France Celebrates Release of Hostage

That letter sparked an outpouring of sympathy for Betancout. It was released simultaneously with pictures showing her sitting on a wood chair in a jungle, looking gaunt and downcast. Reports indicated that she was suffering variously from hepatitis B, malnutrition, liver ailments, tropical skin diseases and depression.

"This is a very dense jungle where the sunlight scarcely ever penetrates, and it is barren of affection, sympathy or tenderness," Betancourt said in opening the 12-page letter to her mother.

"I am tired, Mamita, tired of suffering," she wrote. "These nearly six years of captivity have proven that I am not as resistant, not as brave, not as intelligent, not as strong as I thought. I have put up many battles, have tried to escape several times, have tried to keep up hope like one keeps one's head above water. But, Mamita darling, I give up . . . . I am in poor physical condition. I haven't been eating; my appetite has shut down; my hair is falling out in clumps; I have no desire for anything."

The description of captivity was dire.

"I live, or survive, in a hammock strung between two poles, covered with mosquito netting and a canvas that acts as a roof, which makes me feel like I have a house. I have a shelf on which to keep my belongings, that is to say, the knapsack with my clothes and a bible, my only luxury. Everything is prepared to leave on the run. Here, nothing is one's own, nothing lasts; uncertainty and precariousness are the only constant. The order is given at any moment to pack up and one gets to sleep stretched out anywhere like an animal. . . . Every day less and less of myself remains."

Betancourt's former husband Fabrice Delloye, was ecstatic when interviewed late Wednesday on EUROPE1 radio, saying that Sarkozy called him personally with the good news.

"I want to thank everyone that worked for her release," he said. "I could not believe it. This story will finish well."