AUC DEMOBILIZATION ON A SHOESTRING

UNCLAS BOGOTA 012409 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PHUM PINR PREL KJUS CO OAS AUC SUBJECT: AUC DEMOBILIZATION ON A SHOESTRING REF: BOGOTA 12188 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) The GOC has begun demobilization of the 3,000-4,000 United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) by the end of ¶2004. According to OAS mission chief Sergio Caramagna and staff, they are being forced to improvise and go without key supplies, including tables, phones, and bathrooms. End summary. -------------- Scrambling to Keep Up the Pace -------------- ¶2. (U) On December 1, OAS mission chief Caramagna and his deputy described the demobilization of the Bananero Bloc in Turbo on November 25 (reftel). ¶3. (U) The reinsertion center did not have tables, enough computers, or even a working bathroom on the morning of the 29th when 40 former paramilitaries reported at 8:00 a.m. as scheduled. OAS and GOC personnel were forced to borrow plastic tables from the neighborhood and make do with the few computers they had available. They managed to open the center on time, and as of December 1, had successfully processed 220 former paramilitaries. Each has been interviewed by the Prosecutor General's Office ("Fiscalia") and Department of Administrative Security (DAS, rough FBI equivalent),issued a special identification card from the Registrar's Office, had dental identification records taken, enrolled in reinsertion programs, and met with the OAS. In order to issue provisional reinsertion identification cards to all 452 Bananero Bloc paramilitaries, one official from the Peace Commissioner's Office slept only two hours a night for three days until the cards were complete. He had no assistance and was forced to borrow a closet in the back of a local pharmacy in Turbo for his office space and use slow, antiquated printers. Caramanga expressed doubt if the GOC could manage to issue 1,500 when the Catatumbo Bloc demobilizes later this month. -------------- Insufficient Funding -------------- ¶4. (U) Through USAID, the U.S. has given the OAS mission approximately USD 850,000. This funding will run out in January. Other donors are: - Sweden: technical assistance, including an in-country adviser and several vehicles. - Bahamas: USD 5,000 - Holland: has agreed to donate 800,000 Euros which should be available soon. ¶5. (U) These limited resources do not cover the mission's needs. For example, the mission has only four satellite phones (cellular phones do not work in most of the areas where the demobilizations occur). The GOC has four reinsertion centers and plans to open eight more by the end of the year. All of these centers will have to be staffed with at least two OAS officials each, in addition to the six offices the OAS already has nationwide. Caramagna has been reaching out to the diplomatic corps in Bogota, and will travel to Washington on December 8 to plead for more resources from OAS member countries. ¶6. (U) The Peace Commissioner's Office has similarly tight resources. Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo has told us that his budget will cover the demobilization of 3,000 paramilitaries in 2004 but funding for 2005 is unclear. The GOC estimates it faces a deficit of about USD 130 million to demobilize the entire AUC, not including OAS verification and some parts of the government reinsertion program. WOOD