Colombian rebels yesterday released a video message in which Ms Ingrid Betancourt, a presidential candidate kidnapped last February, demanded a public inquiry into the events surrounding her capture.
"As a Colombian citizen this state neglect is unacceptable," Ms Betancourt said.
A former presidential candidate, Ms Betancourt was seized five months ago by FARC rebels as she travelled toward a safe haven abandoned by them after peace talks collapsed.
The anti-sleaze candidate revealed how she had travelled the dangerous stretch of road only after permission to travel on board a government helicopter had been refused. The pilot, said Ms Betancourt, had specific orders not to carry her.
Ms Betancourt would have been the first presidential candidate to arrive into the zone after the retreating rebels, a major pre-election boost for her.
The state helicopter was carrying journalists into the former safe haven. The 22-minute video, taped last May, was the first sign from the disappeared candidate, who rose to prominence when she denounced mafia influence inside Colombia's Liberal Party, to whom she once belonged.
The video appeared to have been edited, probably eliminating critical comments made about her captors.
Ms Betancourt rejected the possibility of a hostage swap with rebel prisoners, calling instead for international mediation in the 40-year conflict and a return to the negotiating table.
However Ms Betancourt's words appeared to fall on deaf ears yesterday as president-elect, Mr Alvaro Uribe, who assumes office next week, announced the call-up of army reserves, hinting at an escalation of the internal war.
Ms Betancourt was elected to the Colombian Senate in 1998, winning the highest vote in the country but her campaign to clean up politics stalled as liberal and conservative politicians joined forces to defeat her anti-corruption initiatives.
The video, broadcast on national television, raised hopes that the 41-year old politician may soon be released.