Cablegate: Air Bridge Denial: September 2008 Program Update

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DE RUEHBO #4007 3101452
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051452Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5397
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHOND/DIRONDCP WASHDC
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUWDQAC/US INTERDICTION COORD WASHDC
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC//ICE/CNO//
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUMIJTF/DIRJIATF SOUTH KEY WEST FL

UNCLAS BOGOTA 004007

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR INL/LP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR PREL MOPS MASS PGOV CO
SUBJECT: AIR BRIDGE DENIAL: SEPTEMBER 2008 PROGRAM UPDATE

REF: 2003 STATE 265910

1. (SBU) SUMMARY. This is the monthly Air Bridge Denial (ABD)
activity report for September, 2008, as required by Reftel. The
Government of Colombia (GOC) sorted 5063 tracks during September.
Five were Unknown, Assumed Suspect (UAS). There were no Phase
I/II/III events. There was one event in missions in Support of
Suppression of Illegal Maritime Traffic (SSIMT) that ended in a law
enforcement end game with one GOFAST boat impounded. Four
crewmembers were arrested. END SUMMARY.

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Tracks
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2. (SBU) In September 2008, there were 5063 air tracks over Colombia
in September of which five were declared Unknown, Assumed Suspect
(UAS). Host Nation responded to all five. Two were not located by
the tracker aircraft. The other three were visually identified over
the Caribbean and the information was passed on to Central American
and Caribbean Law Enforcement Agencies. One of them crashed in the
Dominican Republic with four persons aboard dying in the crash.
There were an estimated 500 kilograms of cocaine in the aircraft.
Another landed in Guatemala, where the four people onboard burned
the aircraft before being arrested.

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SSIMT
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3. (SBU) On September 2, 2008, an SR-560 on SSIMT patrol sighted a
vessel in the Caribbean Sea Ocean off the Guajira peninsula coast.
A COLNAV vessel was directed to the GOFAST, which was impounded and
three crewmembers were arrested.

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Flight Operations
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3. (SBU) In September 2008, the Citations flew 194 hours in 83
sorties with a 72% OR rate. Of the 83 sorties, 32 were for GOC ABD
intelligence gathering and patrolling; five for training; seven were
for operational support; 27 were for maritime patrolling, and seven
were in reaction to GOC-provided information. The SR-26 aircraft
5741 flew 62 hours in 18 sorties with a 32% OR rate. Seventeen
SR-26 sorties were in support of ABD, of which five were maritime
missions. One sortie was for non-ABD purposes.

BROWNFIELD

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