US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA5794

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 005794 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, ASEC, PTER, CO 
SUBJECT: CIUDAD BOLIVAR VIOLENCE DECLINING 
 
REF: A. BOGOTA 4959 
     B. BOGOTA 4962 
 
Classified By: Charge Milton K. Drucker; reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d) 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: "Ciudad Bolivar," a sector of 
underprivileged neighborhoods located in southeastern Bogota, 
has long been notorious for violence and disorder.  In May, 
staffers from Mayor Garzon's office told Poloffs that the 
United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) had infiltrated 
the area.  High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour 
expressed similar concerns during her visit to Colombia the 
same month.  However, during a June 13 briefing and tour, 
Police Commander Rusinque denied that illegal armed groups 
(other than gangs and common criminals) had a presence in the 
area.  He noted that police programs to establish community 
confidence and a law enforcement presence had been largely 
successful; although he conceded that homicide, sexual 
assault, and juvenile delinquency rates remained problematic. 
 Emboffs found no visible evidence of a paramilitary presence 
during the visit. End Summary. 
 
2 (C) On June 13, Emboffs traveled with police escort to the 
section of Bogota known as "Ciudad Bolivar" to investigate 
reports of increased paramilitary presence.  Ciudad Bolivar 
is a section of southeastern Bogota made up of roughly 470 
small, unregistered neighborhoods and an estimated one 
million residents.  The poverty, informal economy, and 
relative isolation from police presence has given the area a 
reputation for extreme urban violence.  In May, officials 
from Mayor Garzon's office told Poloffs that Ciudad Bolivar, 
Suba, and Kennedy neighborhoods had a surge in violence and 
an increase in local paramilitary control this year (Ref A). 
High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour told 
diplomats she had reliable reports of the same during her May 
12-14 visit (Ref B). 
 
3. (U) Police Liaison to the Diplomatic Community, Major 
Santiago Camelo, accompanied Emboffs to the station with an 
additional car of undercover protection.  Despite the 
security measures, Camelo assured Emboffs that Ciudad Bolivar 
had improved significantly during the Uribe Administration. 
Police Major Henry Horacio Rusinque, Commander of the area 
police force, backed up Camelo's impression with statistics. 
He expressed his support for Uribe's Democratic Security 
Strategy and said it had contributed to crime reduction in 
Bogota.  He compared the first five months of 2004 to 2005 
and showed that armed robbery, auto theft and personal injury 
had declined significantly in 2005.  Rusinque did note his 
concern about the homicide rate, which is up by 24 percent to 
133 murders so far this year, and domestic sexual assault, 
which is grossly underreported, but asserted that he 
anticipated improvement in both over the next few months. 
 
4. (U) Rusinque denied charges that the United Self Defense 
Forces of Colombia (AUC) Capital Bloc had taken control of 
the area.  He said some criminals had claimed a paramilitary 
connection, but none of those arrested actually had ties to 
the AUC.  Illegal armed groups did not have known recruiting 
programs in the area, but acknowledged that the poverty and 
lack of infrastructure left the area vulnerable to gangs and 
other illegal activities.  To combat the trend, the Ciudad 
Bolivar Police have positioned 512 police officers in the 475 
neighborhoods in the area.  Rusinque said they hoped to have 
800 officers in the area by the end of the year.  The 
officers patrol commercial areas, man stationary reporting 
posts, investigate crimes, receive complaints, deliver water 
to remote neighborhoods, and teach children in two 
police-administered schools founded by Police General Castro 
Castro.  Rusinque claimed that the police efforts to 
establish ties to the community had paid off ) roughly 3,500 
citizens belonged to the citizen watch program over 1,700 
just a year ago.  He noted that he hoped the youth programs 
would also have a positive effect since over 1,100 minors 
were arrested in Ciudad Bolivar so far this year. 
 
5. (U) Although the mayor's office expressed concern about 
the violence in Ciudad Bolivar, Rusinque noted that no one 
had visited the area or asked police about the situation. 
Emboffs visited multiple neighborhoods on a driving tour and 
saw no visible signs of a paramilitary presence (such as 
signs, posters, or graffiti), roadblocks, or recruitment 
programs in the area.  Rusinque suggested that concerns about 
AUC presence sprung from a political dispute between Mayor 
Garzon and President Uribe over governance and demobilization 
policy rather than actual crime levels.  Rusinque also 
grumbled that the Colombian Army had a small presence on the 
outskirts of Ciudad Bolivar to hold press conferences but the 
police did the actual long-term work.  He confirmed, however, 
that his unit usually had all necessary resources, thanks in 
part to frequent media coverage on violence there. 
 
6. (C) Comment: Although Ciudad Bolivar remains a dangerous 
section of Bogota, it appeared far from the lawless wasteland 
portrayed by the mayor's staffers.  End Comment. 
DRUCKER