InfoBrief – June 14, 2004

InfoBrief is a weekly news summary of events in the U.S. and Colombia produced and distributed by the U.S. Office on Colombia . Colombia This Week is reproduced with the kind permission of the ABColombia Group in London . Other sources include U.S. and Latin American newspapers, and reports from non-profit and grassroots groups. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Office on Colombia . If you would like to receive InfoBrief please contact jess_hunter@usofficeoncolombia.org indicating why you would be interested in this weekly news service

 U.S. Current Affairs and Media  

• U.S. Government Worried About Paramilitaries Filling Drug Vacuum U.S. officials are urging President Uribe not to sign any agreement with pa ramilitary groups that exempts rebel leaders from extradition to the U.S. for drug trafficking charges. Although the AUC has agreed to preliminary peace talks with the Colombian Government, one commander of the pa ramilitary organization stated, “We’ll defend our freedom to the death.” The U.S. Government has requested the extradition of a number of pa ramilitary and guerilla leaders. U.S. officials believe that the FARC and the AUC collectively earn over $1.5 billion from the illegal drug trade. U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Wood said that pa ramilitary groups have, “lost their disguise. Their character as narcoterrorists has been revealed.” U.S. officials believe that drug money has allowed the FARC and the AUC to build well equipped armies present inside large swaths of Colombia . U.S. officials are concerned that a further emphasis on narcotrafficking by the AUC would further corrupt Colombia ’s weak military, which has strong ties to the organization.  

• American Medical Association Debates Resolution on Aerial Fumigation The New York delegation of the American Medical Association (AMA) introduced a resolution calling for an end to herbicide spraying of drug crops in Colombia . The text of the resolution stated that the AMA should issue, “a public statement requesting the immediate cessation of aerial herbicide spraying,” in Colombia . The resolution also called upon, “the World Medical Association and the World Health Organization to study the health effects of aerial herbicide spraying in the South American country of Colombia.” The resolution states that the current herbicide being used to spray coca and poppy plants “is reported to be reckless and inaccurate and is causing widespread illnesses, destroying pa stures” and severely undermining the lives of small farmers. The resolution is set to be voted on by the AMA Conference this week. To see the resolution go to http://www.ama-assn.org/meetings/public/annual04/420a04.rtf 

• U.S. Funds Additional Planes to Fight Colombian Drug War Representative Henry Hyde (R-IL) completed negotiations with the State De pa rtment to allocate $17 million for three DC-3 airplanes to support illicit crop eradication. The plans will allow the Colombian military to shuttle soldiers directly to poppy eradication areas. Monday’s announcement comes a month after the congressman arranged for a fact finding mission of Chicago-area police officers who visited Colombia to learn about current drug eradication programs. Chicago has ranked No. 1 among U.S. cities in per capita deaths and emergency room visits as a result of heroin abuse.  

• U.S. Funds Anti-Kidnaping School in Colombia The U.S. has allocated $25 million for a school south of Bogotá to train security forces on technigues for rescuing hostages and neutralizing hostage-takers. Criminals as well as guerilla and pa ramilitary groups finance pa rt of their operations with the ransoms they collect from successful kidnappings. Colombian Defense Minister Jorge Uribe said that 32 students will study at the new school. The families of Colombian and U.S. hostages currently being held by guerrilla groups as “political hostages” have called on the Uribe Administration to negotiate a humanitarian accord to enable a prisoner-hostage exchange.  

• U.S. to Allocate funds for Anti-Drug Radar The United States will allocate $50 million in military radar equipment to help the Colombia Air Force track aircraft smuggling cocaine and weapons. Colombian Air Force pilots are guided by U.S. radar and AWACS surveillance to either force down or destroy planes suspected of carrying drugs. U.S. pa rtici pa tion in surveillance flights was suspended in 2001 after a small plane carrying American missionaries was shot down by a Peruvian warplane guided by U.S. intelligence operatives. Lesmez said the resumption of U.S. drug surveillance flights was critical for the success of the aerial interdiction program.

Upcoming Events and Seminars in the U.S.

• U.S. Office on Colombia and Witness for Peace Delegation to Colombia .  USOC and WfP invite you to join a delegation to Colombia to investigate the im pa cts of U.S. foreign policy and the internal armed conflict in that country. The delegation will meet with civil society representatives as well as government officials and will visit the southern province of Putumayo .  The application deadline is July 1.   For more information, go to: http://www.witnessforpeace.org/pdf/colombiaaug04.pdf .

Colombia This Week – June 14, 2004

Fri 04 – NGOs call on OAS for closer vigilance in ceasefire; FARC blows pipelines in Putumayo.

