FARC'S PRE-ELECTORAL ATTACKS IN SOUTHERN COLOMBIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 001887

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/04/2015
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: FARC'S PRE-ELECTORAL ATTACKS IN SOUTHERN COLOMBIA

REF: BOGOTA 01643

Classified By: Political Counselor Jeffrey DeLaurentis.
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) FARC units last week committed two civilian massacres
in Caqueta and Huila Departments, resulting in a total of 17
killed and 14 injured and prompting the UN High Commissioner
on Human Rights in Colombia to call the acts a war crime. At
the same time, FARC Secretariat member Raul Reyes publicly
claimed that the FARC does not operate outside Colombia,s
borders. The FARC recent actions are in keeping with their
strategy to publicly discredit President Uribe,s security
policies. On February 29, Uribe announced increased security
force measures. END SUMMARY.

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FARC Ramps-Up Civilian Attacks in the South
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2. (U) FARC units were responsible for two civilian massacres
this week in southern Colombia. A probable TFMC unit on
February 24 attacked a small bus that had fallen behind its
security caravan on the road between San Vincente del Caguan,
and Florencia, Caqueta killing nine passengers and wounding
another 14. Survivors report the attackers doused the van
with gasoline and attempted to light it on fire.


3. (U) Colombian security officials report a TFMC unit on 25
February attacked a city council meeting in Rivera, Huila*a
town located 20 minutes outside the departmental
capital*killing eight councilors and four of their
bodyguards. Survivors report the attackers ordered that
everyone be killed. This attack marks the third TFMC attack
on councilors in less than a year. The Rivera councilors had
been under threat for about a year and many lived outside
Rivera because of the security situation there, coming into
town only for city council meetings.


4. (U) These attacks have been taking place amid a &paro
armado8 (armed strike),which the FARC declared two weeks
ago in the area. Local media reports inhabitants are facing
food and fuel shortages.

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UNHCHR Accuses FARC of War Crimes
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5. (U) The FARC,s recent attacks in southern Colombia have
been universally condemned. The UN High Commission for Human
Rights in Colombia called the bus attack &a war crime,8 and
asked the GOC to repeal a proviso preventing the prosecution
of these types of crimes in the International Court of
Justice before 2009. Liberal Party chief Cesar Gaviria
called the killings &barbaric,8 but also criticized the
Uribe Administration on national radio March 1, claiming that
the FARC will not be beaten by military means alone.

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FARC Claims Attacks Stop at the Border
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6. (U) FARC Secretariat member Raul Reyes denied in a recent
interview with Anncol, a European news outlet sympathetic to
the FARC, that the insurgents operated outside Colombia.
Responding to a recent article in El Tiempo, which claimed
that the Ecuadorian military had clashed with the FARC in
Ecuador, Reyes claimed that the FARC respects the governments
of Colombia,s neighbors and said the GOC is the one trying
to drag Ecuador into Colombia,s conflict.

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Comment: Following Through on Strategy
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7. (C) As reported reftel, the FARC intends to use
intimidation and terrorist attacks in the run-up to the
congressional and presidential elections to sway voters and
to discredit President Uribe and his democratic security
strategy. One of Uribe,s successes has been improving
security on the roads and establishing state presence
throughout the country. The FARC,s recent attacks on roads
and local governing institutions are likely intended to
undermine public confidence in these two GOC success stories,
as well as intimidate the local population. END COMMENT.
WOOD