GOC SEEKS MORE ERADICATION, FUNDS OWN SPRAY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 006342

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL/LP, WHA/AND

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2016
TAGS: SNAR CO SENV KCRM PTER
SUBJECT: GOC SEEKS MORE ERADICATION, FUNDS OWN SPRAY
OPERATION

REF: BOGOTA 00602


1. (SBU) Summary: President Uribe has responded to estimates
that coca cultivation is on the rise in Colombia by pressing
the GOC and the United States to substantially increase
bilateral eradication efforts. After intensive meetings to
discuss eradication, Ambassador Wood and Minister of Defense
Ospina agreed June 27 on several methods of increasing coca
spraying and jointly pledged to raise 2006 coca spray goals
by almost 25 percent to 160,000 hectares. The GOC has
demonstrated its commitment to increase spraying by pledging
USD 4.5 million for its own spray operation. Please see the
action request in paragraph 11. End summary.

More Eradication Needed, Says GOC
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2. (C) Ambassador Wood was called to two meetings (June 20
and 27) with Minister of Defense (MOD) Camilo Alfonso Ospina
Bernal to discuss ways to increase aerial eradication of coca
in 2006. In the first meeting, MOD Ospina urged more coca
spraying, explaining that he was acting under presidential
orders and in response to the June 20 release of 2005 UN/GOC
figures estimating that coca cultivation had increased by 10
percent from 2004.


3. (SBU) The Embassy spent the week in between the two
meetings evaluating proposals to increase spraying in the
short term. An initial focus was on ways to reduce the 50
percent of planned missions that are cancelled due to adverse
weather conditions, but deeper analysis showed that
alteration of the GOC,s Environmental Management Plan for
Aerial Eradication is not possible without potentially
serious undesirable side effects such as increased impacts on
spray planes or an increase in collateral environmental
damage. An Embassy team then studied other possible changes
in spray operations that could result in the eradication of
an increased number of hectares of coca.


4. (C) The Ambassador renewed the discussion with the MOD
and his military staff on June 27 with the following
proposals to increase coca spraying:

A) If the GOC assumes responsibility for opium poppy via
manual eradication, the T-65 spray aircraft could be
reprogrammed to go after coca alone. This would gain the
program an estimated 12,000 hectares of sprayed coca during
the six months left in 2006.

B) If GOC policymakers respect the bilateral spray plan and
do not order adjustments for political reasons, spray
packages will maximize efficiency and spray more coca. This
would "save" the program some 18,000 hectares that were lost
in late 2005 when the AT-802 spray package was sent
prematurely in November to Narino, where predictably
inclement weather grounded spray aircraft for 50 days through
the end of the year.

C) If the GOC were to eliminate restrictions against
spraying in indigenous reserves, national parks, and along
the Ecuador border, this would open up new areas of dense,
highly-productive coca to spraying, increasing spray
productivity and removing more potential cocaine from the
market by eradication. CNC has not estimated total coca
cultivation in indigenous reserves, national parks, and the
10 kilometer buffer zone along the Ecuador border, but the
Colombian National Police (CNP) estimates that these areas
contain 7,350 (indigenous),8,375 (parks),and 6,000 (border)
hectares of coca.


5. (C) At the June 27 meeting, the MOD agreed that the GOC
would tackle opium poppy eradication manually and that the
GOC would limit politically-motivated adjustments to the
spray plan. He also pledged to work with the GOC Minister of
Interior and Justice Sabas Pretelt to determine the status of
eradication in protected areas (i.e., indigenous areas,
national parks, and the border) and to facilitate law
enforcement activity (spraying) throughout Colombian soil.


6. (C) In return, by mutual agreement, the 2006 coca spray
goal was increased by 30,000 hectares to a total of 160,000
hectares.

GOC Launches Own Spray Operation
-------------- -

7. (SBU) Concurrent with the above meetings, the Embassy was
informed on June 22 by General Jorge Baron, head of the
CNP,s Anti-narcotics Directorate, that President Uribe has
ordered the Ministry of Treasury to allocate some USD 4.5
million for the purchase of spray planes. General Baron
reported that he had already gotten preliminary proposals
from several companies on lease-purchase plans for AT-402,
AT-602, and T-65 spray planes. A formal GOC solicitation
process for spray planes will be launched in the near future,
once terms of reference are worked out. General Baron
estimated that it would take at least three to four months
before the required GOC bidding process can be completed.


8. (SBU) The GOC funding is only sufficient to cover the
lease-purchase of the spray planes (although the proposed
packages also include pilots who will train GOC spray
pilots). General Baron requested USG assistance in
purchasing the chemicals used in the aerial eradication
program (while details are too preliminary to make an
accurate estimate, a four-plane operation would probably use
around USD 4 million in chemicals per year). Many other
issues in regards to the GOC spray operation remain -
security helicopters to accompany the GOC spray planes;
supporting ground personnel; additional forward operating
locations; and required navigational and tracking equipment
for the spray planes.

Moving Forward
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9. (SBU) Opium Poppy: Ambassador Wood has already sent the
MOD a letter requesting a commitment in writing to give
priority to the manual eradication of opium poppy. The
Embassy has offered planning, logistical, and equipment
support for manual poppy eradication and is awaiting a formal
GOC plan, which is forthcoming. At the same time, NAS is
working with the CNP to revise the annual spray plan to
redirect the T-65,s to full time coca eradication.


10. (SBU) Indigenous Reserves ("Resguardos"): The CNP
received, following the June 27 meeting, a resolution signed
by the National Council of Dangerous Drugs Director/Minister
of Interior and Justice Sabas Pretelt. The resolution grants
authority to spray in three resguardos. The resolution
became official July 10 after its approval by the National
Council of Dangerous Drugs and is the first movement forward
in getting permission to spray in the "protected" areas since

2005.

Action Requested:
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11. (U) For INL/A: The Embassy urgently needs a per
hectare estimate for how much each hectare over the 130,000
contracted amount will cost. That is, now that the Embassy
has raised its goal from 130,000 to 160,000 hectares for the
first contract year (see reftel),how much will the
additional 30,000 hectares cost the USG?


12. (SBU) Comment. Ever since the publication of the CNC
coca cultivation estimate in March 2006, various GOC
officials have been saying, in private and in public, that
the GOC remains committed to eradication and in fact wishes
to redouble its eradication efforts in order to have
substantial decreases in coca cultivation in 2006. The GOC
initiative to purchase four additional spray aircraft with
USD 4.5 million from the GOC,s own budget demonstrates an
unprecedented GOC commitment to increased coca spraying. End
comment.
WOOD