US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA11586

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 011586 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SNAR, MASS, PREF, EAID, KJUS, CO 
SUBJECT: PLAN COLOMBIA IMPLEMENTATION ROUND-UP, OCTOBER, 
2004 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Milton K. Drucker for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
1. (U) The following is an update of Plan Colombia-related 
activities reported during October, 2004. 
 
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DOJ/JSRP 
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2. (U) In October, DOJ's Justice Sector Reform Program 
coordinated 25 training and technical assistance programs for 
820 police officers, 145 prosecutors and 110 judges.  The 
subjects of the programs were:  Basic Accusatory System; 
Crime Scene and Courtroom Testimony; Investigator as a 
Witness; Judicial and Dignitary Protection; Criminal Trial 
Advocacy; Judicial Workshop; Specialized Training for 
Criminal Behavior Units; Interview Techniques; Police 
Discipline, Ethics and Transparency; Financial Analysis and 
Data Base Management; and Firearms Inventory and Tracing. 
All of the programs emphasized the preparation of police 
agencies, prosecutors and judges for the implementation of a 
new criminal procedure code and its accusatory style system. 
DOJ also sponsored a trip to Arizona for nine Colombian 
trainers of prosecutors and judges to observe court 
proceedings and reinforce their understanding of an 
accusatory system.  DOJ also provided key speakers for the 
Colombian National Police (CNP) Criminal Symposium, and gave 
a briefing on the U.S. Patriot Act to Colombian business, 
banking and law enforcement officers.  DOJ continues to 
provide technical assistance in the development of a 
Colombian prosecutors' procedure manual. 
 
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NAS 
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3. (U) On October 28, the several agencies of the GOC 
(Ministry of Defense, Presidencia, Colombian Army (COLAR), 
Colombian National Police (CNP), Fiscalia, National 
Directorate of Dangerous Drugs, and the Ministry of Interior 
and Justice) and Emboffs met to institutionalize a program of 
manual eradication brigades, or "Grupos Mobiles de 
Erradicacion" (GMEs).  President Uribe recently directed his 
Administration to prepare 30 GMEs by January 2005, to achieve 
the ambitious goal of eradicating 40,000 hectares of coca for 
the same year.  The GMEs will be made up of 30 individuals 
(either demobilized combatants, or civilians) who will uproot 
coca and poppy, mainly by hand.  The CNP and COLAR will share 
the responsibility for security, providing 6,300 CNP and 
COLAR personnel for GME laborer protection. 
 
4. (U) Emboffs reiterated the USG commitment to exploring 
manual eradication as a complement to spraying but reminded 
the attendees that the safest, most efficient, and cheapest 
way to eradicate coca and poppy is aerial spraying.  They 
also said the USG intends to increase investment in equipment 
and training to help protect personnel engaged in manual 
eradication.  Emboffs recommended that target areas for the 
GMEs should be chosen from areas where we cannot spray 
(because of cloud cover, winds, small fields, national parks, 
etc.), and should be selected based on security rather than 
politics.  Political considerations have been the dominant 
criteria for recent decisions to send manual coca eradication 
teams into Narino and Norte de Santander Departments. 
Embassy intends to provide logistical and other support for 
GME units that use civilian labor, but will have to balance 
unanticipated GOC funding requests against programmed 
bilateral counter-narcotics initiatives. 
 
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POL 
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5. (U) PRM disbursed US $1,689,060 to the U.S.-based 
Cooperative Housing Foundation International (CHF) in 
September.  CHF works in 14 cities and 38 municipalities, 
providing food and non-food aid, temporary housing, community 
centers, psycho-social counseling, and emergency employment 
for internally displaced persons (IDPs).  RefCoord visited 
several of CHF's project sites outside of Cartagena -- a 
major destination for IDPs. 
 
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RSO 
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6. (U) There will be an Anti-Kidnapping training course from 
November 8-19.  Ten Colombians who have already participated 
in the standard six week anti-kidnapping program will 
participate in this "train the trainers" course. 
 
7.  (U) The VIP personal protection program is conducting 
two-day advanced protection training courses for protection 
personnel assigned to details of the President, Vice 
President, Minister of Defense, and Mayor of Bogota.  The 
full two-week VIP personal protection course will begin on 
December 1.  Plans are moving forward to construct a VIP 
personal protection training academy in January 2005.  RSO is 
holding meetings with the VP's office to finalize a national 
VIP personal protection policy. 
 
