PLAN COLOMBIA MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS - JULY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 008284

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR MASS PREF EAID KJUS CO
SUBJECT: PLAN COLOMBIA MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS - JULY

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood
Reasons: 1.4 (b & d)


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

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE/JUDICIAL SECTOR REFORM PROGRAM
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2. (U) The Department of Justice Judicial Sector Reform
Program (JSRP) provided training to police officers, judges
and prosecutors in the following general courses:

--JSRP sponsored "Criminal Trial Advocacy" training in
Medellin and Bucaramanga for 120 prosecutors and 60
investigators. This two-week course is designed to prepare
police for the implementation of the new Criminal Procedure
Code and the new role of the police investigator, covering
topics such as preserving evidence, report writing and
testimony in court. This course combines classroom
instruction with mock court proceedings and other practical
exercises.

--"Investigator As a Witness" training was provided to over
800 police officers in eight cities: Bogota, Villavicencio,
Bucaramanga, Medellin, Ibague, Cali, Tunja, and Yopal. This
intensive two-week course provides training in handling crime
scenes, writing police reports, and testimony in court.
Classroom training is combined with practical exercises,
including mock courtroom proceedings. Colombian prosecutors
participate in the mock court proceedings as both defense
attorneys and prosecutors.

--The "Police Instructor" course was offered to 180 officers
in Medellin. The two-week course is designed to prepare them
as instructors in training patrol officers in the accusatory
system and the new Criminal Procedure Code. They were
instructed in how to handle crime scenes and deliver
testimony in court. Instructor training was provided to
patrol officers, who will in turn train other officers, in
Medellin, Bucaramanga, and Tunja.

--Accusatory system training was provided to 25 police
executives in an after-hours course in Bogota.


3. (U) The Anti-Corruption seminar was provided to directors
and assistant directors from National Police (CNP),
Department of Administrative Security (DAS) and The
Prosecutor General's Office Technical Investigative Corps (In
Spanish, "Cuerpo Tecnico de Investigaciones" or CTI) in San
Andres.


4. (U) JSRP provided assistance to the Anti-Terrorism
Assistance Program (ATA),a Plan Colombia program lead by the
Regional Security Office, with material for the
anti-kidnapping courses for Army Anti-kidnapping Officers (in
Spanish, "Grupo de Accion Unificada para la Libertad
Personal" or GAULA),involving instruction on the accusatory
system and the new Criminal Procedure Code.

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MILITARY GROUP
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5. (C) The change of command for the 18th Brigade took place
on July 8. Brigadier General Gustavo Matamoros Comacho
relinquished command of the 18th Brigade, and moved to Bogota
to become the 13th Brigade Commander. The 13th Brigade has
the responsibility for the Bogota region and is considered
one of the most challenging Brigade assignments. Brigadier
General Gutierrez, the former COLAR E-2, will become the new
18th Brigade Commander. Gutierrez has had a productive
working relationship with the Military Group (Milgroup) and
Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). He has worked on various
military activities (CIME, CITEC, and the COLAR RIMEs, for
example) during his tenure as E-2. Milgroup does not expect
any negative impact to the Infrastructure Security Strategy
(ISS) or Infrastructure Protection Strategy.


6. (C) The new Colombian presidential aircraft arrived in
Colombia on July 2, and pilot training began on July 3. The
official inauguration ceremony was held July 6. The aircraft
flew its first mission to Costa Rica on July 7, and President
Alvaro Uribe traveled to Spain in the new aircraft on July 9.


7. (U) Ambassador Wood, COL Graves (DAO),and COL Trombitas
(Milgroup) met with new Minister of Defense (MOD) Camilo
Ospina on July 9, prior to his oath of office on July 18,

2005. Ospina stated he hopes to improve the military justice
system and neutralize High Value Targets (HVTs). He is
committed to continuing a productive working relationship
with his USG interlocutors.


8. (U) CAPT Pete Husta, interim Milgroup commander, was in
Cartagena from July 21-25, to participate in naval training
activities (UNITAS Exercises).

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Narcotic Affairs Section
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9. (U) The Narcotic Affairs Section (NAS) sponsored a series
of training seminars titled "Handling Chemical Substances and
Bio-Safety in the Destruction of Illegal Drug Manufacturing
Labs." The Colombian Government's National Drug Directorate
(DNE) facilitated the seminars for members of the Colombian
Army's Counter Drug Brigade at Larandia (Caqueta). The
course offers instruction in identification, proper handling,
and destruction of precursor chemicals. Additionally, they
were instructed how to complete reports of their findings to
authorities for appropriate judicial processing.

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Regional Security Office
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10. (U) The Regional Security Office (RSO) has conducted a
host of activities in support of the Anti-Kidnapping
Initiative. To date, a total of 271 GAULA personnel have
completed training.


