VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #4108/01 3631818
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291818Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1832
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA

UNCLAS BOGOTA 004108 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR
SUBJECT: FOR RELEASE: NAS MONTHLY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2009 
 
REF: EMAIL:FOR RELEASE: NAS MONTHLY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2009 
 
From: Navarro, Luz A 
Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 1:14 PM 
To: Navarro, Luz A 
Subject: FOR RELEASE: NAS MONTHLY REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2009 
 
 
 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  In the first days of December the aerial 
eradication team reached its CY-2009 goal of 100,000 hectares 
sprayed.  Eradication numbers continue to lag behind last year's 
due to funding constraints affecting manual eradication progress, 
while fatalities during manual eradication operations have 
increased from last year (see reftel).  NAS-funded training and 
construction programs continue, and interdiction operations 
continue to result in large-scale seizures.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶I.        Aerial Eradication Program 
 
II.       Manual Eradication Program 
 
III.      Plan Colombia Helicopter Program (PCHP) 
 
IV.       Colombia National Police Air Service Support (ARAVI) 
 
¶V.        Interdiction Program 
 
VI.       Base Security/Road Interdiction/NVD Program 
 
VII.      Maritime Interdiction Program 
 
VIII.     Communications/Weapons Program 
 
IX.       Port Security Program (PSP) 
 
¶X.        Reestablish Police Presence Program (Carabineros) 
 
XI.       Air Bridge Denial (ABD) Program 
 
XII.      Environmental Program 
 
XIII.     Individual Demobilization Program 
 
XIV.      Drug Demand Prevention (DDP) Program 
 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
¶I.      AERIAL ERADICATION PROGRAM 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Aircraft based in Forward Operating Locations (FOLs) in 
Larandia, Popayan and Caucasia sprayed a total of 8,595 hectares 
(ha) in November.  A total of 3,310 ha were sprayed out of 
Barrancabermeja, 827 out of Popayan, 484 out of Caucasia and 3,974 
out of Tumaco.  The aerial eradication team reached its calendar 
year target of 100,000 ha on December 4.  During November, 
eradication aircraft experienced four hostile fire incidents and 
nine impacts, bringing the total for the calendar year to 41 
hostile fire incidents and 75 impacts.  No one was wounded or 
killed as a result of these incidents. 
 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
II.    MANUAL ERADICATION PROGRAM 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Phase IV of the GOC's 2009 manual eradication campaign 
(GME program) ends in mid-December.  Total eradication of coca for 
the month of November was 4,337 ha, bringing the GME program's 
 
year-to-date total to 44,188 ha.  Including eradication carried out 
by the Colombian security forces, total coca eradication through 
November was 51,046 ha.  With less than one month left in the year, 
manual eradication of coca is well short of the 2009 manual 
eradication goal of 70,000 ha.  The Antinarcotics Police (DIRAN) 
planned to continue eradication operations through December in an 
attempt to reach 60,000 ha by the end of the year.  The GOC has 
surpassed the 2009 goals to eradicate 500 hectares of poppy and 150 
ha of marijuana.  There were no reported security incidents in 
November. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Through November, the GOC reported a total of 40 
fatalities during manual eradication operations in 2009, including 
25 security personnel, 14 civilian eradicators, and one United 
Nations-hired topographer embedded within a manual eradication 
group.  [Note:  The number of reported fatalities is based on 
records held by the Colombian National Police, Colombian Army, 
Accion Social, reports from the field and press reports.  Complete 
reporting of fatalities during manual eradication will not be 
available until the end of the year.  End Note.]  In all of 2008, 
26 security personnel and civilian eradicators were killed in 
manual eradication operations. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
III.  PLAN COLOMBIA HELICOPTER PROGRAM (PCHP) 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) PCHP aircraft flew a total of 497 hours in November 2009, 
operating from bases in Tumaco, Larandia, Barrancabermeja, and 
Tolemaida.  PCHP aircraft provided air assaults, air movements, 
reconnaissance, medical evacuations, and support missions for the 
Counter-Drug (CD) Brigade and other vetted Colombian Army (COLAR) 
units.  [Comment: Air assaults and interdiction operations 
coordinated with aerial eradication operations continues to be an 
effective tactic for increasing security for spray aircraft.  The 
effectiveness of this tactic, however, is directly proportional to 
the accuracy and availability of actionable intelligence.  General 
information on the presence of enemy forces in an area cannot be 
converted into an actionable target by CD Brigade forces.  Lack of 
actionable intelligence was the major factor affecting operations 
in the Barrancabermeja FOL.]  PCHP aircraft supported SOUTHCOM's 
visit to Tolemaida and the Joint Initial Entry Rotary Wing School 
in Melgar.  PCHP flew 31 hours supporting 9 medical evacuation 
missions transporting a total of 13 patients. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------------- 
 
