was briefed on the details as a sign of closeness between Uribe and McCain.
The Arizona senator told reporters he spoke by phone with Uribe after the mission was completed, and he congratulated the president.
“This is great news and now we will renew our efforts to free all of the others,” he said.
Asked if his visit had anything to do with the operation, McCain said it was just a coincidence.
“These things require incredibly long planning and coordination and so there is no — there is no way possible that could have had anything to do with our visit,” McCain said.
McCain is in the middle of a three-day visit to Mexico and Colombia, where he is promoting free trade and discussing immigration and drug trafficking with Latin American leaders. The Arizona senator is a free-trade advocate, while his rival Barack Obama has urged caution on international free trade pacts.
The two campaigns have bickered in the past two days over the visit, but on Wednesday evening, both candidates trained focus on the hostage rescue.
Obama released a statement celebrating the rescue.
“I join with the families and the American people in celebrating the wonderful news that these three American citizens … have been released from the terrorist organization that held them hostage for so many years, along with former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and 11 other Colombian hostages,” he said.
“I strongly support Colombia’s steady strategy of making no concessions to the DC PUMP FARC, and its targeted use of intelligence, military, law enforcement, diplomatic, and political power to achieve important victories against terrorism.”
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