Document: CHDS Professors Participate in FUERZAS Commando Exercise

Program: Exercises, Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies

From June 6 to 14, 2012, Colombia hosted the 9th annual FUERZAS COMANDO exercise at the Colombian National Training Center on Fort Tolemaida. During this time special operations forces from 21 countries engaged in an eight-day military skills competition, testing their physical strength and tactical abilities. The 17 grueling events are meant to challenge even the most skilled competitors in order to select the best of the elite military forces in the Western Hemisphere. ...

Concurrently, the FUERZAS COMANDO exercise also hosted a Senior Leader Seminar in Bogota for military leaders to exchange ideas and improve military-to-military relations and to discuss regional security issues, such as countering transnational organized crime. Both events were intended to build relationships and strengthen ties between the participating nations.

Document: Southcom Exercise Program Promotes Stability, Security

Program: Exercises

Another exercise that concluded last week in Colombia, Fuerzas Comando 2012, brought together special operators from 21 regional countries for a grueling counterterrorism and special operations skills competition. That event, sponsored by U.S. Special Operations Command South, was designed to promote military-to-military relationships, increase interoperability and improve regional security.
“This is the one forum that we have annually where we can come together as a region and talk about ideas, [about how to] increase our effect, collectively, against these dangerous non-state-actor threats we face,” Navy Rear Adm. Thomas L. Brown II, commander of Special Operations Command South, told American Forces Press Service.
These are just two examples of a broad Southcom exercise program that last year alone included hundreds of training and educational events, 12 major multinational exercises with regional partners and 56 medical readiness training exercises in 13 countries, according to Army Maj. Gen. Gerald W. Ketchum, the command’s director of theater engagement.
“You don’t want to show up on game day for the big game, when you have never practiced together,” Ketchum told American Forces Press Service at the Southcom headquarters here. “And that is really what the exercise program is all about.”
Toward that end, the exercise program centers on four basic pillars: security and illegal migration and illicit trafficking, peacekeeping, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
The annual Peacekeeping Operations-Americas exercise that wrapped up last month brought together the United States and 15 partner nations to train in skills needed to serve as peacekeepers in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
U.S. Army South sponsored the four-phase exercise, conducted over the course of three months in Chile and the Dominican Republic in support of the State Department’s Global Peace Operations Initiative. ...

Army engineers and medical professionals currently deployed to Honduras and Guatemala for Beyond the Horizon 2012 are providing medical, dental and engineering support. Participants in another joint humanitarian exercise, New Horizons 2012, are providing training, free medical care and critical infrastructure in poor areas of Peru. ...

Among Southcom’s array of multinational security exercises, PANAMAX remains the largest. The annual exercise focuses on supporting the Panamanian government in defense of the strategic Panama Canal. Eighteen nations participated in last year’s exercise, working to improve the interoperability of their military and civil forces to guarantee safe passage through the canal and ensure its neutrality. ...


Ketchum cited the growing success of the exercise as partners in the region step up to assume major leadership roles. Colombia took on the land component commander role last year, and will retain it during this year’s PANAMAX, in August. “They have embraced this role, and done a wonderful job,” Ketchum said. “Ultimately, that’s good for all of us, because we need interoperability and we need to be able to communicate with each other.”

Meanwhile, Brazil is preparing to assume leadership of the maritime component role during the upcoming PANAMAX, Fraser told Congress earlier this year. Fraser called the move “an important step in strengthening the expanding partnerships in the hemisphere.”

Document: Joint Press Release on the United States - Colombia Action Plan on Regional Security Cooperation

The United States and Colombia already provide direct operational support and indirect capacity building efforts to countries throughout the hemisphere and West Africa. One example of direct combined U.S. and Colombian operational efforts is OPERATION MARTILLO, where the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force – South (JIATF-S) and Colombian Navy and Air Forces are coordinating air and maritime detection, monitoring, and interdiction efforts to detect and disrupt transnational organized criminal elements who exploit the extensive coasts and sparsely populated interior throughout Central America.

