COLOMBIAN MILITARY OFFENSIVE GETS RESULTS

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000776

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PTER MOPS MCAP CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIAN MILITARY OFFENSIVE GETS RESULTS

REF: BOGOTA 0743

SUMMARY
--------------

1. (SBU) The military scored several recent victories against
the FARC, ending a lull of several months in which some
questioned whether the GOC may have lost the initiative. On
February 27, the Army's 5th Division captured "Negro
Antonio," the deputy commander of the FARC's "Antonio Narino"
urban front, near Bogota. Two days later, the Army killed
front commander "Gaitan," a 26-year FARC veteran, in the same
region. The FARC had been driven from areas near Bogota
under Plan Patriota in 2003, and the group was reportedly
trying to regain a toehold near the capital. In Meta, the
military uncovered a large complex of FARC camps, caves,
bunkers, and arms and explosives caches for which they had
been searching for years. Defense Minister Santos told the
media that the successes further weakened the FARC, and would
force them to "live like rats" in ever more isolated areas.
End summary.

"OPERATION FUERTE"
--------------

2. (SBU) In February 2009, the Colombian military and police
launched a joint exercise called "Operation Fuerte," designed
to block the FARC's efforts to re-establish a presence in the
Sumapaz region of southern Cundinamarca near Bogota. The
FARC operated in the area in the 1990s, but was largely
driven from the region by the Colombian military in
2003-2004. Due to its strategic location, FARC Secretariat
member Mono Jojoy ordered FARC units to re-establish their
presence in Cundinamarca as part of a wider FARC initiative,
known as Operation "Rebirth", to retake the initiative after
five years of remaining on the defensive. On February 12 the
Colombian air force bombed FARC targets in southern
Cundinamarca, forcing fighters to disperse into Sumapaz, a
remote, mountainous area south of Bogota. Ground troops from
the 5th Division then engaged.

DEPUTY FRONT COMMANDER CAPTURED
--------------

3. (SBU) On February 27, troops from the Army's 13th Brigade
mounted a surprise attack on a FARC camp in Sumapaz,
supported by aircraft and helicopters. The attack resulted
in the capture of Bernardo Mosquera Machado (alias "El Negro
Antonio")--one of the FARC's most notorious kidnappers.
Negro Antonio was the deputy commander of the FARC's "Antonio
Narino" urban front, which has been blamed for a string of
extortion-related activity in Bogota, including the January
27, 2009 Blockbuster video store bombing that killed two
people in north Bogota. Ten FARC fighters died in the attack
and seven more were captured. A prominent labor leader, Juan
Efrain Mendoza, was also discovered in the camp under
suspicious circumstances (reftel).

AND FRONT COMMANDER KILLED
--------------

4. (SBU) After Negro Antonio's capture, remnants of the
FARC's "Antonio Narino" urban front tried to flee the
military pressure, but were cut off by the army near
Gutierrez, Cundinamarca. The army's thirteenth brigade
attacked on March 1, and killed the front's commander--Jose
de Jesus Guzman (alias "Gaitan"). Maria Ardila (alias
"Mariana Paz"),reportedly the highest-ranking female
commander in the FARC, was also killed. She was a 20-year
FARC veteran, in charge of ideological activities and student
recruitment. Gaitan, a 26-year FARC veteran, was a
confidante of FARC military commander Mono Jojoy, and was
linked to the 2003 bombing of the Nogal club in Bogota,
extortion activity in Bogota, and other terrorist attacks.
Army Commander General Oscar Gonzalez publicly stated that
Colombians should "rest assured that the public forces will
never again permit the FARC to retake Cundinamarca."

FARC "LIVING LIKE RATS"
--------------

5. (SBU) After the success against FARC high value targets
(HVTs) in 2008, President Uribe and Minister Santos have been
pressuring the military for further results in 2009. On
February 28, the Colombian military's Rapid Deployment Force
(FUDRA)--which had been searching for Mono Jojoy--located a
ten square kilometer area in La Macarena region of Meta
Department that included eleven major FARC camps. The FUDRA
uncovered a cave and bunker complex, which the media reported
housed an explosives factory, medical facility, rations, and
thousands of kilograms of explosives. The complex was
believed to be capable of accommodating up to 500 fighters.
The military had been searching for the complex for five
years. "El Tiempo" reported that Mono Jojoy likely used
these camps shortly before their discovery.


6. (SBU) Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and Armed Forces
Commander General Freddy Padilla visited the FARC complex
with the media to highlight the success. Santos commented
that the FARC "used to live like princes, and now they are
literally living like rats." FUDRA commander General Miguel
Perez told "Semana" that the FARC's presence deep in the
jungle was further evidence that they remain isolated and no
longer enjoy the support of the local population. The
discovery of the complex will push them into even more
isolated zones.
BROWNFIELD