GOC AND MAPP/OAS AGREE: EVIDENCE SHOWS NO AGUILAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 001432 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/17/2018 TAGS: PTER PGOV PINR CO SUBJECT: GOC AND MAPP/OAS AGREE: EVIDENCE SHOWS NO AGUILAS NEGRAS PRESENCE IN BOGOTA REF: BOGOTA 1199 -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Speculation over the presence of an Aguilas Negras group in Bogota continues following threats allegedly made by the group against human rights groups responsible for the March 6 march against paramilitaries and state violence (see reftel). The Human Rights Ombudsman (Defensoria) has issued reports claiming Aguilas Negras' involvement in extortion rackets in Bogota's poorer neighborhoods, but the Bogota municipal government, the OAS Mission for Support of the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS),Bogota Metropolitan Police, and the police unit (Carabineros) leading the fight against the new criminal groups say they have no evidence that the Aguilas Negras exist in Bogota. They continue to investigate the identities of those responsible for the threats. END SUMMARY. -------------- THREATENING LIVES OF MARCH 6 ORGANIZERS -------------- ¶2. (U) On March 14, a group calling itself the Aguilas Negras of Bogota sent emails and pamphlets to the organizers of the March 6 march against paramilitaries and state violence. The materials threatened the lives of organizers, accusing them of supporting the FARC. In addition to the emails and pamphlets, the "Metropolitan Block" of the Aguilas Negras issued a statement titled, "The First Virtual Communique - The Armed Fight Phase A," which calls on paramilitaries to rearm. -------------- SECURITY COUNCIL MEETINGS CONVENED -------------- ¶3. (C) Polo Democratico member and Bogota Secretary of Government Clara Lopez--who oversees security and police services in Bogota--said the city is doing everything it can to identify those responsible for the threats against the human rights groups. She convoked the municipal Security Council--made up of all municipal police and intelligence services--on March 31 to discuss the issue. The Council concluded that the Aguilas Negras presence is negligible, if it exists at all, in Bogota, but noted that some common criminals use the Aguilas Negras label to intimidate their victims. Lopez acknowledged that the Defensoria has reported since 2006 that Aguilas Negras groups conduct extortion in Bogota's poorer neighborhoods, including threats against human rights groups, but said the reports lack corroboration. ¶4. (C) Lopez said that of the four murders that human rights groups have associated with the march (see reftel),only Leonidas Gomez Rozo was murdered in Bogota. The National Union School (ENS) said Gomez supported the march, but acknowledged he had no active role in organizing the event. Police investigators have found no connection between Gomez' murder and the Aguilas Negras; their preliminary investigation links his death to a domestic dispute. Lopez said a follow-up Security Council meeting chaired by Mayor Samuel Moreno on April 8 reached the same conclusions. -------------- POLICE CONCLUDE ITS NOT AGUILAS NEGRAS -------------- ¶5. (C) The Metropolitan Police and Carabineros (rural police tasked with leading the fight against new criminal groups) told us the information and symbols used in the letters and pamphlets do not correspond to the modus operandi and/or documentation used by Aguilas Negras elsewhere. The Metropolitan Police said their sources in Ciudad Bolivar and Soacha report that there is no Aguilas Negras presence in those areas. -------------- MAPP/OEA SKEPTICAL OF PRESENCE -------------- ¶6. (C) MAPP/OAS director Sergio Caramagna and his analysts agreed it is unlikely that a new Aguilas Negras group has emerged in Bogota and was behind the threats. They said it would not be unusual for one of the many Aguilas Negras groups to have an "Oficina de Cobro" in Bogota to oversee extortion activities and coordinate business transactions, but doubted such a group would threaten human rights groups. The analysts cautioned that the Aguilas Negras label has become synonymous with narcotrafficking and organized criminal activity, and is used by many groups to exaggerate their importance. ¶7. (C) We will continue to follow up with municipal and national authorities, the Carabineros, MAPP/OAS, unions, and human rights groups on this issue. BROWNFIELD