Upon arrival at the Bogota military airport Wednesday, a free Ingrid Betancourt told the tale of her liberation after rebels were fooled by an undercover military operation.

"The conditions were surreal," Betancourt told the media. “We had been up since five in the morning. They [the FARC] asked us to pack our stuff and had us wait all morning, telling us they didn’t know what was going on.”

According to Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, the army had infiltrated men among the FARC guerrillas in charge of watching the hostages. The Colombian commando soldiers posing as FARC members managed to convince the hostage captors that FARC commanders wanted to meet the hostages and that they needed to get them all together to that purpose.

"An hour before the helicopters landed, I spoke to FARC commander Asprilla and he said that we were all going to board the helicopter to go to a place that he didn’t know and talk with a FARC leader. Asprilla thought it might be Alfonso Cano [the FARC's new leader]," Betancourt said.

"When the two white helicopters arrived, I have to admit that I felt something strange because, usually when we heard helicopters over our heads, we had to run fast and hide. This time they were in front of us and we were quietly waiting for them to land."

"We are the national army, you are free"

Only one of the two choppers landed, according to the Colombian military.

"When the people aboard the helicopter came out, the [deception] was total. They [looked like] FARC members, some wearing T-shirts bearing the portrait of Che Guevara."

General Freddy Padilla, the head of the Colombian military, revealed that the helicopter used for the rescue operation carried two pilots, two military navigators and nine members of the Special Forces.

"We went aboard the helicopter with much difficulty because they had tied our wrists, which was humiliating. Then once we were inside, they tied our feet as well… They  shut the helicopter’s doors and I saw the FARC commander naked on the ground. I didn’t even feel happy at that moment," said the former hostage who added that that same guerillero had repeatedly humiliated her during her captivity.

It was only once they  were in the air, and the army had neutralized the two FARC commanders who had accompanied the hostages, that "the chief of operations said, 'We are the national army and you are all free'," said Betancourt. "And the helicopter almost fell because we started jumping. We screamed, we cried, we hugged. We couldn't believe it."

"This is a miracle... There is no historical precedent for such a perfect operation," she added smiling, speaking in French and Spanish.