Do you think this woman may be sacrificing herself for the cause? Is she making things difficult for herself so that her cause will gain sympathy and international publicity. If that is so should the US government be playing along?

I don't know. From what I have read (and I don't believe everything I read in the papers) she is an idealistic young woman. Is she a spoiled brat determined to stand firm until she gets her own way - hardly likely given the consequences she has chosen to suffer as a result of her idealism. Is she a heroine willing to give all for her cause? Maybe. Did her actions merit a 20 year jail term? I don't think so but I also don't believe that we know the whole story. I am cynical enough about world leaders to believe that she is a pawn in everyone's game - the revolutionaries, the US government, the Peruvian government, the journalists who stand to make a buck from her story.