VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #3300/01 2891910
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161909Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RHMFIUU/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF STATE AIR WING PATRICK AFB FL
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0416
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0097
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0420
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 0441
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 0481

UNCLAS BOGOTA 003300 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR INL/LP AND INL/RM 
DEPT FOR WHA/AND 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR SENV KCRM PTER CO
SUBJECT: NAS Monthly Report for September 2009 
 
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SUMMARY 
 
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¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  During September, aerial and manual eradicators 
experienced an uptick in attacks on eradication efforts.  The 
complaints committee's resources are strained as a deluge of new 
claims of alleged spray damage to legal crops in the CSDI-priority 
zone of Narino continues.  The aerial eradication program is on 
track to reach the 2009 spray goal, however, insufficient funding 
will further impede manual eradication program's ability to reach 
its calendar year eradication goal.  Medical evacuation flights are 
increasingly becoming a major part of the Plan Helicopter Program's 
mission.  On September 27-30, NAS hosted the ONDCP Director Gil 
Kerlikowske, who met with GOC representatives including President 
Uribe, observed a DARE event at a vulnerable school, and visited 
Tumaco, Narino to learn about Embassy Bogota's Colombia Strategic 
Development Initiative (CSDI).  NAS Director met with the Commander 
of the Colombian Army who expressed his appreciation for U.S. 
assistance, promised strong support for NAS programs, and was 
receptive to the possibility of developing a joint intelligence 
task force in Tumaco.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶I.        Aerial Eradication Program Update 
 
