NARCOTRAFFICKERS BEHIND "AUTODEFENSAS GAITANISTAS"

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 003856 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/22/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KJUS CO SUBJECT: NARCOTRAFFICKERS BEHIND "AUTODEFENSAS GAITANISTAS" IN AN EFFORT TO START "PEACE" NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE GOC Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer. Reason: 1.4(b,d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) The recent appearance of pamphlets ordering work stoppages in Antioquia, Cordoba, Sucre, La Guajira, Cesar and Santander departments--allegedly from a group calling itself the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC)--has stirred popular concerns about a revival of paramilitarism. No region reported violence associated with the pamphlets, and--with the exception of southern Cordoba and the Uraba region of Antioquia--few residents respected the strike order. Local Colombian National Police (CNP) commanders told us the AGC is a propaganda front for major narcotrafficker and former paramilitary Daniel Rendon Herrera (Don Mario). GOC Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo said Rendon hopes to use the AGC to position himself to start "peace" talks with the GOC modeled on the paramilitary peace process. He said the GOC will not succumb to Rendon's pressure, noting that the CNP is stepping up efforts to detain him. End Summary. -------------- THREATS LEAD TO SOME WORK STOPPAGES -------------- ¶2. (U) During October 15-17, pamphlets from a group calling itself the Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia (AGC) were distributed in Antioquia, Cordoba, Sucre, La Guajira, Cesar and Santander departments calling for a work stoppage and warning citizens to stay indoors as the AGC retook territory from the FARC. The pamphlets were accompanied in the Uraba region (Apartado, Turbo and Mututa) by graffiti with similar messages. Given Uraba's history of violence, most businessmen, unions, and transport owners closed on October 15, particularly in Necocli, Turbo, and Carepa. In Cordoba, local residents in the municipalities of Tierra Alta, Monte Libanano, Puerta Libertad, Arboleta, and Las Cordobas also halted most economic activity. Local CNP commanders told us that outside of Uraba and southern Cordoba, few residents heeded the work stoppage order. No region reported violence associated with the pamphlets. -------------- NATIONAL POLICE AND MILITARY ASSESSMENT -------------- ¶3. (C) CNP commanders in Medellin, Apartado, Sucre, Cordoba, and Cesar say the AGC is a propaganda front for Daniel Rendon, a major narcotrafficker and former paramilitary. Rendon's group is based in Uraba, but also has a significant presence in Choco, parts of Cordoba, and on the coast in La Guajira. Police attribute recent spikes in homicides in Medellin, Cordoba, Uraba, and Choco to fighting between Rendon's group and rival narcotraffickers, Los Paisas. GOC Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo, who called Rendon exceptionally dangerous, told us on October 22 that Rendon has repeatedly contacted his office in an effort to start "peace" talks. Restrepo said the GOC has rebuffed Rendon's overtures, and is mounting a major CNP effort to capture him and dismantle his organization. He speculated that Rendon conducted the work stoppage to create a "political" veneer that would strengthen his efforts to start negotiations with the GOC based on the lines of the paramilitary peace process and the Justice and Peace Law. ¶4. (C) Military and CNP officers in Apartado estimate that Rendon has around 250-300 armed men in Uraba, plus logistics personnel. 17th and 15th Brigade Colonels Forero and Mejia said the 5th FARC Front in the Nudo de Paramillo region in Antioquia controls coca cultivation and ships coca to the 58th FARC front in the Serrania de Abibe, as well as to Rendon's men in the Curvarado region of Choco. Rendon has a "commercial pact" with the 58th Front to ship coca out through the area running from Turbo to the Gulf of Morosquillo. In northern Choco, Rendon's men make individual deals with the FARC's 57th Front to ship drugs through Panama. Both said the FARC and Rendon's men avoid combat, because the are largely fixated on narcotrafficking. ¶5. (C) Medellin CNP Colonel Fabian Cardenas told us it is difficult to estimate the size of Rendon's criminal group, since he "outsources" different functions to other groups. The CNP recently arrested a major assassin (sicario) tied to Rendon's group, well as a top financier, and is closing in on Rendon. Cardenas added that the CNP is also close to destroying Los Paisas and the Medellin-based criminal group the Oficina de Envigado, noting that three generations of Envigado bosses (Diego Murillo, Carlos Aguilar and Alirio Rendon Urtado) are in U.S. or Colombian custody. He said narco penetration of CNP and Army units in Uraba, Cordoba and Medellin remains a serious problem. The CNP recently arrested a 17th Brigade captain for collaborating with Rendon's men, while the Army anti-kidnapping unit in Cordoba served as the "right arm" of Los Paisas until the CNP detained its commander last April. -------------- MAPP/OAS VIEWS -------------- ¶6. (C) Apartado-based OAS Mission in Support of the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS) representative Eleuterio Cahuec del Valle estimated that illegal armed groups in the Uraba region may number as many as 2000 men. Many demobilized paras work in security cooperatives controlled by former paramilitary sponsors. These cooperatives have both urban and rural networks, and continue to exercise extensive social control in Apartado's urban areas. Del Valle said new groups in rural areas may move in formations as large as 200, noting that a group of 300 was recently reported in Nueva Antioquia. The size of the groups mentioned by Cahuec del Valle are similar to recent complaints by the San Jose de Apartado Peace Community and other human rights groups in the area, including Peace Brigades International. CNP and military officers sharply dispute these claims, however, arguing that criminal groups seldom operate in groups larger than 5-10 men. BROWNFIELD