US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA1017

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 001017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INL/LP 
 
TAGS: SNAR, PREL, MOPS, MASS, PGOV, CO 
SUBJECT:  AIR BRIDGE DENIAL: DECEMBER 2003 PROGRAM UPDATE 
AND END OF YEAR RESULTS (CORRECTED COPY - SUPERSEDES REFTEL 
BOGOTA 00686) 
 
REF:  A. SEC2003 STATE 265910 
 
1. (U) Summary:  Following is the December Air Bridge Denial 
(ABD) activity report required by ref A. There were over 
2400 tracks sorted, of which 26 were declared Unidentified, 
Assumed Suspect (UAS) Tracks, with one pPhase I and two 
Phase II events during the month of December.  ABD program 
issues of concern include the availability of interceptors 
and focused operations.  End Summary. 
 
ABD Tracks 
---------- 
 
2. (U) In December 2003, over 2400 tracks were sorted, of 
which 26 were declared UAS aircraft.  The GOC did not react 
to 15 UAS, five due to non-availability of assets or 
proximity to borders/international waters, six due to the 
track information being dated or insufficient, and the 
remaining four were eventually identified as friendly. 
 
Phase II Events 
---------------- 
 
3.  (SBU)  On 11 December 11, 2003, the Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement (ICE) Airborne Early Warning ( AEW) P-3 
aircraft discovered a track in nearthe the Colombia-Braziln 
border in the Dog's Head area.  The Citation was airborne, 
and responded, and .  JIATF-S declared it a UAS.  The 
Citation made radar then visual contact with the UAS.  The 
UAS,, a white single-engine aircraft,  thatthen landed in 
San Pedro, an illegal airfield near Caruru in Vaupes 
Department.  7 to 10 individuals offloaded tThe aircraft was 
then off-loaded,then moved off the runway, and concealed.it 
into trees at the eastern end of the runway and covered it 
with a tarp.  The Citation completed pPhase I, and .  Phase 
II was requested and approved but the Air and Ground Safety 
Monitors did not relay this to JIATF-S.  When the phase II 
was accomplished, JIATF-S objected and during the ensuing 
discussions, the interceptor aircraft on station ran low on 
fuel and had to return to base.where although the FAC 
Commander gave approval for phase II, this step was never 
transmitted as completed over the radio, so JIATF objected 
when Phase II was completed without the approval having been 
relayed.  The A-37 only had about 5 minutes station time 
available, so while the objection was discussed they had to 
leave. The Citation had been airborne for one and a half 
hours before phase I started, so they would not be able to 
stay for a long time.  The Citation also ran low on fuel and 
returned to base, so the event was terminated.  and the 
Citation returned to base.  There was talk about sending 
another A-37 and another Citation and starting as a new 
event but eventually there was no further action. The review 
of this event underscored the is event emphasized theneed 
for safety monitors to adhere to the checklist and ensure 
that continuous, effective communication is maintained 
throughout the event.emphasize checklist step completion and 
getting acknowledgement for these. 
 
4. (SBU) On 16 December 16, 2003, the ICE P-3 reported a 
track about to enter Colombia from Brazil in the Dog's Head 
area from Brazil.  The Citation tracker was airborne and 
entered an orbit.  A Tucano interceptor based inwas airborne 
from  San Jose de Guaviare was also airborne.  The target 
made repeated a couple of feints towards Colombian Airspace, 
but e.  Each time , they returned to Brazilian airspace to 
avoid interception. after the Citation maneuvered to 
intercept. The target orbited for 1 hour and 15 minutes 
before it made it's final move. 
 
Once the target crossing into Colombian airspace.  ed the 
border, The Citation and the Tucano moved in for the 
interception.  .  Phase I was completed .  The target headed 
towards Caruru with the Tucano in trail.and Phase II was 
approved, but at this time by then it was too dark for the 
Tucano to maintainkeep visual contact and safely fire 
warning shots.  The runway at Caruru was illuminated, 
however, enabling the target aircraft lit up in time for the 
target to land.  The target aircraft was then moved to the 
vicinity of structures, at which point GOC authorities 
elected not to proceed with the event.  N and it was 
immediately pushed into a hangar surrounded by structures, 
making it impossible to proceed any further.  An AC-47 had 
been scrambled towards the area but Host Nation decided to 
end the event at that point. 
 
