Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BOGOTA5794
2005-06-17 13:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bogota
Cable title:  

CIUDAD BOLIVAR VIOLENCE DECLINING

Tags:  PGOV ASEC PTER CO 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
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)

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