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USAID 
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8. (U) On October 27, Congressman Cass Ballenger and USAID 
Director Michael Deal visited the Villagarzon Agro-Industrial 
Center in the department of Putumayo.  The Agro-Industrial 
Center processes Putumayo's various tropical crops including 
tropical wood, flowers and foliage, black pepper and other 
condiments, tropical medicines, culinary and aromatic plants, 
and dried cassava for animal feed.  The center was 
established to create the foundations for a new licit economy 
and transform the economic landscape in Putumayo.  The 
department's illicit coca-based economy has been dramatically 
reduced from 66,000 hectares in 2000 to approximately 7,500 
hectares in 2003.  In addition, USAID's Alternative 
Development Program has made a significant contribution to 
transforming the socio-economic situation of Putumayo by 
working with 290 indigenous and small farmer communities, and 
by providing economic and social benefits to 19,983 families 
through the establishment of over 27,840 hectares of licit 
crops. 
 
9. (U) Under its Anchor Company initiative, USAID's Colombia 
Enterprise Development Program (CED) provided US $100,000 
worth of technical assistance to C.I. LTC, a large textile 
and garment manufacturer located in Cali, Valle del Cauca. 
With this assistance the firm trained 260 new operators in 
the use of industrial machinery, placing them among satellite 
suppliers.  As a result of this activity, 27 new jobs have 
been created.  USAID also provided US $50,000 in technical 
assistance to Industrias Integradas, a textile and garment 
manufacturer in Cali, to improve productivity.  The 
assistance has generated an additional 36 new jobs in this 
industry.  To date, the CED Program has approved 51 SME 
project proposals geared toward generating additional 
employment and income in secondary cities connected to areas 
of illicit crop influence. 
 
10. (U) USAID and the Global Development Alliance (GDA), are 
providing funding of roughly US $1.7 million for programs to 
be implemented by VallenPaz and US $1.9 million for programs 
to be implemented by the Colombian Association of Flower 
Exporters (Asocoflores).  The USAID contribution will 
leverage another US $1.7 million for VallenPaz and US 
$850,000 for Asocoflores from local NGOs and the private 
sector.  The VallenPaz projects on "Restorative Justice" and 
"Co-existence and Peace in Colombia" seek to create 
restorative justice in Colombia through a series of 
activities.  The programs include the establishment of peace 
restoration centers in 12 municipalities in the departments 
of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, and an academic component 
regarding "transitional justice" issues.  The agreement 
signed between USAID and Asocolflores supports the 
"Cultivating Peace in the Family" program, a joint project 
that will help 21,000 workers by providing conflict 
resolution training and social and psychological assistance. 
 
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MILGROUP 
 
11. (C) On September 25-26, General Reynaldo Castellanos 
Trujillo, Commander JTF-Omega (JTF-O), assembled all of the 
mobile brigade commanders in Larandia for an operations 
review, the first time since the start of Plan Patriota (PP) 
IIB that all JTF-O commanders were together in one location. 
Each Mobile Brigade Commander gave a presentation on unit 
operations since the beginning of PP IIB, and each JTF-O 
staff section gave an overview of activities.  This was the 
first time all subordinate commanders were able to see an 
overview of JTF's combat operations.  General Carlos Alberto 
Ospina Ovalle attended the first four hours of the event and 
opened by stressing four points: 
 
-- That JTF-O was viewed as conducting operational and 
national campaigns, and civic actions for the COLMIL; 
 
-- The COLMIL must become more proficient on the use of 
psychological operations; 
 
-- Operations against the FARC must block/cut the mobility 
corridors that give the FARC tactical advantage; and 
 
-- COLMIL operations must be conducted against high value 
targets. 
 
12. (U) USMILGP, specifically the Air Force Mission, is 
working with COLAF to purchase two C-130 aircraft from 
Evergreen.  FMS case/LOR is being refined by all parties in 
Colombia.  USG recently learned that Hoover Aviation, a CONUS 
company, is attempting to purchase these aircraft before the 
COLAF can act, modify them and then re-sell the aircraft to 
the COLMIL at a higher price.  USMILGP is accelerating the 
LOR process here to purchase the C-130s as airlift remains a 
critical issue for the COLAF. 
 
13. (U) In meeting with MOD Uribe on October 14, the Minister 
and his staff refined his vision for "Plan Shakespeare."  The 
concept is a long-term plan to create a bilingual office 
corps, to make English proficiency a prerequisite for 
promotion to field grade, and to establish a tiered language 
program that runs concurrently with officer professional 
development that offers baseline and sustainable training 
opportunities.  Conceptually, MILGP will work with the 
Ministry, COLMIL, Defense Language Institute and private 
language institutes to develop a plan to meet the MOD 
requirements. 
DRUCKER