II.       Manual Eradication Program Update 
 
III.      Plan Colombia Helicopter Program (PCHP) Update 
 
IV.       Colombia National Police Air Service Support (ARAVI) 
 
       Program Update 
 
¶V.        Interdiction Program Update 
 
VI.       Base security/Road Interdiction/NVD Program Update 
 
VII.      Maritime Interdiction Program Update 
 
VIII.     Communications/Weapons Program Update 
 
IX.       Port Security Program (PSP) Update 
 
¶X.        Colombian Army Counter-Drug (CD) Brigade Program 
 
Update 
 
XI.       Reestablish Police Presence Program (Carabineros) 
 
        Update 
 
XII.      Air Bridge Denial (ABD) Program Update 
 
XIII.     Environmental Program Update 
 
XIV.      Individual Demobilization Program Update 
 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
¶I.      AERIAL ERADICATION PROGRAM 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Aircraft based in Forward Operating Locations (FOLs) in 
Larandia, Villagarzon, Tumaco, and Caucasia sprayed a total of 
9,462 hectares in September.  A total of 1,416 ha were sprayed out 
of Tumaco; 5,962 ha out of Larandia and Villagarzon; and 2,084 out 
of Caucasia.  The aerial eradication team has sprayed 82,546 ha 
through nine months, toward its 100,000 ha calendar-year goal. 
September saw a marked increase in attacks on aerial eradication 
assets:  eradication aircraft experienced 11 hostile-fire incidents 
and 28 impacts in September, bringing the total for the calendar 
year to 29 hostile fire incidents and 53 impacts; no one has been 
wounded or killed as a result of these incidents. 
 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
II.    MANUAL ERADICATION PROGRAM 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Phase III of the GOC's 2009 manual eradication campaign 
(GME program) will end in early October.  Total eradication of coca 
for September was 7,295 hectares - bringing the GME program's 
year-to-date total to 37,947 hectares.  Including eradication 
carried out by the Colombian security forces, total coca 
eradication through September was 43,491 hectares, well short of 
the 70,000 manual eradication goal for the year.  GME's Phase IV 
begins in mid-October and will run through December 15.  The GOC's 
2009 poppy eradication goal is 500 hectares.  The police are 
fielding a 40-man unit to provide security for 15 civilian 
eradicators to attack poppy cultivation in Cauca beginning in 
mid-October. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Reduced funding for Phase IV will result in fewer GMEs 
than expected in the field.  Police plans to increase the pace of 
eradication of coca by adding police units to provide security were 
cancelled due to insufficient funds to contract civilian 
eradicators.  Given the resources allocated for manual eradication 
through the end of the year, it is unlikely that manual eradication 
of coca will reach the annual goal of 70,000 ha. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In September, landmine and hostile fire incidents killed 
five civilian eradicators and one security personnel.  In one 
incident, three eradicators were killed and six soldiers injured by 
a command detonated explosive device in Norte de Santander.  On 
September 29, a 20-year old carabinero was killed and two others 
injured by a landmine during manual eradication operations near 
Tumaco.  During this year's manual eradication operations, 38 
people (25 security personnel and 13 civilians, including one UN 
Topographer) have died.  In all of 2008, 26 security personnel and 
civilian eradicators were killed in manual eradication operations. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Separate from the GME program, the Colombian Army (COLAR) 
and the Colombian National Police (CNP) conduct manual eradication 
as part of their normal operations.  Through September, COLAR had 
eradicated 4,173 ha of coca, 44 ha of poppy and two ha of 
marijuana, and the CNP had eradicated 1,207 ha of coca, nine ha of 
poppy and 47 ha of marijuana. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
III.   PLAN COLOMBIA HELICOPTER PROGRAM (PCHP) 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) PCHP aircraft operated from Tumaco, Larandia, and 
Tolemaida bases and flew a total of 864 hours providing air 
assaults, air movements, reconnaissance, medical evacuations, and 
support missions for the CD Brigade and other vetted COLAR units. 
Helicopter hours have been depleted by damage to the aircraft and 
the increasing need to provide additional protection from ground 
fire incidents.  Tumaco-based PCHP helicopters provided support for 
BACNA 2 (Counternarcotics Battalion of the CD Brigade) air assault 
missions and armed escort for COLAR MI-17 helicopters supporting 
manual eradication operations.  PCHP helicopters supported the 
 
ONDCP visit to Tumaco by providing air transportation and escort 
assistance.  PCHP flew 24 hours supporting six medical evacuation 
flights that transported nine patients. 
 
 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
IV.     COLOMBIA NATIONAL POLICE (CNP) 
 
AIR SERVICE (ARAVI) SUPPORT 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) ARAVI's NAS-supported fleet flew 2,225 mission hours in 
September.  The seven UH-60 Black Hawks closed out the month with 
176 flight hours and an Operational Readiness (OR) rate of 76 
percent.  One UH-60 is undergoing depot maintenance for structural 
repairs.  The Bell 212 fleet flew 335 mission hours with an OR rate 
of 63 percent.  One Bell 212 still needs to be inducted into the 
Service Life Extension Program/Rewire.  The Huey II OR rate was 65 
percent while flying 1,143 hours.  Two Huey II aircraft, or six 
percent of the fleet, are 
currently undergoing depot maintenance for structural repairs.  The 
DC-3 fleet flew 274 hours in September, with an OR rate of 
52 percent; one DC-3 is undergoing a 2,000-hour inspection.  The 
last C-26 Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Aerial 
Platform (ISRAP) PNC 0224 arrived on October 3. 
 
 
 
-------------------- 
 
¶V.      INTERDICTION 
 
-------------------- 
 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) During September, the CNP's Antinarcotics Directorate 
(DIRAN) seized ten metric tons of cocaine hydrochloride (HCl) and 
cocaine base, 38 metric tons of coca leaf, 7.7 metric tons of 
marijuana, and 40 kgs of heroin.  The CNP also destroyed 21 cocaine 
HCl laboratories and 83 coca base laboratories, and captured 386 
metric tons of precursor chemicals.  Since January 1, 2009, the CNP 
has seized a total of 102.4 metric tons of cocaine/cocaine base, 
395.4 metric tons of coca leaf, 128.7 metric tons of marijuana, and 
524 kgs of heroin.  The CNP has also destroyed 151 cocaine HCl 
laboratories, 1,193 coca base laboratories, and seized 22,480 
metric tons of precursor chemicals. 
 
