U.S.
Military and Police Aid
- Focus on Arauca and Putumayo:
Timeline of Current Events Putumayo:
December
2003
December
22, 2003
The
national director of the Police, General Jorge Daniel Castro,
attended the ceremony for the department's new police commander,
Colonel José Asdrubal Moncada. Additionally the general
was scheduled to visit several police installations and hold meetings
with various officials to discuss Putumayo's security situation.
December
19, 2003
- Six
guerrillas were killed in Putumayo. The deaths were reported
after the Army and Police conducted an offensive against the
FARC. The joint operations led to the confiscation of weapons,
munitions, a large quantity of processed drugs, and precursor
chemicals, as well as a sophisticated satellite communication
system used by the FARC's Southern Bloc. Additionally, the operation
led to the deactivation of minefields and the destruction of
77 explosive devices. [El Tiempo]
-
 290
families in Puerto Limón, Mocoa municipality, decided
to manually eradicate 400 hectares of coca and create small
associations to farm pigs, chickens and fish and a small flour
processing plant. The projects are part of alternative development
programs established by USAID and its contractor Chemonics,
Inc. Chemonics and USAID have said that as long as illegal crops
continue to decrease in the department, two more years of international
aid will be guaranteed. [El Diario del Sur (Pasto,
Colombia) http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/diciembre/19/putumayo.php]
December
15, 2003
In the last month at least one or two people have been found dead
every day  in
Puerto Asís. These selective killings have tensions running
high in the municipality. It is very difficult to determine who
is responsible because of the presence of guerrilla, paramilitary
and drug traffickers, all of whom could be responsible for these
deaths. [Germán Arenas El Diario del Sur
(Pasto, Colombia) http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/diciembre/15/putumayo.php]
December
11, 2003
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| Photo:
Garry Leech
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Over
the last few months 500 paramilitaries present in the municipalities
of Orito, La Hormiga, La Dorada, El Placer and El Tigre have
been demobilizing.
In
an interview with the DIARIO DEL SUR the political head of
the AUC in lower Putumayo, known as "Hawk," gave
the reasons for this phenomenon. He highlighted that that
it was not part of the peace process that the AUC is conducting
in other parts of the country.
"Our
demobilization is due to other reasons, like the weakening
of the group's finances and the lack of weaponry that would
allow us to sustain a war against the FARC."
"Hawk"
indicated that the AUC have been weakened since the beginning
of the year due to the considerable reduction of their income--to
the point where they could not pay their men and owed them
up to four months salary. Additionally, they lacked the weaponry
to fight the FARC's 48th front.
"Our
crisis began in 2002 when in El Placer we were ambushed by
the insurgency,
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A
paramilitary camp in Putumayo.
Garry Leech |
and
suffered a great number of casualties - approximately 20 dead
and 18 wounded-- all of whom were taken to hospitals in Ecuador.
Later in February 2003, in El Tigre, the guerillas ambushed
us again-- here 26 men were killed and 6 were disappeared…"
"On
December 31, 2002 in la Dorada there was a strong confrontation
with the FARC's 48th front who wanted to take over the town
and assassinate various members of the local administration
among them the mayor, Orlando Muñoz Imbachí.
That day the struggle was tough, but we were able to keep
them from coming into the urban center and luckily there were
some army troops in the vicinity who gave us some support…"
"This
forced us to change strategy, and in March we decided to bring
our men into one area, subsequently some of the men started
to leave because of the difficult situation. " [Germán
Arenas Usme El Diario del Sur (Pasto, Colombia) http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/diciembre/11/putumayo.php]
December
3, 2003
- General
Hernán Cadavid Barco, the new commander of the sixth
division in Caquetá, stated that he was not going to
allow the FARC to continue terrorizing the mid and lower Putumayo.
Over the last two weeks the FARC has attacked the municipalities
of Orito, La Hormiga and San Miguel, leaving 4 dead and 20 injured.
Fear
among these communities is widespread; at this point the departmental
government and the municipalities have decreed a state of emergency
activating their committees to aid the displaced and placing
strict controls on trade to prevent a hike in prices for basic
goods. [Germán Arenas Usme El Diario del
Sur (Pasto, Colombia) http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/diciembre/3/putumayo.php]
- The
Police and Army have been conducting a number of operations
and raids in the municipalities of Putumayo, hoping to find
weapons and explosives used by the FARC. According to police
reports, over the last several days they have found ammunition
as well as weapons in residences in Orito and La Hormiga.
December
1, 2003
Six
out of a group of 20 employees repairing the Putumayo oil pipeline
remained kidnapped by the FARC. The remaining 14 were released
over the weekend.
According to an official report, in the last 2 weeks the FARC
has attacked the oil infrastructure in Putumayo more than 57
times. [El Tiempo http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/coar/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-_NOTA_INTERIOR-1441402.html]
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