11. (U) In July, the CNP GAULA in Neiva/Pereira, composed of
24 members, officially received its equipment. This group
completed training March 4.


12. (U) The Army GAULA Santander, composed of 24 members,
graduated from the tactical training course at Sibate. The
equipment for this group has entered the final certification
process, and should be ready for donation soon.


13. (U) The equipment for donation to CNP GAULA in
Bucaramanga, Manizales, and Valledupar (CRT-6),composed of
31 members, and Army GAULA Casanare (CRT-7),composed of 33
members, is awaiting the final certification for donation.
It is anticipated that the donations will be completed at the
end of August.


14. (U) With the final donation of equipment mentioned above,
ATA Bogota will have finally resolved all the outstanding
issues related to equipment donation. The delay in
delivering equipment, unfortunately, had created
misunderstanding between the GOC and the USG. With the
remaining final donations scheduled, all the ATA-trained
GAULA groups will have their donated equipment.


15. (U) With the delivery of the equipment for GAULAs 1-9,
these units will have received equipment valued at
approximately $2.3 million.


16. (U) The ATA began training the first Colombian Military
naval group, GAULA Sucre, comprised of 28 individuals. This
group is scheduled to complete training in September 2005.


17. (U) The Integrated Extortion and Kidnapping Information
(in Spanish, "Sistema Integrado de Informacion Extorsion y
Secuestro" or SIIES) Team has continued its effort to link
the databases of several Colombian government entities. The
participating entities include the CNP, Fiscalia, Medicina
Legal, and National Registry, Financial Investigation and
Analysis (in Spanish, "Unidad Investigacion y Analisis
Financiero" or UIAF),but does not include the DAS. The SIIES
Team has completed the linking of the CNP and Fiscalia
databases to SIIES. Currently, the SIIES team is working to
link the existing shared databases with the UIAF database.


18. (U) The GAULA Cundinamarca Pilot continued initial
training for its first group of users. Installation of WAN
software at the first ten GAULA units was completed. The
Legal Assistance Module Pilot was begun in conjunction with
the Case Management Module Pilot.


19. (U) The Presidential Security Protection Program (PSP)
staff conducted two advanced dignitary protection courses for
members of President Uribe's protective details.

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USAID
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20. (U) USAID's Agriculture and Alternative Development
Program (AD) completed planting of a total of 69,187 hectares
of licit crops as of June 30, 2005. The original five-year
goal was to support 65,042 hectares through FY2005. However,
due to accelerated implementation in FY05, USAID is working
to support 19,270 hectares for a cumulative total of 74,341
by the end of the fiscal year. The AD program promotes a
broad range of economic and social alternatives to illicit
crop production and is particularly active in the
agricultural, small and medium enterprise, and commercial
forestry sectors. Program activities are underway in 17
departments nationwide.


21. (U) On June 24, USAID's Internally Displaced Persons
program, through its implementing partner the Pan American
Development Foundation, inaugurated a cassava (a root that is
grown in the tropics, eaten as a staple food after drying and
leaching, and is the source of tapioca) processing plant in
Mutata (Antioquia). The project will improve the incomes of
roughly 240 families from the municipalities of Mutata,
Chigorodo and Carepa. USAID's US$83,127 contribution to the
total project cost leveraged US$293,834 from the Fundacion
Social de Uniban, the Department of Antioquia, and the
municipality of Mutata, among others.


22. (U) USAID's Internally Displaced Persons Employment and
Recycling project, implemented through the Pan American
Development Foundation and Co-Development Foundation (in
Spanish, "Fundacion Codesarrollo"),signed strategic alliance
agreements with three cooperatives in Bucaramanga
(Santander),Pereira (Risaralda),and Cartagena (Bolivar) to
expand its Plastic Recycling Network. To date the project
has benefited 140 individuals in five municipalities, and
will eventually serve 210 new beneficiaries as a result of
the agreements. Project beneficiaries currently earn an
average monthly income of US$230 (150% of the Colombian
minimum wage) for selling the recyclable material they
collect.


23. (U) Through implementing partners CHF International and
the Colombian Social Solidarity Network (RSS),USAID
completed the construction of an Indigenous Center in San
Juan del Cesar (La Guajira). The Center will provide the
Wiwa tribe a temporary place in which to live. It will
additionally serve as a meeting center, and a central
location where persons can obtain medical attention and other
support as required during temporary displacement. Due to
violence generated by illegal armed groups, many leaders and
members of this tribe have been killed or displaced. This
situation has weakened the cultural roots of the Wiwas and
other indigenous groups. By providing this center, it is
expected the tribe will be able to continue to practice its
rituals and maintain its rich cultural heritage.
WOOD