 
 
¶10.  (SBU) On September 13, the Tulua Junglas destroyed a cocaine 
HCl laboratory on the Pacific Coast in southern Choc???? Department 
that contained 160 kgs of cocaine.  From September 10-14, 70 Bogota 
Junglas uncovered two FARC 47th Front arms/explosives caches near 
Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia that contained 590 antipersonnel mines, 
29 claymore mines, 70 kgs of explosive mixture, 200 kgs of ammonium 
nitrate, 180 fuse igniters, detonators, detonation cord, and a time 
fuse.  Reports indicate that the mines were going to be used to 
attack manual eradication teams.  Following this operation, the 
Bogota Junglas deployed to Cucuta on September 15-17 and destroyed 
three cocaine HCl laboratories containing 1.5 metric tons of 
cocaine and two metric tons of precursor chemicals.  On September 
14, the DIRAN Zone One Intelligence Group captured 60 metric tons 
of precursor chemicals stored in a warehouse in Pacho, 
Cundinamarca.  The DIRAN Zone 6 (Necocli, Antioquia) Operational 
Company destroyed a cocaine HCl laboratory in the municipality of 
Necocli on September 16.  On September 22, the DIRAN Ipiales 
(Narino) Company, working based on an informant's tip, set up a 
road checkpoint and captured a woman carrying 100,000 euros 
(approximately $146,820) taped to her body.  On August 27, the same 
Company had captured an Ipiales taxi driver transporting 740,000 
euros ($1.086 million). 
 
¶11.  (SBU) A 30-man Santa Marta Jungla contingent continued 
supporting the Search Block force in Monteria, Cordoba that has 
been looking for the remnants of a major narcotrafficking group. 
DIRAN deployed a 65-man element to Tumaco (45 Junglas, 12 DIRAN 
Intel, and 8 ARAVI crew members) to conduct long-term 
counternarcotics operations in Southeast Narino Department. 
 
 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The $670,000 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project at the 
Facatativa Ammunition Storage Facility will be completed on 
November 5 and will provide support for the Facatativa Jungla 
Company, the DIRAN, and the CNP's Carabinero School. 
 
 
 
¶13.  (SBU) On September 2, The DIRAN Junglas deployed a nine-man 
Mobile Training Team (MTT) to Mexico to provide 60 days of 
antinarcotics training to 60 members of the Jalisco State Police. 
On September 14-28, the DIRAN Junglas conducted a two-week Program 
of Instruction (POI) for 17 Colombian Air Force (COLAF) special 
operations personnel focusing on survival, land navigation, and 
operations planning.  The DIRAN's four-man MTT will travel to the 
Bolivian Garras School, Chimore on October 17 to provide 
instruction on cocaine laboratory destruction, chemical safety, and 
evidence handling; Argentinean, Paraguayan, and Brazilian nationals 
will also attend this training.  The Jungla Commando International 
Course, made up of 54 international and 29 CNP students, will 
continue until December 3.  The Combat Medic Course's 39 students 
will graduate on December 15.  Six new U.S. Army Special Forces 
trainers arrived in Colombia on September 24 and will assist with 
training at Pijaos through April.  The DEA is helping the 
Facatativa Junglas to develop a live fire reaction pistol and rifle 
range.  The Junglas set up a cocaine HCl laboratory and Jungle 
patrol demonstrations in Tumaco for the ONDCP visit. 
 
 
 
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VI.    BASE SECURITY/ROAD INTERDICTION 
 
/NVD PROGRAM 
 
--------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶14.  (SBU) On September 2, 44 officers from the DIRAN, Carabineros, 
Navy, Marine Corps, and the CD Brigade graduated from the Defensa 
De Areas (Base Security) course in Tumaco.  The next course will 
take place in Necocli in October and will be comprised of 40 
officers from the DIRAN Northwest Zone base, DIRAN officers from 
other departments, and COLAR personnel currently assigned to the 
Uraba Gulf area; the course will end on November 4. 
 
