In a daring operation straight out of an action movie, Colombian intelligence officers this month rescued politician Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. defense contractors and 11 other hostages held for years in the jungle by Marxist narco-guerrillas.

Ms. Betancourt, who had spent more than six years in captivity, spoke of the joy of everyday life back in civilization — finding herself free from bugs, taking a hot shower, smelling a French perfume, and hugging her children, who had grown to adulthood in her absence.

The daring rescue involved tricking members of the cocaine-funded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Colombian intelligence agents posing as communist aid workers — some wearing Che Guevara T-shirts (in honor of the Cuban revolutionary) — climbed aboard a helicopter filled with hostages and commandeered it, putting the FARC agents under arrest.

Only one detail marred the operation. One of the intelligence operatives was wearing a Red Cross symbol. It is a violation of the Geneva Conventions for any military operation to use the symbol — even in the cause of a humane rescue — since that spreads mistrust of Red Cross workers. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, whose own father was killed in a botched FARC kidnapping, expressed his regret that the symbol was misused.

Still, the rescue was good news, and another sign that Mr. Uribe is bringing back a semblance of order to Colombia, long ravaged by the trade in drugs, most of which end up in the massive American market. Mr. Uribe’s astute use of military force has helped make his country’s cities and highways safer.

In the wake of the rescue, Mr. Uribe’s stock was so high that floundering Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez met with him, and talked about working together. But then, Venezuela is Columbia’s second biggest export market (after the United States). And Mr. Chavez, who has often used tough tactics against his political enemies, may believe it is in his political interest to make the 2 million Colombians in Venezuela less resentful of his rule.

That was quite a turnabout. Mr. Chavez had earlier denounced President Uribe as a “mafia leader, unfit to govern” and an American pawn. FARC computers seized in a raid earlier this year suggested that Venezuela was helping FARC obtain arms from foreign suppliers to try to topple the Colombian government. In March, Mr. Chavez ordered tanks to the Colombian border after Colombia bombed a FARC camp inside Ecuador.

But, of late, things have not been going the Venezuelan strongman’s way. Mr. Chavez has turned his once robust economy into a shambles, despite a massive influx of money from rising oil prices. Inflation is running at an annual rate of 32 percent, and food shortages are afflicting the country.

Venezuelans seem to be growing more skeptical of his blustering leadership.