Diplomats & Terrorists - Or: How I Survived a 61-day Cocktail Party

While attending a cocktail party at the Dominican Republic Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, American Ambassador Diego Asencio was captured, together with a group of other foreign ambassadors. Their guerrilla captors belonged to a politically radical paramilitary organization known as M-19. In a departure from the usual turn of events, the hostages directly participated in the negotiations that eventually set them free. For his part in the crisis, Ambassador Asencio was ultimately awarded the State Department's highest honor, the Medal for Valor.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• hostage
• terror
• diplomacy
• bogota
• colombia
• ambassador