 
 
¶15.  (SBU) The Tierradentro, Antioquia IDIQ project begun in late 
May was completed in September.  Phase II of the Miraflores, 
Guaviare IDIQ project should be finished by late October or early 
November.  All 165 of the new NVDs (Night Vision Devices) were 
inspected and sent to designated EMCAR units located throughout the 
country. 
 
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
VII.   MARITIME INTERDICTION 
 
------------------------------ 
 
¶16.  (SBU) On September 14, the Colombian Coast Guard in 
Buenaventura located a large cache in a mangrove containing 502 kgs 
of marijuana.  On September 17 in Choco, the Coast Guard captured a 
"go-fast" boat with 300 kgs of cocaine.  On September 23, the 
Buenaventura Coast Guard seized another "go-fast" after a struggle 
during which the narcotraffickers threw a significant amount of 
cocaine overboard; the Coast Guard was able to capture the vessel 
and arrest two men, recovering 112 kgs of cocaine. 
 
 
 
¶17.  (SBU) The GRUIN (Naval Intelligence tactical team) conducted 
live fire exercises and zeroed the unit's new, NAS-procured, 
Advanced Combat Optical Gun (ACOG) sites and Eotech holographic 
weapon sites.  GRUIN tactical units established an observation post 
in the Cesar department and found a cache belonging to the BACRIM 
(emerging criminal band) group "Los Rastrojos" that contained 683 
kgs of cocaine, six AK-47 assault rifles, one mini-Uzi, four hand 
grenades, and one pistol. 
 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
VIII.     COMMUNICATIONS/WEAPONS 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶18.  (SBU) The DIRAN weapons section repaired three M60 machine 
guns, four M9 Beretta pistols, forty M16, thirteen M249 automatic 
weapons, and five metal detectors.  The weapons section also 
provided various tactical materials to DIRAN/DICAR police forces 
assigned to manual eradication operations.  A Mobile Training Team 
(MTT) traveled to Santander, Narino, and Caqueta to train local 
police forces.  NAS installed a security camera system at the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers-built armory in Facatativa, allowing for 
24-hour monitoring of the armory via closed intranet systems around 
the country. 
 
 
 
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IX.    PORT SECURITY PROGRAM (PSP) 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶19.  (SBU) With NAS support, the Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement agency (ICE) and the CNP seized a record-breaking 
amount of $40 million in cash in Buenaventura's port.  This seizure 
is the largest of its kind in Colombian maritime history. 
 
 
 
¶20.  (SBU) DIRAN's Ports and Airports Area (ARPAE) units seized 407 
kgs of cocaine, one kg of heroin, and 80,000 pills of 
pseudoephedrine (going to Mexico) at Bogota's El Dorado Airport and 
arrested 25 people.  At the Pereira airport, 15 kgs of cocaine and 
3.8 kgs of heroin were seized.  In Cali's airport, 90 kgs of 
cocaine were seized and 13 people arrested.  2.7 kgs of heroin were 
seized at the Buenaventura's port; 190 kgs at the Cartagena's port; 
and 14.6 kgs of cocaine at the Santa Marta's port. 
 
 
 
¶21.  (SBU) NAS Bogota supported the participation of two DIRAN 
polygraph examiners in the Latin American Polygraph Congress in 
Lima, Peru.  The DIRAN unit conducted polygraph exams on 117 
members of the ARPAE and Internal Affairs sections; 87 of those 
tested passed the exam, 25 failed, and five had inconclusive 
results. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶X.      COLOMBIAN ARMY COUNTERDRUG (CD) BRIGADE 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
 