IV.    COLOMBIAN NATIONAL POLICE (CNP) AIR SERVICE (ARAVI) SUPPORT 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) ARAVI's NAS-supported fleet flew 2,178 mission hours in 
November.  The seven UH-60 Black Hawks closed out the month with 
215 flight hours and an operational readiness (OR) rate of 81 
percent.  One UH-60 is undergoing depot maintenance for structural 
repair due to hostile fire, and Sikorsky completed depot repairs on 
another UH-60 this month.  The Bell 212 fleet flew 362 mission 
hours with an OR rate of 68 percent.  One Bell 212 has yet to be 
inducted into the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP)/Rewire, and 
another Bell 212 is currently in depot for SLEP.  The CNP is 
conducting this SLEP without USG contractor support.  The Huey II 
section's OR rate was 65 percent while flying 1,021 hours.  Five 
Huey IIs are in depot maintenance for structural repairs.  The 
transfer of five Huey IIs from the Colombian Army to the CNP was 
completed, and the CNP has assumed all helicopter support for both 
aerial eradication packages operating in Colombia.  The four DC-3s 
flew 288 hours in November with an OR rate of 46 percent.  The last 
of three C-26 Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Aerial 
Platforms (ISRAP) arrived and is pending final acceptance. 
 
 
 
-------------------- 
 
¶V.      INTERDICTION 
 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) During November the Colombian National Police (CNP) seized 
8.51 metric tons of cocaine hydrochloride (HC1) and cocaine base, 
33.75 metric tons of coca leaf, 24.37 metric tons of marijuana, and 
7 kgs of heroin.  The CNP also destroyed 13 cocaine HCl 
laboratories and 102 coca base laboratories, and seized 2,113 
metric tons of precursor chemicals.  From January 1 to December 1, 
2009, the CNP has seized 121.13 metric tons of cocaine/cocaine 
base, 447 metric tons of coca leaf, 164.88 metric tons of marijuana 
and 573 kgs of heroin.  In the same time period the CNP has 
destroyed 179 cocaine HCl laboratories, 1,419 coca base 
laboratories, and seized 24,804.10 metric tons of precursor 
chemicals. 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) On November 2, DIRAN deployed 40 Junglas from Facatativa 
to Caucasia, Antioquia Department to intercept a clandestine drug 
flight arriving from Central America.  The clandestine aircraft 
landed near Ayapel, Cordoba, 15 miles north of Caucasia, and the 
Jungla airmobile element landed minutes after and seized the 
aircraft.  The aircrew is believed to have escaped in a small boat 
on Lake Ayapel.  As the Junglas fanned out over the area, they 
found an abandoned suitcase containing $2M USD.  Since April 2009, 
the policemen of northeast Colombia's DIRAN Zone #5 (Norte de 
Santander, Santander, Arauca) have established continuous mobile 
road checkpoints, seizing 27 tons of marijuana (coming from distant 
Cauca) and 12 tons of cocaine.  [NOTE: The narcotraffickers are 
attempting to move the cocaine/marijuana to clandestine airfields 
across the border with Venezuela.]  On November 6, thirty Tulua 
Junglas, responding to a HUMINT tip, moved by truck from Tulua to 
Calota, Cauca and captured 850 kgs of marijuana hidden in a cache 
site.  On November 7, the DIRAN Zone #5 destroyed three HCl labs 
and captured 432 kgs of cocaine in Norte de Santander.  On November 
13, thirty-one Tulua Junglas moved to Buenaventura and assisted 
DIRAN Ports in the capture of 315 kgs of cocaine hidden in a coffee 
shipment.  On November 13-17, the Facatativa Junglas deployed to 
Yopal, Casanare and San Jose de Guaviare and conducted a night 
airmobile assault, capturing members of the Pedro Olivero Guerrero, 
alias "Cuchillo", narcotrafficking group, located 30 miles north of 
San Jose de Guaviare.  The Junglas captured three armed members of 
the band along with ammunition and hand grenades. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Facatativa Ammunition Bunker, funded by NAS and built 
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was completed on November 15. 
The storage facility will service the Facatativa Junglas, the DIRAN 
National Ammunition Section and the Carabineros School.  NAS 
Bogota's Engineering Section is supervising the construction of a 
small arms range for the Junglas at the Facatativa Police Base. 
The expected completion date is March 2010. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The DIRAN Junglas nine-man Mobile Training Team (MTT) 
completed their 60 day antinarcotics training program for Mexico's 
Jalisco State Police in Guadalajara on November 2.  The Jungla 
Commando International Course, comprised of 54 international and 29 
CNP students, will continue until December 11.  Both the eight-week 
Jungla Explosives and Demolitions Course for 48 students and the 
eight-week Advanced Land Navigation Course for 56 students began on 
October 26.  The 23- week Jungla Combat Medic course continues and 
should graduate 35 students on December 28.  Six U.S. Army Special 
Forces trainers initiated a four-week course at the Pijaos Training 
Center on November 2 training the Jungla Special Recon unit on 
rural and urban operations. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
VI.    BASE SECURITY/ROAD INTERDICTION/NVD PROGRAM 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) 28 students graduated from the Base Security course at 
the newly-designated DIRAN Northwest Zone base in Necocli on 
November 4.  The next scheduled courses are in the planning phase 
and will run simultaneously in Tumaco and Necocli beginning in 
January. 
 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) Phase II of the Miraflores Indefinite Design Indefinite 
Quantity (IDIQ) project continued on schedule with a completion 
date of the first week in December.  The IDIQ Bastion Wall project 
at Necocli was completed.  It includes 250 meters of perimeter 
walls and two nine meter ballistic towers.  An additional 315 
meters of bastion walls to connect all the existing towers and 
bunkers will be added in December. 
 
