TOP FARC COMMANDER KILLED BY COLOMBIAN ARMY

id: 11523 date: 10/20/2003 22:58 refid: 03BOGOTA9806 origin: Embassy Bogota classification: SECRET destination: header: O 202258Z OCT 03 FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9805 INFO AMEMBASSY BRASILIA AMEMBASSY CARACAS AMEMBASSY LA PAZ AMEMBASSY LIMA AMEMBASSY PANAMA AMEMBASSY QUITO CIA WASHDC DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC DIA WASHDC DIRONDCP WASHDC NSC WASHDC SECDEF WASHDC USCINCSO MIAMI FL -------------- header ends -------------- S E C R E T BOGOTA 009806 E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2013 TAGS: PTER PHUM PGOV PINR PINS CO SUBJECT: TOP FARC COMMANDER KILLED BY COLOMBIAN ARMY CLASSIFIED BY: AMBASSADOR WILLIAM B. WOOD FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (S) SUMMARY: ON OCTOBER 19, THE COLOMBIAN ARMY KILLED EDGAR NAVARRO, ALIAS "MOCHO," DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE FARC'S TEOFILO FORERO MOBILE COLUMN (TFMC),ONE OF THE FARC'S MOST ACTIVE AND EFFECTIVE UNITS. THE OPERATION TO CAPTURE NAVARRO, WHICH ENDED WITH HIS DEATH, WAS BASED ON EFFECTIVE USE OF TECHNICAL AND HUMAN INTELLIGENCE. NAVARRO'S DEATH IS A MAJOR SYMBOLIC AND TACTICAL VICTORY FOR THE GOC. NAVARRO PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE FEBRUARY KIDNAPPING OF THREE U.S. CITIZEN CONTRACTORS AND MURDER OF A FOURTH, AND WAS WANTED BY GOC JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES ON NUMEROUS CHARGES OF KIDNAPPING, MURDER, AND TERRORISM. HIS LOSS IS A MAJOR BLOW TO THE TFMC. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (S) FOR THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, THE COLOMBIAN ARMY'S ANTI-KIDNAPPING UNIT (GAULA) AND THE NATIONAL POLICE IN HUILA DEPARTMENT HAD BEEN COLLECTING TECHNICAL AND HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AGAINST THE FARC'S TFMC'S DEPUTY COMMANDER EDGAR NAVARRO, ALIAS "MOCHO." ON OCTOBER 19, THE GAULA USED THIS ACCUMULATED INTELLIGENCE TO LAUNCH AN OPERATION TO CAPTURE AND ARREST HIM. DURING THE OPERATION, NAVARRO'S SECURITY DETAIL OPENED FIRE, SPARKING A FIREFIGHT THAT KILLED NAVARRO AND TEN OF HIS MEN. TWO CIVILIANS WERE INJURED IN THE CROSSFIRE. ¶3. (S) NAVARRO'S DEATH IS A MAJOR SYMBOLIC AND TACTICAL VICTORY FOR THE GOC. THE TFMC IS AMONG THE FARC'S MOST ACTIVE AND EFFECTIVE ELEMENTS, OPERATING AS THE ROUGH EQUIVALENT OF A SPECIAL FORCES UNIT. NAVARRO HAS PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN NUMEROUS KIDNAPPINGS, MURDERS, AND TERRORIST ATTACKS, INCLUDING A MASS KIDNAPPING AT A LUXURY APARTMENT COMPLEX IN 2001, A COMMERCIAL AIRLINER HIJACKING, AND THE DETONATION OF A "HOUSE BOMB" IN FEBRUARY 2003 IN NEIVA, CAPITAL OF HUILA DEPARTMENT. NAVARRO MAY HAVE PARTICIPATED IN THE FEBRUARY 2003 KIDNAPPING OF THREE U.S. CITIZEN CONTRACTORS AND THE MURDER OF A FOURTH, AND IS KNOWN TO HAVE BEEN IN CONTROL OF THE HOSTAGES FOR OVER A MONTH BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND MARCH. AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH, NAVARRO WAS IN POSSESSION OF ONE OF THE HOSTAGE'S FIREARMS. HIS DEATH IS A SERIOUS SETBACK FOR THE TFMC. IT WILL HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME REPLACING NAVARRO, ESPECIALLY AS THE NATIONAL POLICE HAVE ARRESTED SEVERAL OF HIS KEY ASSOCIATES. ¶4. (S) COMMENT: ALTHOUGH NAVARRO WAS NOT A SENIOR FARC COMMANDER BY RANK, HIS INFLUENCE AND PROMINENT ROLE IN MAJOR TERRORIST OPERATIONS MADE HIM ONE OF THE HIGHEST VALUE TARGETS OF THE COLOMBIAN SECURITY FORCES. THE OPERATION DEMONSTRATED EFFECTIVE USE OF ACTIONABLE INTELLIGENCE AND COOPERATION BETWEEN THE MILITARY AND POLICE. WOOD =======================CABLE ENDS============================