Professional Soldiers ® - View Single Post - Anyone here know about a place called Colombia?

NousDefionsDoc · 03-23-2004, 10:18

Colombia New FARC Center for Operations, Drugs Located in Narino, near Ecuador
from El Tiempo on Monday, March 22, 2004
Article ID: D142042
El Tiempo visited the area where the Army has destroyed 114 laboratories so far this year; an area that the rebels share with the self-defense groups. From the beginning of January the Army has been venturing into the heartland of the so-called crystallizers of the drug: a rustic coca-processing "network" buried deep in the jungle that is home to more than 140 laboratories used to process the alkaloid. This "coca city" is located in the vicinity of the Nulpe River, which is entirely a jungle area. Residents of the region told journalists that the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] is the group that authorizes sailing on the Guiza River, which is located in the southwestern part of Narino department.

The Army Intelligence officer who is in charge of the operations explained: "We found the laboratories organized, if one can describe it that way, in groups of three per 'farm.' Each group was about four kilometers away from the other, and so on."

In this area El Tiempo found peasants trying to "save" the hectares of coca from the glyphosate that is being sprayed from the Plan Colombia airplanes. The largest amount of plants can be found on the banks of the streams between the two rivers. The residents -- some of them natives of the region while others are people who were displaced from Putumayo and Caqueta -- maintain their families with the crop from two or three hectares of coca.

Elisa, a mestizo woman, told us in broken Spanish: "They don't pay us much, but it is enough for us to get by. We do not have an opportunity to sell anything else because there are no prospective buyers. The only thing that has a market here is coca." While she keeps an eye on the crops, her five-year-old son -- who has a runny nose and is usually running barefoot among the plants -- clutches to her skirt.

As we move along we run across an old man trying to save the coca from the crop-dusting. He shies away from the camera and repeats, without being asked, that he is being paid to spray the leaves, but is not the owner of the plants. In a container strapped to his back the old man is carrying five gallons of water mixed with sugar. The woman explained: "This gooey liquid stays on the surface of the leaves, and when the chemical is sprayed it gets stuck to the liquid. Afterward the liquid is washed off, and the plant does not die. This is the technique that is being used so as not to lose the crop. Others do the same thing with caked brown sugar diluted with water, or try to hide the plants among the plantains.

FARC and 'Paramilitaries'

None of the peasants dares to reveal who the coca leaves are being sold to, but all of the local authorities as well as the Government security organizations know for a fact that control over the area is being "shared" by the FARC's 29th Front and 'Daniel Aldana' and 'Mariscal de Sucre' columns and the self-defense group's 'Libertadores del Sur' bloc. Each armed group controls a segment of the Nulpe and Guiza rivers that flow into the Mira. In turn, the Mira flows until Cape Manglares, where its waters pour into the Pacific Ocean. This is also where the drug-laden boats and launches converge, according to the information provided by the residents of the region.

A member of the 'Daniel Aldana' rebel column who turned himself in to the Navy in Tumaco explained that once the coca leaves the laboratories it is sold to other people who are in charge of shipping it out of the country. The deserter told the military officials: "Civilians in 'Los Chongos' purchase the drug already crystallized, and move it out by land and on vessels. I never saw any light planes." Referring to one of the laboratory areas, the deserter added: "They often purchase between 80 and 100 kilos per week, and pay 2.5 million per kilo."

This has been one of the country's most inhospitable areas. As a matter of fact, during its initial attempts in August of last year the Anti-Drug Trafficking Brigade (Brcna) lost one of its officers during skirmishes with the rebels, who would not allow the troops to get any closer. This new phase of the operation began late last year. The aforementioned officer noted: "The first step was to locate the crops via satellite and then, with assistance from the Navy and the Air Force, the area was checked out with technical intelligence means. Planning of the operation began on 21 December."

A count made in the area showed 35,000 hectares sowed with coca plants toward the end of last year, which means that cultivation has spread since there were only 15,000 hectares in 2002.

The Operation

The last week of December the 450 Brcna members assigned to carry out the task arrived at the Marine base in Tumaco. General Carlos Suarez Bustamante set up the command post and the first landing was coordinated. The soldiers set out along the northern border of Narino, passing through the municipalities of Roberto Payan, Panga, and Barbacoas. The found several crystallizing laboratories and many crops along the Patia and Telembi rivers.

