PLAN COLOMBIA MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS - AUGUST

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 05 BOGOTA 009276

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/29/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR MASS PREF EAID KJUS CO FARC
SUBJECT: PLAN COLOMBIA MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS - AUGUST

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood
Reasons: 1.4 B & D


1. (U) The following is an update of Plan Colombia activities
reported during August 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 courses:

--Prosecutor Training for 120 prosecutors in Paipa and Cali.
This two-week course is designed to prepare prosecutors for
the new criminal procedure code and an accusatory system. In
addition, the course focuses on developing the necessary
technical skills for making charging decisions, trial
preparation, presenting evidence, and trial techniques. U.S.
and Colombian prosecutors served as instructors.

--Police Instructor course for 30 National Police in Tunja
and Yopal. The two-week course is designed to prepare the
participants as instructors, and they will then train other
patrol officers on the accusatory system and the new Criminal
Procedure Code. They were instructed in how to handle crime
scenes and deliver testimony in court.
--Police Officer course for 60 additional police officers in
Bogota and Yopal. The two-week course is designed to prepare
patrol officers for their role in supporting the new
accusatory system.

--"Investigator As a Witness" training for 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 one-week "Judge Training" course on the new Criminal
Procedure Code and the accusatory system for 50 judges from
Cali, Buga, Valle de Cauca, and Medellin. The course is
designed to prepare judges for the new criminal procedure
code and an accusatory system. The training was based on a
series of practical exercises, including mock courtroom
proceedings. U.S. and Colombian judges served as
instructors.


3. (U) The Anti-Corruption seminar was provided to 60
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
Barranquilla and Medellin.


4. (U) "Intellectual Property" training was provided to 30
police investigators and forensic examiners in Barranquilla.
The course offered instruction in the forensic methodology
used to investigate cases involving piracy and intellectual
property violations.


5. (U) The one-week course on "Expert Witness Testimony" was
offered to 25 forensic laboratory experts from the CNP, DAS,
CTI, and Legal Medicine. Participants were trained on how to
testify and present complex forensic data in criminal trials.
U.S. and Colombian forensic experts served as instructors.

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MILITARY GROUP
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6. (C) Military Group (MilGroup) Commander visited Apiay
Forward Operating Site (FOS) on August 10. The visit
coincided with the initial deployment of the first U.S.
Army/Southern Command (USARSO) FOS Commander, who is
completing a site survey. The deployment is intended to
initiate a more integrated approach to coordinating garrison
issues by joint users stationed at the FOS, as well as
establishing a more organized and deliberate coordination
effort with the Colombian Air Force. The approach has become
increasingly important as Apiay is the hub of the U.S.
Intelligence, Search, and Rescue (ISR) effort. As the number
of platforms increases, so have associated support and force
protection concerns. The FOS Commander will play an
important role in providing MilGroup and U.S. South Southern
Command (SouthCom) components a central point of contact
(POC) for managing garrison issues at the FOS.

7. (C) MilGroup met with the Colombian Military (ColMil)
Joint Command for an initial planning meeting. Future
meetings in this series will more closely examine and define
what phase Two C or "IIC" of Plan Patriota will look like,
since such definition is critical to U.S. planning and
out-year budgetary efforts.


8. (S) In a meeting with Joint Command Chief, MilGroup
discussed efforts to do training on site exploration
following destruction of a FARC camp and verify tactics,
techniques, and procedures (TTPs). ColMil officials and the
MilGroup Commander agreed verbally to request official orders
to be sent to Joint Task Force (JTF) Omega. The JTF Omega
Commander continues to cause problems. There is considerable
concern that the Commander, General Fracica, is not willing
to work with US trainers.

SECURITY ASSISTANCE DIFFICULTIES


9. (U) The ColMil expressed concern over the delay in
processing Security Assistance (SA) Letters of Request (LOA),
Amendments, and Price and Availability (P&A) Requests. Slow
processing is causing the ColMil significant frustration.
The period of time officially allowed for processing these
documents is 120 days for LOAs, 90 days for Amendments, and
45 days for P&A requests. U.S. Army Security Assistance
Command (USASAC) is currently not processing within the
official time allowed for 38 percent of LOAs and 50 percent
of P&A requests. Air Force Security Assistance and Training
(AFSAT) is currently not processing within the official time
allowed for 66 percent of LOAs and 100 percent of P&A
requests. Navy International Program Office (NAVYIPO) is
currently not processing within the official time allowed for
87 percent of LOAs. Southern Command J5 continues to work on
this issue.