¶13. (SBU) The accounting and inspection of the remaining Night 
Vision Devices for Carabineros Mobile Squadron (EMCAR) units was 
completed in November, and all of the new NVDs were sent to the 
designated EMCAR units located throughout the country.  The annual 
accounting and inspection program continued throughout the country 
at DIRAN bases and units in El Dorado, Guaymaral, Facatativa, 
Espinal, Pijaos, Cespo, Mariquita, Larandia, Santa Marta, Tulua and 
DITRA. 
 
 
 
----------------------------- 
 
VII.  MARITIME INTERDICTION 
 
----------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶14. (SBU) On November 3, an American cutter and a Colombian frigate 
(ARC Valle de Cauca) intercepted a vessel off the Pacific coast 
containing 2.5 tons of cocaine.  The Colombian authorities seized 
the drugs and arrested the crewmembers.  A GRUIN navy intelligence 
tactical team captured a top BACRIM (emerging criminal band) 
"Paisa" leader, alias "Micho", in Monter????a, C????rdoba on November 
¶11. 
 
 
 
¶15. (SBU) NAS worked with the Colombian Coast Guard to coordinate a 
conference that included senior Colombian naval leadership, Coast 
Guard officers, Colombian judges, and prosecutors to discuss new 
Colombian maritime law against self propelled semi submersibles 
(SPSS) and other legal issues as they pertain to Colombian national 
waters. 
 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
VIII.      COMMUNICATIONS/WEAPONS 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶16. (SBU) NAS provided 270 SPOT personal satellite emergency 
communications devices to the Colombian Coast Guard and CNP, 
providing commanders the ability to determine exactly the location 
of friendly forces.  Work continued on a fiber optics project in 
Tulua that will connect the antinarcotics base with the CNP 
network, and NAS funded the travel of CNP technicians to every 
international airport in Colombia to train DIRAN personnel on a new 
database that will help track import/export information.  NAS also 
met with DIRAN and DIPON and a private communication security firm, 
Cellcrypt, to discuss methods to encrypt CNP cell phones.  CNP 
communications officers are testing and evaluating potential 
solutions. 
 
