PLAN COLOMBIA IMPLEMENTATION ROUND-UP, MARCH, 2005

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BOGOTA 003286

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR MASS PREF EAID KJUS CO
SUBJECT: PLAN COLOMBIA IMPLEMENTATION ROUND-UP, MARCH, 2005

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) The following is an update of Plan Colombia activities
reported during March, 2005.

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DOJ/DEA
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2. (SBU) To date US $11.3 million has been invested in the
purchase of hardware, software, monitoring suites, the
vetting process and maintenance for Operation Esperanza,
Colombia's cellular switch based intercept project. The
first US $4.9 million was received from Plan Colombia in FY

2000. This technology is the first of its kind in South
America and will give Colombian and U.S. authorities the
ability to lawfully intercept Time Division Multiple Access
(TDMA),Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA),and Global
System for Mobile Communications (GSM) cellular calls
associated with narcotics and related offenses.


3. (U) For the past two years DEA Bogota has been working to
donate surplus firearms and ballistic vests to the GOC. As
of March, DEA has donated a total of US $485,073 worth of
equipment through the following agencies:

Colombian National Police (CNP)
1,221 weapons worth US $330,125

CNP
515 ballistic vests worth US $96,200

Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS)
43 weapons worth US $4,554

Cuerpo Tecnico de Inteligencia (CTI)
25 weapons worth US $2,925

Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y Carcelario de Colombia
(INPEC)
122 weapons worth US $21,474

Colombian Navy
71 weapons worth US $17,640

DOS/NAS
48 weapons worth US $13,155

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DOJ/JSRP
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4. (U) DOJ's Justice Sector Reform Program (JSRP) carried out
the following activities during the month of March:

-- Trial Advocacy training for 120 prosecutors and 60 police
investigators in Medellin and Bogota;

-- Criminal Trial Advocacy training for 50 judges in Medellin;

-- Investigator/Witness training for 800 police investigators
in Bogota, Medellin, Pereira, Cali, Yopal, Tunja, Ibague and
Villavicencio;

-- Patrol officer training for 30 police trainers in Cali;

-- Expert witness training for 25 forensic laboratory
examiners from the Fiscalia, DAS, CNP and Medicina Legal in
Bogota;

-- Ethics and Transparency police training for 30 police
officers in Bogota (DAS, CNP, CTI);

-- Money Laundering training for Judicial Police for 30
investigators from the CNP, DAS, CTI and Unidad de
Informacion y Analysis Financiero (UIAF) in Bogota;

-- Observational visit to Washington, D.C. for Deputy
Prosecutor General (Vice Fiscal),to observe court
proceedings, evidence rooms, attorney office organization and
case management.

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MILGROUP:FMS DELAYS
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5. (C) The number of viable Colombian Air Force (COLAF)
aircraft missions remains troublingly low, due in large part
to delays in receipt of repair parts. Several pending
Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases are moving very slowly
through system, and MILGROUP does not know their exact
status. For example, a US $2 million spare parts case for
Schweizer SA2-37 intelligence aircraft has been awaiting a
new foreign disclosure approval for six weeks, even though
the equipment on order (i.e., Forward Looking Infra-Red
(FLIR) components) has been purchased before. MILGROUP will
request SOUTHCOM assistance to determine the cause of delays
in processing parts cases.


6. (C) Initial feedback from the Colombian Air Force (COLAF)
on Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) indicates the current
combat aircraft are not internally or electrically configured
to handle JDAM munitions. Intelligence information and
targeting capabilities have to be enhanced in order to
deliver the right kind of information to program the smart
bombs. So far, COLAF has not decided if it will spend the US
$234 million it has available to purchase aircraft or
precision weapons systems. MILGROUP will offer COLAF
information on laser-guided systems which will improve
accuracy, do not require aircraft reconfiguration, and cost
less.

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NAS
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7. (U) Eradication and Interdiction: March was the best
month ever for aerial eradication with 24,374 hectares of
coca sprayed. The eradication program has sprayed 58,173
hectares of coca in the first three months of 2005, including
44,814 hectares of coca in the department of Narino alone,
making 2005 Q1 the best quarter for aerial eradication on
record. T-65 aircraft also sprayed 821 hectares of opium
poppy during the first of three poppy spraying campaigns for

2005. This combined with the 151 hectares of manually
eradicated poppy gives a total of 972 hectares eradicated to
date in 2005, meeting one third of the joint CNP and Embassy
goal of eradicating 3,000 hectares in 2005. Drug
interdiction continues apace with eradication: GOC security
forces seized more than 50 tons of cocaine and destroyed more
than 50 cocaine hydrochloride laboratories in 2005 Q1.