10. (S) The ColMil Commander reportedly convened a two-day
conference for flag-officer joint staff and the service
commander. The conference sought to chart the way ahead for
Plan Patriota phase IIC, specifically the identification of
general operational parameters. MilGroup is engaging the
ColMil to determine requirements to Plan Patriota. The
Minister of Defense (MOD),in a meeting with the MilGroup
Commander on August 25, emphasized that the next six to nine
months will be critical to the ColMil effort. He has asked
for a meeting with the SouthCom Commander during his next
scheduled trip to Colombia to discuss future plans.


11. (S) In a meeting on August 24, the ColMil Chief of Staff
requested that SouthCom assist in the campaign planning
effort required to support implementation of the phase IIC
effort. There seems to be widespread agreement within the
ColMil that the next phase of the plan will be more difficult
than the previous phase. The FARC will likely assume a much
more defensive posture to gain breathing space, while
engaging in terrorist activities designed to create
instability for the government while their guerrilla
organization recovers. The MilGroup will generate
recommendations for such a planning effort under separate
cover.


12. (U) The Universidad Militar Nueva Granada (New Granada
Military University) and the Center of Strategic Studies,
Development and Defense (a Colombian defense think-tank),
with the support of the U.S. Embassy, are sponsoring the
first Civil-Military Relations Democracy Seminar scheduled
for October 26. President Uribe will present the opening
remarks. The purpose of this seminar is to analyze
Civil-Military relations in Colombia, and participants will
discuss how this relationship is critical in defending
democracy and fighting terrorist threats. The sponsors are
requesting that a general officer from SouthCom represent the
U.S. Military and serve as the guest speaker. Participants
from the embassies of Spain, Great Britain, and Israel will
also address the group. MilGroup agreed to make the request
to SouthCom, and will coordinate that speaker's visit, if
approved.

13. (U) The 30th Counter-Guerrilla Brigade completed
training. The unit was trained in critical air assault
training tasks. The unit also received marksmanship training
on the newly arrived M16 rifles and optic sights.


14. (U) Robert Nassif, Senior Examiner of the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB),visited Colombia from August 30
until September 2. Nassif was accompanied by Bob Knotts,
David Viens, and Maj. Jack Sparks. Nassif, who manages the
world-wide counter-narcotics portfolio for OMB, came to
obtain a better understanding of DOD,s Colombia
Counter-Narcotics program as part of USG support to Plan
Colombia and Plan Patriota. The MilGroup visit focused on
effective use of DOD resources in building ColMil
capabilities, which have contributed significantly to
Colombia's enhanced security and stability. The delegation
received a MilGroup briefing and visited the Embassy
Intelligence Fusion Center. They also received program
reviews at several Colombian military installations,
including the Combined Operations and Intelligence Center and
Combined Counter-Drug Communication Center in Bogota. Outside
of Bogota, the delegation visited the MilGroup
representatives and Colombian officers supervising the Rotary
Wing Training program in Tolemeida. He also visited the
Chief of Joint Staff, JTF Omega for an operations briefing,
and attended a cocaine production and brigade capabilities
demonstration with the Counter-Drug Brigade in Larandia.
MilGroup considers the visit to have been a success.

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Narcotic Affairs Section
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15. (U) August 31 year-to-date aerial eradication for coca
reached 111,496 hectares and 1,557 hectares for opium poppy.


16. (U) The Plan Colombia Helicopter Program (PCHP) has a
total of 126 certified helicopter mechanics. In addition,
there are 87 Colombian Army Pilots who have completed
training in the PCHP.


17. (SBU) Three new Carabinero squadrons started training in
August, and with the completion of these trainees, there will
be a total of 47 Carabinero squadrons trained. The
Carabinero Units have been devoting significant time to
providing security for the GOC manual eradication efforts.
26 Colombian Narcotics Police (DIRAN in Spanish) went to the
U.S. for specialized training in August.


18. (SBU) The GOC passed a resolution authorizing spraying in
Colombia,s National Parks under certain conditions. The
Embassy has asked Washington agencies to permit us to assist
with spraying glyphosate against coca in national parks.