 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
IX.    PORT SECURITY PROGRAM (PSP) 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶17. (SBU) DIRAN's Ports and Airports Area (ARPAE) units seized 2.2 
metric tons of cocaine, 1.1 kgs of heroin and arrested 34 people at 
Colombia's air and seaports during November.  At the Bogota 
airport, 483.4 kgs of cocaine were seized and 25 people arrested. 
At the Pereira airport, 3.7 kgs of cocaine were seized.  At Cali's 
Palmira airport, 19.7 kgs of cocaine were seized and three people 
arrested.  At Medellin's Rionegro airport, 5.2 kgs of cocaine and 3 
kgs of heroin were seized, and two people arrested.  At 
Barranquilla's airport, 0.8 kgs of heroin were seized and one 
person arrested.  In Cartagena's port, 838.8 kgs of cocaine were 
seized and two people arrested.  In Buenaventura's port, 879 kgs of 
cocaine were seized and one person arrested.  In Santa Marta's 
port, 7.6 kgs of cocaine were seized and in Urab????'s port area, 
39.8 
kgs of cocaine were seized.  Canine antidrug units participated in 
seven of the cases. 
 
 
 
¶18. (SBU) ICE polygraph examiner conducted polygraph exams on 68 
 
members of DIRAN's interdiction, intelligence, ports and airports 
units.  54 passed the exam, 10 failed, and 4 exams had inconclusive 
results.  The DIRAN Polygraph Unit also supported DIRAN Internal 
Affairs Group with investigations on air and seaport personnel. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶X.      REESTABLISH POLICE PRESENCE PROGRAM (CARABINEROS) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
 
 
¶19. (SBU) The Carabineros continue their primary missions of rural 
security and manual eradication.  During November they captured 159 
people, 14 FARC/ELN, 20 criminal bands members, 22 
narcotraffickers, 103 common criminals, 90 weapons and over 3,000 
rounds of ammunition.  The squadrons also seized 4,455 gallons of 
liquid precursors, 5,078 kgs of solid precursors, 1,128 kgs of 
cocaine, 6,713 kgs of marijuana, 14 vehicles and destroyed 24 labs 
and two base camps. 
 
 
 
------------------------------ 
 
XI.    AIR BRIDGE DENIAL (ABD) 
 
------------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶20. (SBU) Out of 2,808 tracks over Colombia, three aircraft were 
declared Unknown, Assumed Suspect (UAS).  The Colombian Air Force 
intercepted one and the other two were not located.  The 
intercepted aircraft, a Cessna 210, was intercepted departing 
Honduras (see para 8). 
 
 
 
----------------------- 
 
XII.  ENVIRONMENTAL 
 
----------------------- 
 
 
 
¶21. (SBU) In November, the antinarcotics police received 25 
complaints, closed 21 cases, and compensated approximately $693 USD 
to one complainant bringing the total backlog to 2,210 cases. 
 
 
 
¶22. (SBU) On November 24-25, Chris Kraul, a Los Angeles Times 
journalist, traveled to Tumaco, Narino to view and discuss aerial 
eradication operations.  His article was published on December 16 
and focused on one spray pilot, highlighting interesting spray 
stories and experiences. 
 
 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
XIII.      INDIVIDUAL DEMOBILIZATION PROGRAM 
 
----------------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶23. (SBU) The Ministry of Defense's (MOD) Humanitarian Attention 
Program for the Demobilized (PAHD) has received 20,398 combatants 
since 2002, including 148 insurgents in November and 2,481 to date 
in 2009.  This is the lowest monthly total since December 2007 and 
increases the likelihood that the PAHD's total in 2009 will be 
several hundred fewer cases than last year.  While 1,993 FARC 
members have demobilized so far this year compared to 2,847 through 
November 30, 2008, ELN demobilization numbers have reached a record 
470 this year. 
 
 
 
----------------------------------- 
 
XIV.   DRUG DEMAND PREVENTION (DDP) 
 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶24. (SBU) On November 25, Ambassador Brownfield awarded prizes to 
thirty-two winners, one from each department, of CNP DARE's, 
NAS-financed "Draw for a Drug-Free Country" contest that this year 
involved more than 50,000 children from across the country.  The 
three NGOs that will be building anti-drug community coalitions in 
Colombia submitted their proposals for grants which will be awarded 
upon the receipt of FY-2009 funds.  The winners of NAS-supported 
national youth DDP contest "The Wind at Your Back" and youth 
leaders from across the country participated in a 
UNODC/MPS-organized DDP training session November 16-18. 
 
 
 
¶25. (SBU) UNODC representatives received NAS's contribution to 
support a national study of drug use in schools among youth aged 12 
to 17.  The study will complement the NAS/INL-supported National 
Household Drug Consumption Study released in June of this year and 
will provide a tool for drug demand prevention policy and program 
planning for youth.  The study, slated to begin next year, will 
also identify trends when compared with the last such study 
released in 2004. 
BROWNFIELD