AERIAL ERADICATION RESUMES IN THE MACARENA CONSOLIDATION

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002786 DEPT FOR INL/LP DEPT FOR WHA/AND E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL SENV KCRM PGOV PTER CO SUBJECT: AERIAL ERADICATION RESUMES IN THE MACARENA CONSOLIDATION ZONE REF: A) 08 Bogota 3547, B) Bogota 2334 ¶1. Summary: On July 2, officials from the Macarena Consolidation Program (PCIM) met with NAS and the Colombian Antinarcotics Police to request aerial eradication operations in the PCIM. The request comes over a year after the Colombian government declared the PCIM off-limits to spray to accommodate consolidation efforts, including voluntary eradication, in the region. PCIM officials justified spraying to eliminate FARC-controlled coca considered too dangerous for manual eradicators. So far this year, there have been four deaths and dozens of injuries during manual eradication operations in the PCIM. After careful coordination with GOC elements, NAS sprayed 868 hectares in the PCIM in August. End summary. ¶2. On July 2, representatives from the Macarena Consolidation Program (PCIM) met with NAS and the Antinarcotics Police to request aerial eradication operations inside the PCIM to eliminate FARC-controlled coca deemed too dangerous for manual eradicators. The request comes over a year after the PCIM was declared off limits to spray to accommodate consolidation efforts and to implement an ambitious voluntary eradication program (see ref A). ¶3. Consolidation efforts have been successful in controlling coca cultivation in the northern PCIM. The FARC-controlled region in the southern PCIM bordering the Macarena National Park still poses serious security issues for manual eradicators. So far this year, four personnel were reported killed and dozens injured, many resulting in amputations, during security incidents during manual eradication operations in the PCIM. PCIM officials, citing security concerns, the slow pace of manual eradication and the relatively small amounts of licit agriculture in the southern PCIM, turned to aerial eradication to eliminate coca and cut off an important source of revenue for the FARC. PCIM officials acknowledge that voluntary eradication programs in some parts of the PCIM are impossible to implement due to threats of violence by the FARC against participating communities. ¶4. NAS-led eradication operations sprayed 868 hectares in the southern PCIM in early August. Aerial eradication operations will not resume in the PCIM unless requested again by PCIM officials. There was one hostile ground-fire impact against a spray plane resulting in no injury to the pilot. As a security precaution, Colombian troops were inserted into spray areas in advance of spray operations in the PCIM. Historically, the PCIM has been a target-rich environment for spray operations. NAS sprayed 1,770 hectares in 2008 (before being declared off-limits to spray),9,599 hectares in 2007 and 14,458 hectares in 2006 in the PCIM. ¶5. The United Nations recently reported that coca cultivation in the PCIM was down 73 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, evidence that consolidation and eradication efforts have been successful in reducing coca cultivation there (see ref B). Manual eradicators working in the PCIM eradicated nearly 6,000 hectares of coca in ¶2008. PCIM officials estimate that an additional 2,000 hectares of coca were eradicated voluntarily. As in 2008, NAS plans to image the entire PCIM in August to measure cultivation inside the consolidation zone. ¶6. Comment: In a meeting to discuss manual eradication in the PCIM in May, Colombian military planners raised the issue of spraying as a way to eradicate coca more quickly and cut off a source of income to the FARC. PCIM officials initially rejected the proposal, citing a commitment to communities to not spray inside the consolidation zone. The GOC's decision in July to request spray in the PCIM demonstrates that aerial eradication will play an increasingly integral part in consolidation efforts. The role of eradication in Colombia's consolidation plan is still being defined. It is likely that as in the PCIM, finding the right balance of aerial, manual and voluntary eradication will be key to achieving consolidation objectives. End comment. BROWNFIELD