Peace Timeline: 2002

U.S. Military and Police Aid - Focus on Arauca and Putumayo: Timeline of Current Events Putumayo:
January 2004

January 28, 2004

In an interview with Colombia's daily El Tiempo, Ecuadorian General Gustavo Tapia, Commander of the IV Military Zone in the Amazon region, stated that the border with Colombia "is a land without control." He also added that he would "take all the necessary steps to guarantee the territory does not spiral out of control."

According to the General, a recent military raid in the bordering town of Puerto Nuevo in the Ecuadorian province of Sucumbíos seized 3.5 kg of coca paste, 14 pounds of coca and poppy, 26 weapons, and a series of catalogues, manuals, backpacks and military vests all bearing FARC insignia.

[EL Tiempo http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/coar/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-_NOTA_INTERIOR-1494060.html]

January 27, 2004

FARC rebels blew up the bridge that connects Putumayo with the department of Huila to the north. José Ricardo Burbano, director of Colombia's National Highway Institute (Invías), said the rebels blew up the bridge along the Caquetá River that connects Mocoa with the rest of the country and Ecuador.

[El Tiempo, http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/coar/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-_NOTA_INTERIOR-1492359.html]

January 26, 2004

As of January 1, USAID contractor Chemonics will have created five new companies in Putumayo. A flower company, an agro-industrial center and a wood processing plant were inaugurated in Villagarzón. Additionally, fruit-concentrate plants were opened in Villagarzón and Orito
Chemonics hopes that these companies will generate both direct and indirect employment and help develop Putumayo's economy. The Colombian Chamber of Commerce, along with Chemonics, will create an alliance of Putumayo businessmen hoping to sell stock from the newly formed companies.
[Diario del Sur, http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/enero/26/putumayo.php]

January 25, 2004

While on tour in Europe, the Vice President of the National Association of Peasants (ANUC) Eder Jaír Sánchez, expressed his concerns over the human rights situation in Colombia, lamenting both the Colombian government's and the armed actors failure to meet the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' 27 recommendations on human rights.
[Diario del Sur, http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/enero/25/putumayo.php]

January 19, 2004

· At the World Social Forum held in Bombay India, Ecuador's former minister of the environment, Edgar Isch, said that the fumigations are harming the health of people in the border areas fumigated. He stated that the United States was harming the health of Colombians and Ecuadorians by fumigating with chemical substances to eradicate drug crops.[Neelesh Misra, Associated Press]

· An article published by El Diario del Sur highlighted that, after months of a relative calm due in part to the increased security presence in late 2003, the town of Puerto Guzmán is once again living in fear. An upsurge in guerrilla activity in recent weeks has made the population wary of things to come. The police have blamed the FARC for a recent attack with a gas cylinder bomb, the death of a council member and a number of kidnappings.

As a result, the governor's office called for a Security Council meeting with the mayor of Puerto Guzmán in order to evaluate the situation and adopt security measures.
[Germán Arenas Usme, Diario del Sur, http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/enero/19/putumayo.php]

· The Colombian National Police announced a plan for massive coca eradication, aiming to destroy 100,000 hectares of coca leaves and 4,000 hectares of poppy seeds.

Police Commander General Jorge Daniel Castro told the press that 3,400 policemen will be part of this program, which will focus on aerial fumigation. Additionally, he noted that three new companies -- made up of approximately 240 men -- will be added to the program throughout the year. Their goal will be to start fumigating areas where new coca cultivation is emerging.

Castro also said that the largest fumigation campaigns will be carried out in Putumayo, Huila, Norte de Santander and Bolívar.

January 18, 2004

Colonel Jorge Alonso Londoño Ramírez was appointed the new commander of the 27th Jungle Brigade. This brigade has replaced Putumayo's 24th Brigade. During the ceremony Colonel Londoño stated his commitment to keeping the peace and maintaining order in Putumayo. According to the new commander, there will be an increase in military operations throughout the department to counter the insurgent wave focused around Puerto Guzmán, San Miguel, Puerto Leguízamo and Santiago.
[Diario del Sur, http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/enero/18/putumayo.php]

January 16, 2004

Approximately 7,000 members of the Ecuadorian military were sent to a number of different locations along the Ecuadorian-Colombian border, including the border with Putumayo. Their main goal was to prevent the passage of undocumented people onto Ecuadorian soil.
[Diario del Sur,http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/enero/16/putumayo.php]

January 15, 2004

The body of Luis Alberto Campos, a Puerto Guzmán councilman, was found in a township thirty minutes from his home. According to police sources Campos was forced out of his home by armed men belonging to the FARC's 32nd front. Campos had been elected in the October 26 elections and had run under the Equipo Colombia movement.
[http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/coar/noticias/ARTICULO-WEB-_NOTA_INTERIOR-1482245.html]

January 4, 2003

· Strong combats between the Army and FARC guerrillas took place in the municipality of Orito, leaving five guerrillas dead. According to the commander of the 27th Jungle Brigade, it is believed that one of the heads of the FARC's 48th front was killed during the fighting. [Diario del Sur, http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/enero/4/putumayo.php]

Members of the FARC's 48th front carried out eleven attacks on the Transandino pipeline in the areas of Puerto Colón and San Miguel. [Diario del Sur, http://www.diariodelsur.com.co/enero/4/putumayo.php]