03-23-2004, 10:18	#25
NousDefionsDoc Quiet Professional Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: LA Posts: 1,653	Colombia New FARC Center for Operations, Drugs Located in Narino, near Ecuador from El Tiempo on Monday, March 22, 2004 Article ID: D142042 El Tiempo visited the area where the Army has destroyed 114 laboratories so far this year; an area that the rebels share with the self-defense groups. From the beginning of January the Army has been venturing into the heartland of the so-called crystallizers of the drug: a rustic coca-processing "network" buried deep in the jungle that is home to more than 140 laboratories used to process the alkaloid. This "coca city" is located in the vicinity of the Nulpe River, which is entirely a jungle area. Residents of the region told journalists that the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] is the group that authorizes sailing on the Guiza River, which is located in the southwestern part of Narino department. The Army Intelligence officer who is in charge of the operations explained: "We found the laboratories organized, if one can describe it that way, in groups of three per 'farm.' Each group was about four kilometers away from the other, and so on." In this area El Tiempo found peasants trying to "save" the hectares of coca from the glyphosate that is being sprayed from the Plan Colombia airplanes. The largest amount of plants can be found on the banks of the streams between the two rivers. The residents -- some of them natives of the region while others are people who were displaced from Putumayo and Caqueta -- maintain their families with the crop from two or three hectares of coca. Elisa, a mestizo woman, told us in broken Spanish: "They don't pay us much, but it is enough for us to get by. We do not have an opportunity to sell anything else because there are no prospective buyers. The only thing that has a market here is coca." While she keeps an eye on the crops, her five-year-old son -- who has a runny nose and is usually running barefoot among the plants -- clutches to her skirt. As we move along we run across an old man trying to save the coca from the crop-dusting. He shies away from the camera and repeats, without being asked, that he is being paid to spray the leaves, but is not the owner of the plants. In a container strapped to his back the old man is carrying five gallons of water mixed with sugar. The woman explained: "This gooey liquid stays on the surface of the leaves, and when the chemical is sprayed it gets stuck to the liquid. Afterward the liquid is washed off, and the plant does not die. This is the technique that is being used so as not to lose the crop. Others do the same thing with caked brown sugar diluted with water, or try to hide the plants among the plantains. FARC and 'Paramilitaries' None of the peasants dares to reveal who the coca leaves are being sold to, but all of the local authorities as well as the Government security organizations know for a fact that control over the area is being "shared" by the FARC's 29th Front and 'Daniel Aldana' and 'Mariscal de Sucre' columns and the self-defense group's 'Libertadores del Sur' bloc. Each armed group controls a segment of the Nulpe and Guiza rivers that flow into the Mira. In turn, the Mira flows until Cape Manglares, where its waters pour into the Pacific Ocean. This is also where the drug-laden boats and launches converge, according to the information provided by the residents of the region. A member of the 'Daniel Aldana' rebel column who turned himself in to the Navy in Tumaco explained that once the coca leaves the laboratories it is sold to other people who are in charge of shipping it out of the country. The deserter told the military officials: "Civilians in 'Los Chongos' purchase the drug already crystallized, and move it out by land and on vessels. I never saw any light planes." Referring to one of the laboratory areas, the deserter added: "They often purchase between 80 and 100 kilos per week, and pay 2.5 million per kilo." This has been one of the country's most inhospitable areas. As a matter of fact, during its initial attempts in August of last year the Anti-Drug Trafficking Brigade (Brcna) lost one of its officers during skirmishes with the rebels, who would not allow the troops to get any closer. This new phase of the operation began late last year. The aforementioned officer noted: "The first step was to locate the crops via satellite and then, with assistance from the Navy and the Air Force, the area was checked out with technical intelligence means. Planning of the operation began on 21 December." A count made in the area showed 35,000 hectares sowed with coca plants toward the end of last year, which means that cultivation has spread since there were only 15,000 hectares in 2002. The Operation The last week of December the 450 Brcna members assigned to carry out the task arrived at the Marine base in Tumaco. General Carlos Suarez Bustamante set up the command post and the first landing was coordinated. The soldiers set out along the northern border of Narino, passing through the municipalities of Roberto Payan, Panga, and Barbacoas. The found several crystallizing laboratories and many crops along the Patia and Telembi rivers. __________________ Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home. He knows only The Cause. Still want to quit?
NousDefionsDoc is offline