NOTE:  The GOCHost Nation has stationedmoved some Tucano 
aircraft to San Jose de Guaviare, which 
effectivelypractically doubles the interceptor availability 
in the Dog's Head area.  Two Tucanos were available for this 
event.  San Jose is almost halfway between Apiay and Caruru, 
but the runway is not usable by the A-37.  Though the 
Tucanos are considerably slower than the A-37s and have 
shorter range, but having themtheir availability at this 
location gives enhances the possibility of completing 
interceptions/events in this critical area of Colombia.  End 
noteus greater possibility of completing an intercept. 
 
Ongoing Activities 
------------------ 
 
3. An ABD IPR was held 9-10 December.  As a result, it was 
agreed to focus ABD assets with the ICE P-3 when one is in 
Colombia to maximize use of that asset.  This was done 
starting mid December and will be resumed once a P-3 returns 
to Colombia, which is expected to happen mid Jan 04.  Next 
IPR will be 29 Jan 04 ay Key West. The February 24-25, 2004 
IPR will also serve as a semi-annual Program Management 
Review and will be held at Key West. 
 
Ongoing Issues 
-------------- 
----- 
 
45. (SBU)  Interceptor availability continues to be a 
concern.  Most activity has centered in the Dog 
Head's/Caruru area, but the distance from interceptor bases 
and lack of GOC ground-based forces in this area has limited 
our ability to bring events to a conclusion.  All four 
aircraft destroyed thus far have been in the northern half 
of Colombia, where fighters are located more closely to 
targets.  With no fixed date for the arrival of the OV-10s 
undergoing maintenance in the United States, and nearly half 
the A-37 fleet down for long-term maintenance/non- 
availability of parts, MOD officials have again raised the 
possibility of acquiring additional interceptor and tracker 
aircraft.  During the December 9-10, 2003, ABD Interim 
Program Review (IPR), the GOC agreed to focus its limited 
ABD assets (trackers and interceptors) in those areas where 
the ICE P-3 wwis programmed to operate.  The USG agreed to 
explore means of upgrading facilities to permit the basing 
of interceptors closer to the Colombia-Brazil border.  The 
GOC also has plans to station ground-forces in this area 
during first quarter of 2004.  The next IPR is scheduled for 
January 29, 2004, in Key West.  The February 24-25, 2004, 
IPR will also serve as a semi-annual Program Management 
Review. 
 
CY 2003 Nnumbers 
--------------- 
 
65. (SBU)  The ABD program was activein action for the 
finallast four months of 2003.  There were twelve12 ABD 
events in Colombian airspace, in which seven aircraft were 
forced to land.  There were four Phase I, two Phase II, and 
6six Phase III events resulting in with 4five destroyed 
aircraft destroyed and one receiving anundetermined amount 
of damage.  There were 6Six aircraft and one Go-Fast boat 
were captured andwith a total of 6.9 MT of cocaine were 
seizedimpounded. 
The eleven destroyed/impounded aircraft (5/6) for one 
trimester compares favorably to full-year numbers achieved 
under the previous ABD program in the 1998 (16/12) and 1999 
(15/16) timeframes. 
 
7. (SBU) Comment: The ABD program, re-started in August 2003 
following a two-year hiatus, is effectively a new program 
with new personnel and procedures.  We are in constant 
contact with the GOC and the Joint Interagency Task Force 
South (JIATF-S) to identify and exploit possible program 
improvements.  The partial-year results achieved in 2003 
are, in our view, all the more impressive when viewed in the 
context of a work in progress.  End comment.     Most of the 
activity has centered in the Dog Head's/Caruru area. 
However, the distance from interceptor bases and lack of 
government presence in the area have made most of the 
activities there close calls (Four Phase I and two Phase II, 
with two Phase III where the damage to the aircraft was 
undetermined).  All four destroyed aircraft were destroyed 
in the northern half of Colombia, where fighters are more 
closely located to targets.  The ten destroyed/impounded 
aircraft (4/6) for one quarter project to yearly numbers 
similar to those obtained under ABD in 1998 (16/12) and 1999 
(15/16).  This in spite of new procedures, new crews, 
limited fighter availability and very limited P-3 presence 
during this period. 
 
DRUCKERDRUCKER