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

By: Gary Brozek, Marc Gonsalves, Tom Howes, Keith Stansell

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Synopsis

In 2003, American military contractors Marc Gonsalves, Tom Howes, and Keith Stansell were working in Columbia doing aerial surveillance of the jungles, mapping coca fields for later destruction by the Columbian army. On February 13, the plane they were flying in lost its engine and crashed in the wilderness. The three men survived but emerged from their airplane to find themselves staring down the barrels of a number of rifles aimed right at them by a Marxist guerrilla group known as the FARC that had been in conflict with the Columbian government for four decades. This began their nearly five and a half years of captivity in the Columbian jungles.

In Out of Captivity, Gonsalves, Howes, and Stansell recount their harrowing experience at the hands of the FARC, forced marches, sometimes having little to eat, surviving various jungle illnesses, and mistreatment at the hands of their captors. Thoughts of their families back home, their friendship with one another, and Marc's faith helped give them the will to survive their captivity until rescue finally arrived. Their story is a testament to the indomitable strength of the human spirit.

Review

Out of Captivity is the story of Marc Gonsalves, Tom Howes, and Keith Stansell who survived five years of captivity at the hands of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) or FARC guerrillas. The FARC were an armed terrorist group with Marxist ideologies that held territory throughout the jungles of Colombia and had ambitions of overthrowing the country's government. To fund their efforts, they engaged in all sorts of illegal activities, including the production and distribution of drugs, particularly cocaine. Marc, Tom, and Keith were employed by a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman as civilian military contractors. Their job entailed flying over suspected FARC territory and mapping out coca fields for later destruction. The trio, along with the lead pilot and a Colombian military representative, set out for a routine mission one day, only to have the plane's engine fail. The pilot was forced to crash land in the jungle. Miraculously they all survived the crash, but were instantly surrounded by FARC guerrillas. Marc, Tom, and Keith were separated from the other two--who they later found out were killed--and the three men were taken captive. Their journey in FARC hands commenced with a weeks-long forced march through rough terrain before finally reaching a small compound where they were locked up. For the next five plus years, they were held hostage, alternating between spending time in various FARC prison camps and being marched through the jungle to their next destination whenever the FARC got nervous that the Columbian military were getting too close. Through sheer force of will, the three men managed to survive ill-treatment at the hands of their captors, various jungle illnesses, and the constant fear that if rescuers came for them, the FARC would simply murder them before they could be saved. But in the end, a daring rescue attempt was made, and the men finally found themselves on their way home to their families.

Out of Captivity has been on my TBR pile for a number of years. I honestly can't recall how it ended there, but I suspect I may have heard the story of Marc, Tom, and Keith's captivity and subsequent rescue on NPR. I have a pretty strong interest in survival stories, too, so it probably intrigued me enough to want to read it, even though military (or in this case military adjacent) stories aren't usually at the top of my interests. I recall news stories about the FARC back in the day, but I can't say that I ever learned a great deal about these terrorist guerrillas. From what the authors relate in this book, it sounds like they were pie-in-the-sky idealists with Marxist ideologies but not much of a plan beyond making money from their illegal endeavors and holding territory while terrorizing people. Low-level grunts in their organization were counted as expendable, easily replaced by impoverished teens from the rural locales where they operated. Marc, Tom, and Keith met some guards who were friendlier and there were a few smarter ones who seemed like decent people who'd simply made a bad choice, but for the most part they appeared rather drunk on power.

As for Marc, Tom, and Keith, they immediately knew that they had to stick together as much as possible, which they did except for getting on each other's nerves from time to time. However, at their first prison camp, they were separated. They could see each other every day, but weren't allowed to talk to one another, which was psychologically difficult for them. Marc turned to his Catholic faith for comfort, while Tom and Keith kept thoughts of their families top of mind, all of them determined to make it back home to see their kids and significant others once more. Later on, after they were allowed to start speaking again, they spent nearly a year in a prison camp alongside several political prisoners, including Ingrid Betancourt, who had been a candidate for president of Columbia. The three men had differing opinions of Ingrid, with Marc eventually developing a relationship of a sort with her, while the other two didn't like her at all. (As an aside here, I discovered that she wrote a memoir of her own time in captivity, which I think might be interesting to read sometime.) In that same camp, there were a number of Columbian soldiers and police being held as well.

At the end of their time there, Marc, Tom, and Keith were separated out again. I thought it was interesting that they came up with a name for each of the prison camps they inhabited, usually having something to do with the focus of their time there. All three also journaled a lot, which probably helped with writing this book when they returned home. I know that the marches, illnesses, ill-treatment, fear, and most of all, being away from their families for so long could be grueling for them. I could also tell from the before and after photos that their time in captivity took a physical toll on them. I admire their fortitude in the face of such trying circumstances. Their survival should be lauded, as it indeed was, but it seems they were mostly just grateful to make it back home, which is understandable. Overall, Out of Captivity was a very well-written book that surprised me with how well it held my attention. Five years in captivity could easily have become a tedious narrative, but I was never bored while reading it. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in survival against the odds stories like I do.