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Viewing cable 09BOGOTA776, COLOMBIAN MILITARY OFFENSIVE GETS RESULTS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09BOGOTA776 2009-03-06 20:25 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Bogota
VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #0776/01 0652025
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD3B7FAF MSI7924-695)
P 062025Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7563
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8719
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1795
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 7123
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 3190
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 7855
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
UNCLAS BOGOTA 000776 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PTER MOPS MCAP CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIAN MILITARY OFFENSIVE GETS RESULTS 
 
REF: BOGOTA 0743 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
1. (SBU) The military scored several recent victories against 
the FARC, ending a lull of several months in which some 
questioned whether the GOC may have lost the initiative.  On 
February 27, the Army's 5th Division captured "Negro 
Antonio," the deputy commander of the FARC's "Antonio Narino" 
urban front, near Bogota.  Two days later, the Army killed 
front commander "Gaitan," a 26-year FARC veteran, in the same 
region.  The FARC had been driven from areas near Bogota 
under Plan Patriota in 2003, and the group was reportedly 
trying to regain a toehold near the capital.  In Meta, the 
military uncovered a large complex of FARC camps, caves, 
bunkers, and arms and explosives caches for which they had 
been searching for years.  Defense Minister Santos told the 
media that the successes further weakened the FARC, and would 
force them to "live like rats" in ever more isolated areas. 
End summary. 
 
"OPERATION FUERTE" 
------------------ 
2. (SBU) In February 2009, the Colombian military and police 
launched a joint exercise called "Operation Fuerte," designed 
to block the FARC's efforts to re-establish a presence in the 
Sumapaz region of southern Cundinamarca near Bogota.  The 
FARC operated in the area in the 1990s, but was largely 
driven from the region by the Colombian military in 
2003-2004.  Due to its strategic location, FARC Secretariat 
member Mono Jojoy ordered FARC units to re-establish their 
presence in Cundinamarca as part of a wider FARC initiative, 
known as Operation "Rebirth", to retake the initiative after 
five years of remaining on the defensive.  On February 12 the 
Colombian air force bombed FARC targets in southern 
Cundinamarca, forcing fighters to disperse into Sumapaz, a 
remote, mountainous area south of Bogota.  Ground troops from 
the 5th Division then engaged. 
 
DEPUTY FRONT COMMANDER CAPTURED 
------------------------------- 
3. (SBU) On February 27, troops from the Army's 13th Brigade 
mounted a surprise attack on a FARC camp in Sumapaz, 
supported by aircraft and helicopters.  The attack resulted 
in the capture of Bernardo Mosquera Machado (alias "El Negro 
Antonio")--one of the FARC's most notorious kidnappers. 
Negro Antonio was the deputy commander of the FARC's "Antonio 
Narino" urban front, which has been blamed for a string of 
extortion-related activity in Bogota, including the January 
27, 2009 Blockbuster video store bombing that killed two 
people in north Bogota.  Ten FARC fighters died in the attack 
and seven more were captured.  A prominent labor leader, Juan 
Efrain Mendoza, was also discovered in the camp under 
suspicious circumstances (reftel). 
 
AND FRONT COMMANDER KILLED 
-------------------------- 
4. (SBU) After Negro Antonio's capture, remnants of the 
FARC's "Antonio Narino" urban front tried to flee the 
military pressure, but were cut off by the army near 
Gutierrez, Cundinamarca.  The army's thirteenth brigade 
attacked on March 1, and killed the front's commander--Jose 
de Jesus Guzman (alias "Gaitan").  Maria Ardila (alias 
"Mariana Paz"), reportedly the highest-ranking female 
commander in the FARC, was also killed.  She was a 20-year 
FARC veteran, in charge of ideological activities and student 
recruitment.  Gaitan, a 26-year FARC veteran, was a 
confidante of FARC military commander Mono Jojoy, and was 
linked to the 2003 bombing of the Nogal club in Bogota, 
extortion activity in Bogota, and other terrorist attacks. 
Army Commander General Oscar Gonzalez publicly stated that 
Colombians should "rest assured that the public forces will 
never again permit the FARC to retake Cundinamarca." 
 
FARC "LIVING LIKE RATS" 
----------------------- 
5. (SBU) After the success against FARC high value targets 
(HVTs) in 2008, President Uribe and Minister Santos have been 
pressuring the military for further results in 2009.  On 
February 28, the Colombian military's Rapid Deployment Force 
(FUDRA)--which had been searching for Mono Jojoy--located a 
ten square kilometer area in La Macarena region of Meta 
Department that included eleven major FARC camps.  The FUDRA 
uncovered a cave and bunker complex, which the media reported 
housed an explosives factory, medical facility, rations, and 
thousands of kilograms of explosives.  The complex was 
believed to be capable of accommodating up to 500 fighters. 
The military had been searching for the complex for five 
years.  "El Tiempo" reported that Mono Jojoy likely used 
these camps shortly before their discovery. 
 
6. (SBU) Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and Armed Forces 
Commander General Freddy Padilla visited the FARC complex 
with the media to highlight the success.  Santos commented 
that the FARC "used to live like princes, and now they are 
literally living like rats."  FUDRA commander General Miguel 
Perez told "Semana" that the FARC's presence deep in the 
jungle was further evidence that they remain isolated and no 
longer enjoy the support of the local population.  The 
discovery of the complex will push them into even more 
isolated zones. 
BROWNFIELD