19. (SBU) The Deserter Program received 240 deserters in
August. These individuals or small groups are not considered
to be demobilized. They are FARC, AUC, and ELN members who
decide individually to desert and turn themselves in to the
MOD. Since the Uribe Administration began, through August
2005, there have been 7,976 deserters. The breakdown is as
follows: FARC 3,978; AUC 2,694; ELN 1,082, and other
organizations 222. The radio is the primary way in which
potential deserters learn about the program.

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Regional Security Office
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20. (U) The Regional Security Office (RSO) has conducted a
host of activities in support of the Anti-Terrorism
Assistance and Anti-Kidnapping Intiative (ATA/AKI). During
the month of August, the ATA/AKI Program finalized its Fiscal
Year (FY) 2005 training schedule and made all FY06 equipment
orders for the Crisis Response Training Courses (CRTs) to be
presented during FY-06.


21. (U) The CRT began training for the first Naval Marine
Infantry Group (GAULA Sucre) at the Sibate Police training
Academy.


22. (SBU) With the September 30 deadline for the initial
turnover of the Anti-Terrorism Assistance/Sistema Integrado
de Informacion Extorsion y Secuestro (SIIES) Network to the
GOC fast approaching, the issue of connectivity for 20 GAULAS
and the completion of the LAN/WAN contracts with the internet
service provider IMPSTAT were the main issues discussed at
meetings with the Foundation for Liberty (FONDELIBERTAD). In
addition, RSO has pressed the GOC to begin to hire the
Colombian SIIES Transition Team. At a final meeting with the
Director of the FONDELIBERTAD and the Vice Minister of
Defense on August 31, these issues were finally resolved, and
FONDELIBERTAD agreed to proceed with the signing of the
outstanding contracts and the hiring of a transition team.


23. (U) During this period, the equipment to be donated to
the GOC during FY06 for the next series of CRTs was ordered.
This equipment donation totals approximately USD 1.3 million.
Also during this period, an American instructor was lightly
injured when a &dud8 training device exploded while being
rendered safe. As a result of this incident, the Standard
Operating Proceedure (SOP) governing the handling of
unexploded training devices was revised.


24. (U) Though not directly a part of the regular ATA/AKI
curriculum, Diplomatic Security and ATA offered the GOC a
Hostage Negotiation Course for 24 participants to be held at
Baton Rouge, LA from October 31 ) November 11. RSO sent the
GOC an official letter of invitation on August 30.


25. (SBU) The Presidential Security Program (PSP) currently
has three Plan Colombia personnel in country. One recent
hire will serve as the lead advisor and is filling the
positions left vacant when two former contractors decided not
to renew their contracts in May. This is part of a projected
downsizing of the program's personnel. PSP recently
completed two refresher courses for advanced personal
protective security agents. One course consisted of 20
participants, and the other consisted of 18 participants,
representing the Vice President,s security detail.

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USAID
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26. (U) On August 17, Ambassador Wood and Foreign Minister
Barco formalized the FY05 obligation of USD 126.8 million in
U.S. socio-economic and humanitarian assistance. To date,
the USG has allocated a total of $603.4 million, including
$145.1 million to support a more responsive and accountable
democracy, $291.2 million to promote economic and social
alternatives to illicit crop production, and $167.1 million
to provide economic and social opportunities for displaced
persons and other vulnerable groups.


27. (U) The Embassy, through an implementing partner,
contributed USD 40,000 to support the third Afro-Colombian
Institutional Strengthening Conference held in Cali from
August 4 to 5, 2005. Colombian Vice-President Francisco
Santos, U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks, Mr. George Grace, and
Ms. Vanessa Williams (president and executive director of the
U.S. National Conference of Black Mayors) all attended the
event. The Conference was organized by the National
Association of Afro-Colombian Mayors (in Spanish, Asociacion
Nacional de Alcaldes de Municipios con Poblacion
Afrodescendiente or AMUNAFRO). The conference identified
strategies for the social, economic, and political
advancement of Afro-Colombian communities.


28. (U) Embassy assistance in supporting the design of new
regulations in public accounting and internal control, as
well as capacity building, was reflected in the Comptroller
General,s 2005 report to the Congress and the President.
The report summarizes the results of audits performed in 2004
of over 372 national GOC entities. It noted that 64 percent
of the entities obtained a score of GOOD in the areas of
financial and performance evaluations. This represents an
improvement from the 2002 report and over 10 percent
improvement from 2004 results. According to the Comptroller,
these results were due in part to improved financial
accounts, strengthened implementation of improvement plans,
and adherence to results-based principles in the executive
branch.
WOOD