It turns out a key element of the dramatic hostage rescue in Colombia was a rebel who had turned against his comrades.

A Colombian army general said a disgruntled member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, had agreed to spearhead the operation. This turncoat was trusted by both the rebels' high command and by the leader of the 1st Front, which was holding the hostages.

The turncoat convinced the commander of the 1st Front that top commanders wanted the 15 hostages moved to a rallying point. The general said the turncoat was upset with the FARC because his own commander had taken a house and farm away from him. This was payback.

U.S. spy satellites helped track the hostages on a monthlong journey that began May 31 and ended with Wednesday's rescue.

U.S. Hostages Home

Three U.S. military contractors were captured five years ago when their drug surveillance plane crashed in a rebel-held jungle.

Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell were flown back to an Air Force Base in Texas late Wednesday, then quickly taken away for medical checkups and reunions with their families.

Officials said the three were to be flown via Blackhawk helicopters to the Brooke Army Medical Center, TV station KSAT reported.

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota said the men, who worked for Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., were the longest-held American hostages in the world.

They and a dozen other hostages were freed in a daring mission Wednesday by spies who tricked the rebel captors into putting the hostages on board what turned out to be a government helicopter.

Among the freed captives is Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate who was captured while campaigning six years ago.

Betancourt wore military fatigues and a floppy camouflage hat as she stepped slowly down the stairs of a military plane Wednesday. She held her mother in a long embrace, a smile stretched across her face.

Betancourt hugged her husband, Juan Carlos LeCompte, and others, then took the hand of Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos.

Earlier, Betancourt told Colombian army radio that the military operation that freed her was "absolutely impeccable" and took her completely by surprise.

She said when she and the other hostages realized they were in a friendly helicopter, they were jumping up and down with so much joy she thought it would fall from the sky.

The rescue is the most serious blow ever dealt to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. They had considered Betancourt and the three Americans their most valuable bargaining chips.

The defense minister said military intelligence agents infiltrated the guerrilla ranks and led them to believe the hostages would be flown to the guerrillas' supreme leader. Instead, the hostages were taken to a military base.

Since their abduction, the hostage's families have received only two "proof of life" videos, the latest in November.