 
¶22.  (SBU) The CD Brigade's First, Second, and Third Battalions 
supported eradication and conducted interdiction and combat 
operations from bases in Tumaco and Larandia.  The battalions 
conducted interdiction and combat operations against the FARC's 
Daniel Aldana Mobil Column, 29 Front, and the ELN's Guerrero Del 
Sindagua Company in Narino and Caqueta.  The CD Brigade secured a 
total of 14,533 ha for aerial eradication and destroyed seven coca 
paste laboratories, five enemy camps, and one enemy cache, seizing 
one kg of coca paste, 1,180 gallons of liquid precursors, 3,115 kgs 
of solid precursors, 200 kgs of processed coca leaf, and 3,153,832 
coca seedlings.  During combat operations, the battalion 
confiscated one rifle, 231 rounds of ammunition, and one hand 
grenade.  The Third Battalion killed one FARC terrorist during 
operations. 
 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
XI.    REESTABLISH POLICE PRESENCE PROGRAM (CARABINEROS) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
 
 
¶23.  (SBU) EMCAR 43 (mobile carabinero squadron) eradicated a total 
of 57.5 hectares of illegal crops in Caqueta in September and 
seized a total of 90 weapons and ten hand grenades, capturing 36 
persons implicated in drug trafficking, terrorism, and homicide. 
The first students selected through the police scholarship program, 
including ten indigenous police recruits, will soon go through 
evaluations in Tulua, Valle. 
 
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
XII.   AIR BRIDGE DENIAL (ABD) 
 
------------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶24.  (SBU) Out of 1,320 air tracks over Colombia, three were 
declared Unknown, Assumed Suspect (UAS) in September.  Colombia 
responded to two of the UAS; the third aircraft departed Colombian 
airspace before it could be inspected.  Colombian and Panamanian 
authorities shared information that led to the seizure in Panama of 
an aircraft that was carrying drugs from Colombia; the Panamanian 
authorities arrested the pilot and impounded the aircraft. 
 
 
 
----------------------- 
 
XIII.     ENVIRONMENTAL 
 
----------------------- 
 
 
 
¶25.  (SBU) In September, the DIRAN closed 1,624 cases, bringing the 
back-log total to 2,284 cases.  During the month, the interagency 
complaints committee received 465 new claims of alleged spray 
damage to legal crops; 358 of these cases originated from 
Barbacoas, Narino.  The antinarcotics police continue to work on 
 
decreasing the back-log generated from Narino over the past two 
months however, incomplete applications have impeded an expeditious 
resolution of the complaints.  Out of the 2,778 complaints received 
from Narino in July and August, 1,587 have been closed.  It is 
likely that an additional 900 will be closed by November. 
 
 
 
¶26.  (U) The NAS-contracted personnel began building a laboratory 
at the National Institute of Health where the scientists will be 
able to verify the presence of glyphosate in human bodily fluid 
samples.  By mid-October, when this laboratory will be completed, 
Colombia will have achieved full capacity to analyze glyphosate in 
soil, water, and body fluid samples. 
 
 
 
¶27.  (U) The environmental section continues to promote 
environmental conservation messages by explaining the negative 
effects of illicit crop production on the environment.  During 
September, the picture museum was displayed at the Unicentro 
shopping center, and it will travel to the Gran Estacion and Portal 
La 80 malls in October.  Additionally, several pictures from the 
picture museum will be placed in Bogota's libraries. 
 
 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
XIV.   INDIVIDUAL DEMOBILIZATION PROGRAM 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶28.  (SBU) The Ministry of Defense (MOD) Humanitarian Program for 
Demobilized Individuals (PAHD) has received 20,042 former 
combatants since 2002, including 203 insurgents in September and 
2,125 thus far in 2009.  Demobilization rates are approximately 20 
percent below those in 2008, and a tenth lower than those in 2007. 
Eighty percent of the demobilized in 2009 are former FARC members 
and the rest are ELN.  Desire for a new start and way of life, 
abuse by former comrades, political divergence, and military 
pressure are the major motivations for desertion.   Information 
voluntarily provided by demobilized is one of the best sources of 
intelligence available to security forces.  Reintegration remains a 
major challenge for the Colombian government as almost 80 percent 
of demobilized individuals have not completed elementary school. 
The MOD continues to strengthen initiatives for prevention of 
illegal recruitment and psychological assistance to the 
demobilized. 
 
 
 
NICHOLS 
NICHOLS