Mr Uribe faced much pressure to bow to the FARC's demands, both from the hostages' families and, less understandably, from France. (At Mr Sarkozy's request he freed a jailed guerrilla leader who has returned to action.) Ms Betancourt's mother was particularly bitter in her criticism of the president during her tireless campaign for her daughter's release.
But the sugar industry argued this change would be a bitter pill for US consumers and would only add to the confusion about a sweetener that has drawn criticism by some health advocates.