VZCZCXYZ0005
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #0884/01 0382235
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 072235Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2541
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 8657
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB LIMA 4725
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 9961
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 5380
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP ADMIN/CHAIRS//

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000884 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER MARR CO PREF
SUBJECT: UNION PENEYA: SECURITY PROMPTS MASS RETURN 
 
 
------- 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. In the rural hamlet of La Union Peneya, Caqueta 
Department, over 1,200 residents have returned to the town 
they abandoned in 2004 amid military-guerrilla combat.  Most 
of the town's infrastructure is still standing, but the 
residents returned earlier than expected, before all social 
services had been reestablished.  The Army has provided 
security and immediate relief aid, and the GOC's Accion 
Social programs have committed to helping the town become 
viable again.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------- 
2004: A Town Takes Flight 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. In one of the first campaigns of Plan Patriota, in early 
January 2004 the COLAR launched "Operation New Year" to hunt 
down FARC terrorists, and the rural town of La Union Peneya 
found itself caught in the crossfire.  The town (population 
about 2,500) is located in the west of Caqueta, a Department 
then dominated by the FARC and coca, hence a core target of 
Plan Patriota.  Amid fierce combat, the town priest persuaded 
the populace to flee; townspeople told us they did so "with 
only the clothes we were wearing."  They dispersed to larger 
cities in the area.  For over three years La Union Peneya 
remained empty. 
 
-------------------------- 
2007: A Population Returns 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3. With the military now in control of the area, in January 
of this year the GOC invited citizens to return.  The Army 
had built a battalion post of 300 soldiers outside town, had 
demined the entire area, and had established regular patrols. 
 Accion Social, the GOC's social services arm assisting 
victims of conflict, sent staff to tour La Union Peneya and 
assess its viability for resettlement.  They then contacted 
town leaders, who rallied the community to return.  On the 
weekend of 27-28 January, between 1,200 and 1,500 citizens 
returned to their homes en masse.  They declined an Army 
escort, saying they feared FARC reprisals.  Apparently 
jumping ahead of the GOC's timetable, these citizens arrived 
before basic services were in place, leading the COLMIL and 
GOC to scramble to provide aid. 
 
--------------------- 
The State of La Union 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. Embassy officers visited La Union Peneya on 31 January, 
3-4 days after resettlement.  Nearly all buildings were 
intact, belying press reports they were in ruins, although 
some interiors were burned and some homes roofless.  Our 
predominant impression was of an upbeat, industrious 
atmosphere of clean-up and repair.  People of all ages were 
in their homes sweeping and hammering, and laundry was 
hanging from lines strung across the streets.  Trash and 
leaves were burning in neat piles in the street, next to 
rusted and ruined furniture stacked for removal.  As evidence 
of the precipitous departure shortly after the new year 2004, 
Christmas decorations were still hung in some places. 
Soldiers were visibly stationed on street corners, and 
residents told us they felt safe. 
 
------------------- 
Urgent Relief Needs 
------------------- 
 
¶5. At a town council meeting, community representatives 
enumerated their priority needs for assistance: 
 
-   Health care -- basic medicines and a nurse or doctor. 
The town clinic was a mess of trash, and it needed new 
supplies, but structurally it was serviceable. 
 
-   Potable water was lacking; residents brought water by 
bucket from a muddy brown creek.  A tanker truck of drinking 
water was the immediate request; thereafter, pumps and a 
purifying plant needed mechanical attention. 
 
-   Food: hunger was not a problem yet, and a bakery was open 
for business, but they asked for trucks to bring supplies 
from the next town 40 minutes away. 
 
-   Electricity: power lines were in place; repairs were 
needed at the main hub. 
 
-   Education: the school needed clean-up, new books, 
furniture, and teachers. 
 
-   Plumbing and sanitation problems were pointed out at the 
school; this probably applied throughout the town. 
 
--------------- 
Help on Its Way 
--------------- 
 
¶6. The GOC is mobilizing, immediately with the Army for 
humanitarian relief and now with Accion Social for 
longer-term infrastructure.  The Army airlifted in meals 
ready to eat (MREs), especially for children, and two days 
after our visit the water trucks arrived.  A municipal 
representative taking a detailed inventory of needs, 
including of equipment specifications, explained that Accion 
Social resources could only be disbursed at the departmental 
level.  Two days after our visit, the governor duly visited, 
with his secretaries of health and education, and with Army 
transport they committed to deliveries of medicines, food, 
school supplies, teachers, and cleanup crews the next week 
(two weeks post-resettlement).  Accion Social representatives 
in the department capital assured us that Union Peneya was a 
priority, and they pledged to meet the needs listed by the 
community leaders. 
 
---------------- 
Strong Potential 
---------------- 
 
¶7. The town is largely intact, and rebuilding is not 
insurmountable if the GOC carries through on its commitments. 
 The town is surrounded by rich agricultural land and is 
situated near a highway, giving it strong potential for 
development of a legal economy, under the protection of the 
Army battalion. 
DRUCKER