• A 3 June letter from NGOs, indigenous communities and peasant leaders says pa ramilitary groups continue to attack civilians despite a previous ceasefire agreement with the government. Since 23 January this year, when the Organisation of American States agreed to verify the ceasefire, pa ramilitaries have carried out at least 1,000 killings, according to the letter. Addressed to Sergio Caramagna, the OAS director in Colombia , the letter says his office “lacks effective verification instruments,” and calls for closer vigilance in this area, the Bogota daily El Tiempo reports. Caramagna has said verification will be impossible until the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC), the nation’s main pa ramilitary federation, concentrates its troops.
• According to the authorities in Putumayo, during this week the FARC group have dynamited twelve sections of the trans-Andean oil pipeline. There are no reports on the environment effects of the spillage but local authorities report disruptions in the pumping process, El Tiempo reports.
• Colombian military authorities announce that by the end of October the Colombian Army will destroy its remaining stock of 13,600 landmines, El Colombiano reports.
• In the third of eight required rounds of Congressional debate, a pa nel narrowly backs a constitutional amendment allowing President Uribe Velez to seek a second term, El Colombiano reports.

Sat 05 - US request Simon Trinidad in extradition; US Ambassador criticises withpeace process.

• Authorities from the United States request the extradition of FARC commander Simon Trinidad on drug-trafficking and kidnapping charges. He has been jailed in the security prison of Combita (Boyaca) since his capture earlier this year.
• An editorial in El Tiempo reports that US Ambassador William Wood has voiced concerns about the government’s pa ramilitary talks to Vice President Francisco Santos Calderon and chief government negotiator Luis Carlos Restrepo. Wood told reporters that the process does not seem to be “in favour of peace, but rather in favour of drug traffickers.”
• According to the Attorney General’s office, an investigation of a double murder last September in the province of Quindio focuses on 10 National Police intelligence officers accused of corruption and narcotrafficking. According to the Director of the National Police, General Jorge Daniel Castro, in the last six months 254 members of this institution have been sacked for being involved in corruption, El Tiempo reports.
• Panama 's Co pa Airlines announce they will not make further bids to acquire beleaguered Colombian airline Avianca after the latter accepted an offer by Brazilian conglomerate Grupo Sinergy, Portafolio reports.

Sun 06 – Car bomb explodes in Cali ; Colombian critics tour Unites States for public support.

• A car bomb explodes near a police station in the city of Cali , injuring nine people. Police blame the FARC militias in the city for the attack, El Pais reports.
• In the third car-bomb attack against police in three days, a blast near a Bogota station injures at least eight people, El Espectador reports.
• Reporting on Colombian critics of the government of Uribe Velez, US-based Chicago Suntimes announces the visit of Wilson Bonilla, an organiser for labour rights in Colombia . He has gone across the country -- and now, the world-- to speak about the corruption in the government, human rights violations and how the United States has contributed to the oppression. He has been the target of harassment, threats and attacks because of his work in Colombia . Bonilla explained many Americans have trouble understanding what is going on in Colombia because of the lack of external media attention, except regarding the war on drugs.

Mon 07 – Car bomb explodes in Medellin ; 2 trade unionists injured by letter bomb in Cali .

• A car bomb explodes in the city of Medellin injuring two pregnant women, a Catholic priest and five other people in an early morning attack. Police accuse FARC militias of leaving a car pa cked with explosives in a pa rking lot in the centre of the city. The bomb was detonated by remote control in the pa rking lot, which is also next to a police station. "The car was completely destroyed, the only thing left is the crater," said Alvaro Gonzales, director of the city's security de pa rtment, Metroseguridad.
• UK-based Colombia Solidarity Cam pa ign reports that two trade unionists from the Cali munici pa l service com pa ny, EMCALI have been injured after they opened a large unidentified pa ckage that exploded causing grave injuries to both of them. The workers of this public com pa ny have been striking and negotiating with the government in the last month and they claim these attacks are related to the labour negotiations.
• While opening the II Spanish-Colombian Forum for Businessmen, the Spa nish Ambassador in Colombia , Carlos Gomez Mugica Sanz reports that S pa in considers the peace contacts between leaders of the ELN group and the Colombian government to be “a very positive move”, El Tiempo reports.
• Chiquita Brands International Inc.is selling its banana producing and port operations in Colombia to Invesmar Ltd., the holding company of C.I. Banacol S.A., a Colombia-based producer and exporter of bananas and other fruit products in a deal comprising about $52 million. The announcement comes a month after Cincinnati-based Chiquita disclosed that the U.S. De pa rtment of Justice is looking into "protection pa yments" to certain groups in the country in order to protect employees from risks, Reuters reports. Dashing the hopes of some 300,000 Colombians in his country, S pa nish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Za pa tero rejects an amnesty for undocumented immigrants in S pain, El Tiempo reports.

Tues 08 – Senior Sinn Fein visit to the three Irishmen; pa ramilitary troops arrive in Sta. Fe Ralito.

