BLUE LANTERN HELICOPTERS: CASE TWO HUGHES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 001970 SIPDIS SIPDIS DDTC: TIM WATKINS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2016 TAGS: ETTC KOMC CO SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN HELICOPTERS: CASE TWO HUGHES HELICOPTERS CONTINUED REF: A. SECSTATE 22779 ¶B. BOGOTA 1652 Classified By: AMB:WBWOOD for Reasons 1.4 (b)+(e) ¶1. (C) (SUMMARY): Post has confirmed the location of the missing Hughes 500 helicopters that were being used to move cash and valuables on the north coast of Colombia. The helicopters in question were originally sold to the Israeli government by the USG for military purposes but were converted to civilian grade aircraft in 1998. The helicopters came to Colombia on false export and airworthiness documents issued in Israel. Post learned that the helicopters were found in a warehouse owned by Enilse Lopez, A.K.A. "La Gata" ("the cat"),a suspected money-launderer with alleged ties to the paramilitaries. Post has obtained permission to visit the site where the helicopters are being stored in Barranquilla and plans to visit shortly. -------------- HISTORY -------------- 2.(C) The following is a time-line of how the helicopters came to be in the possession of the Fiscalia in Barranquilla: -- Two Hughes 500 military grade helicopters were sold to the Israeli government in 1982 for use as ambulance helicopters. -- In 1998 the two helicopters were grounded by the Israeli military for conversion to civilian aircraft and placed on the market for sale. -- In 2002 the Israeli government sold the helicopters to CANWEST of Canada. CANWEST did not move the helicopters out of Israel. -- In 2003, CANWEST sold the helicopters to SAI (Servicios Aeronauticos Integrales) of Mexico. SAI convertedthe helicopters to civilian grade helicopters and moved the helicopters from Israel to Miami on export certifications and destination documents indicating plans to use the helicopters in Mexico. The export and airworthiness documents were issued in Israel under the numbers 2003-36 and 2003-37. -- While the helicopters were still in Miami,SAI sold the helicopters to Panama-based company, Trade Leasing and Consulting (TLC). The general manager of TLC is a Colombian national by the name of Francisco Alberto Restrepo Flores. He moved the helicopters to Cartagena at the end of January ¶2004. -- AvionesEjecutivos, otherwise known as AVIEL LTDA, based in Medellin, Colombia, carried out the import processing for TLC. Colombian Civil Aviation authorized AVIEL a 90-day temporary certificate of airworthiness on the condition that AVIEL obtain an H3WE from the USG. During these 90 days, the helicopters were used by Aviel to move valuables (mainly cash) on behalf of BancoAgrario on the north coast of Colombia. -- The USG-FAA did not issue Aviel the flight authorization (H3WE) because the request stipulated a permission type 396E which did not correspond with the type of helicopter listed in the request, the Hughes 500. -- Due to the USG's refusal to issue a flight authorization (H3WE),Colombian Civil Aviation reviewed the documentation and determined that the export and airworthiness documents number 2003-36 and 2003-37 exhibited unauthorized modifications. According to the Fiscalia these documents originally indicated use in Mexico, and were later changed to read Colombia. The Fiscalia added that according to Israeli export authorities, these documents were never issued by the Israeli government. -- These irregularities led Civil Aviation of Colombia in coordination with the Fiscalia to refuse to issue a permanent airworthiness certificate, thus grounding both helicopters. -- In September of 2004, the Fiscalia located the helicopters in a warehouse owned by Uniapuesta, a company owned by Enilse Lopez. The Fiscalia took possession of the two helicopters and moved them to their current storage location in Barranquilla. -------------- ANSWERS TO REMAINING QUESTIONS -------------- ¶3. The following are the remaining answers to questions from DDTC: ¶Q. Prior to being brought to the court's attention, what is the history of the helicopters and for what purpose were they used? ¶A. The helicopters were first used as Israeli military-ambulance helicopters and then in 1998 were grounded. In early 1999 the helicopters were reconfigured for civilian use by either CANWEST or SAI. The helicopters remained grounded until January 2004, when AVIEL began using the helicopters to transport money and other items of value on behalf of BancoAgrario in the north coast area. ¶Q. Can the U.S. Embassy visit the site where the helicopters are being stored? ¶A. The helicopters are currently being stored at the Parqueadero Chemical in Barranquilla under the supervision/authority of the DireccionSeccional de la Fiscalia. The exact address is Calle 3, Via AEternit No. 66-164. The phone number of the Fiscalia in Barranquilla is 075-351-0429 (calling from Bogota) and the contact names available for Barranquilla are Judith Valluelo Montes and Perla Davila Martinez. The address of the Direccion Seccional de la FiscaliaisCra 44 37-28, 2nd floor. Post does have verbal authorization from both Hector Cruz and Perla Davila to visit the site and is making arrangements to do so. The purpose of the visit would be to personally verify tail numbers and identiplates on both helicopters. -------------- NEXT STEPS -------------- ¶4. Post intends to visit the site where the helicopters are being stored and verify the tail numbers of said helicopters. Post also intends to provide assistance to the Fiscalia in Bogota to obtain answers to critical questions regarding the documentation accompanying the helicopters in an effort to expedite the adjudication of this case. WOOD =======================CABLE ENDS============================