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POL
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8. (U) CHF International, the implementing partner for the
State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and
Migration (PRM),started a temporary employment program for
internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Mocoa, Putumayo
Department, on March 15. The program will provide 150 months
of temporary employment for recently displaced persons. Most
recently displaced IDPs will receive two months of temporary
employment.

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RSO
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9. (U) Anti Kidnapping Program (AKI): The eighth Crisis
Response Training (CRT) course was completed at the DS/ATA
CRT training facility at the CNP tactical training base in
Silbate. Assistant Colombian instructors taught and
presented some of the course material. Post received a
formal course offering for CRT number nine from DS/ATA.


10. (U) VIP Personal Protection Training (PPT) Program: The
VIP PPT Advisors finished a training class for the protective
detail for the Mayor of Bogota. Plans continue to conduct
various assessment visits with protective details.
Additional sustainment and refresher courses are due to start
in April.
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USAID
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11. (U) On March 18, President Uribe, USAID Director Deal and
the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Sabas Pretelt de la
Vega, inaugurated USAID's 38th Justice House (Casa de
Justicia) in Monteria (Cordoba). Justice Houses are
multi-agency, one-stop centers that provide formal justice
and informal dispute resolution services. They operate in
poor neighborhoods of large cities and in rural
municipalities, serving those who would otherwise not have
access to judicial services. The Justice Houses Program
promotes more responsive, participatory and accountable
democracy in Colombia. To date, over 2.8 million cases have
been handled through the 37 Justice Houses. By the end of
FY2005, a total of 42 Justice Houses are anticipated to be in
place nationwide.


12. (U) On March 11, the first group of 144 trainees
graduated from the "Entra 21" program supporting Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the cities of Cartagena, Arjona
and Turbaco (Bolivar). This program is co-funded by USAID
and the Inter-American Development Bank. The program trains
disadvantaged young people (ages 18 through 25) in
information technology skills and helps them to either (a)
locate a job in their field of training or (b) develop
business plans for establishing micro-enterprises in local
markets. To date, 17 percent of the graduates have been
placed in the labor market and 20 percent are preparing
business plans to create micro-enterprises. USAID's
contribution of nearly US $183,000 to the overall US $489,000
project cost leveraged up to 167 percent in additional
funding from the IDB and local private resources. The
program is part of USAID's effort to support the prevention
of recruitment into illegal armed groups (IAGs).


13. (U) On March 11, USAID's Alternative Development Forestry
Program signed a CPS 211 million (roughly $80,000) donation
agreement with Red Ecolsierra, a local NGO, to strengthen the
agroforestry component of the GOC's "Familias Guardabosques"
(FG) program in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The donation
will foster activities to make the FG program sustainable,
will provide technical assistance to the beneficiaries, and
will strengthen community organizational structures in order
to develop private sector linkages. Under this grant, 100
FGs will develop 150 hectares to produce coffee, cacao and
forestry products in the next 18 months, providing
alternative and sustainable economic growth opportunities to
rural populations that are vulnerable to illicit crop
production. To date over 31,400 hectares of natural forest
have been managed through the Forestry Program in Bajo
Magdalena, Medio and Bajo Atrato-Uraba, the Pacific Coast of
Narino, and Northeastern Antioquia.


14. (U) Support for the new criminal accusatory system: The
USAID Justice Program launched in Manizales its second Public
Defense Pilot Office in January to enhance the capacity of
key actors to implement the new criminal accusatory reform in
Manizales. The Bogota office has received wide acclaim
throughout the justice sector. The Justice Project is also
remodeling and equipping Public Defense work stations in four
decentralized judicial processing centers within Bogota
(formerly known as Unidades de Reaccion Inmediata, "URIs", in
the Fiscalia). Remodeling and construction of three more
trial courtrooms in Bogota was completed in March, with the
sound systems to be installed in April, adding to the 45
already established to date with USAID assistance.


15. (U) To highlight the characteristics and benefits for
citizens of the new accusatory system, two television
information spots began to be aired nationally (one of a
general nature, focusing on the transition of the entire
system; and a second spot focusing more specifically on
Public Defense). In addition, a one and a half hour
television show has been produced in conjunction with the
Javeriana University, depicting a simulated trial in the new
system. Counterpart reaction to the first version has been
favorable, and final edits are being discussed in order to
begin airing the show.


16. (U) Technical assistance to the Inter-institutional
Commission on the Implementation of the Accusatorial System
continues to be spearheaded by USAID. The project is
coordinating with the Commission on a training schedule this
year for judges and public defenders to prepare professionals
in the districts entering the system in 2006. This
Commission is also finalizing approval of two training
manuals drafted with USAID project support (one for judges,
and the other a more general manual for all justice sector
officials).
WOOD