Cablegate: Fighting Terrorism and Establishing State

VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #9606/01 2902100
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 172100Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9953
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 8366
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ OCT LIMA 4413
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 9699
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 5080
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP ADMIN/CHAIRS//

UNCLAS BOGOTA 009606

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV CO
SUBJECT: FIGHTING TERRORISM AND ESTABLISHING STATE
PRESENCE: THE COLMIL'S 5TH DIVISION

Sensitive but unclassified. Not for Internet distribution.

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) COLAR 5th Division operations in three departments
reflect distinct phases of GOC efforts to fight terrorism and
establish state presence. In Tolima, the Division is
breaking FARC control over rural areas; in Boyaca it is
providing security for GOC institutions and services; and in
Cundinamarca it has defeated the FARC, enabling the police to
provide security to enable legitimate private sector
activity. End Summary.

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TOLIMA: Breaking the Enemy; Introducing the State
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2. (SBU) 5th Division operations in the historical FARC
heartland of South Tolima focus on killing entrenched
guerrilla forces and eliminating their logistical bases. The
COLAR's campaign early in 2006 marked its first re-entry into
the area in 20 years and met fierce resistance. Near
Marquetalia, troops took six months of sustained combat
operations to progress 20 miles, with 23 soldiers killed and
36 wounded from enemy attacks and land mines. As FARC fronts
grew weaker, their casualties were surpassed by desertions.
Tolima has had the highest FARC desertion rate in all of
Colombia. Still, the FARC continues to resist COLAR forces
in the area.

3. (SBU) Accion Integral, the military's "hearts and minds"
civil affairs team, was critical in Tolima to gain the trust
and cooperation of local populations. Its programs provided
free medical care and build shelters, schools, and hospitals.
Unarmed military psyops teams visited the skeptical, and
sometimes hostile, rural population to humanize the COLAR's
image by "shaking hands all day in Apache territory." In
former FARC strongholds like Gaitana and San Miguel, the
psyops teams persuaded jailed guerrillas to encourage their
peers to desert, and they obtained intelligence from
demobilized guerrillas that helped the COLAR to strengthen
its hold in the area.

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BOYACA: Military Consolidation; Government Expansion
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4. (SBU) In Boyaca, the 5th Division is further advanced in
controlling territory and the FARC is debilitated. The COLAR
estimates the five FARC and two ELN fronts in the area have
dwindled to only about 50 fighters, most of them driven to
remote areas. COLAR offensive action is limited, as the
remaining FARC and ELN forces avoid engagement. The COLAR is
holding territory, moving from a bunkered presence to active
patrols and control. The professional soldiers have handed
off to fixed territorial units (70% of the COLAR) and
secondary forces -- police in urban areas, mobile
"carabinero" police squadrons on roads, regular army
conscripts guarding infrastructure, and "hometown" soldiers
for localized control of small rural towns.

5. (SBU) In most of Boyaca, the confidence and support of
local populations have tipped in the GOC's favor. Informer
networks ('redes de cooperantes') supply public forces with
intelligence to counter the remnants of FARC militias.
State-sponsored security is welcomed, because it helps free a
legitimate economy -- based on emerald mining and agriculture
-- from FARC attacks and extortion. The government's focus
is on strengthening municipal institutions (mayoralties and
councils, courts, tax collection), improving infrastructure
(roads, schools, health care), and encouraging economic
development. Accion Integral no longer operates at this
stage; it hands over to public/private partnerships.

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CUNDINAMARCA: Security, Governance, Growth
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6. (SBU) Cundinamarca and Bogota represent the final stage
of COLMIL and GOC efforts. The FARC and ELN presence has
been largely eliminated -- converting a military problem of
national security to a police matter of public security. The

COLMIL plays a static support role in guarding
infrastructure; police agencies take the lead on law
enforcement. FARC and ELN recruitment of leftist political
sympathizers continues in public university communities, but
efforts to mobilize them for terrorist attacks have had
little tangible effect. Effective security and civil
governance have created an opportunity for private sector
investment and growth, providing a model for GOC efforts
elsewhere.

DRUCKER

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