• Senior Sinn Fein figure Gerry Kelly is heading for Colombia to visit the three Irishmen still in prison. The pa rty's justice spokesman is joining an international delegation going to the capital Bogota by invitation of the Bring Them Home cam pa ign. Recently Niall Connolly, Martin McCauley and James Monaghan were convicted of travelling on false pa ssports to Colombia but acquitted of training Marxist FARC rebels. However, the men have been detained in Colombia while prosecutors pre pa re an appeal of the court's decision.
• Authorities report that 200 paramilitary troops have arrived in the “concentration area” in Santa Fe Ralito ( Monteria ) as part of the deal to start peace talks with the Colombian government. According to the Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo, the Colombian army and Police are to patrol the area.
• After a 16-day strike in the plantations near A partado (Antioquia) and the personal intervention of President Uribe Velez, more than 16,000 banana workers agree to go back to work. According to the banana workers association AUGURA, more than US $25.5 m has been lost during the strike, Semana reports.

Weds 09 - Paramilitaries call on US to get involved in talks; Mexico to name mediator for peace.

• In a television interview, pa ramilitary commander Adolfo Paz calls on the US De pa rtments of State and Justice to take pa rt in peace negotiations between the Colombian government and paramilitary groups. During the interview, he also denied that his group is involved in drug trafficking, calling upon the US authorities to suspend the extradition warrants against them, RCN reports.
• Mexico is expected to name a mediator for possible peace talks between Colombia 's government and the National Liberation Army, ELN. Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez, and his Colombian counter pa rt, Carolina Barco, reached the agreement during the General Assembly of the Organisation of American States in Ecuador, El Tiempo reports.
• SINALTRAINAL, the Colombian Coca-Cola workers' union announces an International Caravan to Save the Lives of Colombian Workers from 21-25 June. The caravan's purpose is to raise global awareness about the courageous women and men who put themselves in the line of fire by defending their jobs, their livelihoods and their unions, the statement says.

Thurs 10- Lawmakers approve anti-terrorism law; government offers ELN cease-fire and talks.

• Colombian lawmakers have approved a controversial anti-terrorism measure that would allow authorities to search homes, detain suspects without warrants and tap phones. The lower house of Congress pa ssed the bill but it still faces a review by a high court. Colombia 's Senate approved the bill several months ago and lawmakers from both chambers must now reconcile differences over language approved by the Senate, Associated Press reports.
• Colombia 's government offers to halt offensive operations against the National Liberation Army if it calls a ceasefire. Analysts suggest that the aim of the government is to se pa rate the ELN from its more powerful “cousin”, the FARC. The government's aim is to entice the ELN into a separate peace agreement, allowing the armed forces to concentrate on hitting the larger guerrilla force, FARC. The government proposal was made via an imprisoned ELN leader, Francisco Galan, who is serving a sentence in Medellin . He has a radio in his cell with which to pass the proposal to his bosses in the mountains and jungles of Colombia , Reuters reports.
• In an exclusive interview with Associated Press, Army Gen. Edgar Lesmez reports that 80 percent of Colombia 's air s pa ce is now monitored by radar and some 90 percent will be covered by the end of next year after two new radar systems, pa rtially financed by the US , are installed in Colombia . Air force pilots have forced down or destroyed on the ground 26 planes suspected of carrying drugs so far this year, Lesmez said, noting that the resumption of US drug surveillance flights was critical for the success of the aerial interdiction programme.
• Director of Colombia ’s judicial police, Col. Oscar Naranjo, reports the arrest of 14 people in Colombia and Mexico , accused of drug trafficking. The authorities also report the capture of 12 small planes which Colombian police said had helped send 4.5 tons of cocaine to US cities in the pa st 10 months. "It was an organisation specialising in transporting cocaine in twin-engine planes," said Naranjo. He said at least seven of the 11 people captured in Colombia faced drug trafficking charges in the US and could be extradited.
• Authorities report two members of the FARC killed in combat near San Francisco and Ituango (Antioquia), El Colombiano reports.
• According to the Colombian government, the World Bank approved a new loan of US$280m: US$250m to support the urban transport system, and US $30m to the Peace and Development Programme, SNE reports.
• Jorge Gomez Lizarazo, regional Ombudsman for the Magdalena Medio region, denounces the death threats reportedly made by pa ramilitary groups against three human rights defenders working in this city. According to the reports, Juan Carlos Galvis from the CUT, Julian Cote from the Colombian Oil trade union (USO) and Yolanda Becerra, from the Feminine Popular Organisation (OFP) all received death threats by phone. The Ombudsman’s office calls on the authorities to protect their lives, urging all armed groups to respect the work of civil society groups, Vanguardia Liberal reports.  

Colombia This Week is a news summary produced and distributed by ABColombia Group. Sources include daily Colombian, US, European and Latin American news pa pers, and reports from non-governmental organisations and the UN System. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of the ABColombia Group.If you would like to be put on the mailing list, please send an email message to the address below, indicating why you would be interested in receiving this summary.

ABColombia Group

PO Box 100

London SE1 7RT

Tel: +44-(0)20-7523-2374

Fax: +44-(0)20-7960-2706

Email: colombia_this_week@hotmail.com

ABColombia Members: CAFOD, Christian Aid, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK , SCIAF, Trocaire.

ABColombia Observers: Amnesty International and Peace Brigades International.