An example of complementary capacity building efforts includes the Central America Regional Police Reform Project. With funding from the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI), the Colombian National Police provides training and assistance in such topics as community policing, police academy instructor training, and curriculum development in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Panama.

Document: Section 1209 and Section 1203(b) Report to Congress On Foreign-Assistance Related Programs for Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010

Program: Section 1004 Counter-Drug Assistance

CN support in Colombia has developed a robust COLAF personnel recovery program. The comprehensive system includes trained personnel, aviation and ground assets, and a responsive command and control network, capable of retrieving isolated personnel from all locations within Colombia. The program is integrated with assets on standby to react at a moment’s notice. DoD is integrated into the COLAF network and has gained access to these critical assets for USG citizens working and touring in Colombia.

Colombia’s section 1033 purchased Midnight Express boats. They are a highly effective and integrated part of JIATF-S/and the Colombian Navy/Coast Guard interdiction efforts on the Pacific and Caribbean coast against the Self-Propelled Semi-submersible (SPSS) threats.

Document: Section 1209 and Section 1203(b) Report to Congress On Foreign-Assistance Related Programs for Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010

Program: Section 1004 Counter-Drug Assistance

In 2003, the Colombian Government partnered with the USG to restart its Air Bridge Denial program against aerial trafficking. Since then, the Colombian Air Force has established aerial sovereignty over Colombia. Due to the success of this program, traffickers now predominately use the semi-submersible or Go-Fast boat as the conveyance of choice. This program has been so successful, that in 2010 the Dominican Republic purchased A- 29 Super Tucanos for aerial interception operations. As a result of the Colombian and Dominican Air Force cooperation on the tactics, techniques and procedures for Air Bridge Denial aerial trafficking patterns have shifted within the Caribbean.

Document: Section 1209 and Section 1203(b) Report to Congress On Foreign-Assistance Related Programs for Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010

Program: Section 1004 Counter-Drug Assistance

USSOUTHCOM’s counterdrug programs have supported the development of a Regional Helicopter Training Center in Melgar, Colombia that is meeting Colombia’s IERW requirements, while concurrently training Mexican Army and Navy students to become rotary wing pilots. Colombia’s Maritime Training Center in Cartagena, as well as the Colombian Marine Corps Training Center in Covenas is actively training regional forces in both South and Central America. ... U.S. CN support is designed to professionalize the Colombian Army’s noncommissioned officer corps which is now providing training to select countries within Latin America. Finally, the Colombian Air Force’s ability to conduct air bridge denial operations using their tactical tracker and interceptor aircraft has been transferred to the Dominican Republic through training in A-29 interception operations and ground control interceptor controller capabilities.

Document: Section 1209 and Section 1203(b) Report to Congress On Foreign-Assistance Related Programs for Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010

Program: Section 1004 Counter-Drug Assistance

USSOUTHCOM’s counterdrug programs continue to provide the Colombian military battlefield training techniques that have significantly reduced the death rate from wounds to rates equivalent to U.S. forces. These capabilities are now being exported via Colombian subject matter expert exchanges into other PN security forces in countries like Peru and Panama.

Document: Section 1209 and Section 1203(b) Report to Congress On Foreign-Assistance Related Programs for Fiscal Years 2008, 2009, and 2010

Program: Section 1004 Counter-Drug Assistance

An excellent example of institutionalizing knowledge in a PN as a result of DoD CN support is the Regional Helicopter Training Center in Colombia. DoD CN funding has provided Colombia with a robust initial entry rotary wing (IERW) training program to build Colombia’s cadre of helicopter pilots trained to U.S. DoD standards. In 2010, the USG requested and the GOC accepted the responsibility to train 24 Mexican CN helicopter pilots yearly at the school. Since then, Colombia has graduated 21 students and currently is training another full class.

Document: International Narcotics and Law Enforcement: FY 2012 Program and Budget Guide

Program: International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement

Program Overview

After achieving notable results in improving security,
disrupting the drug trade and expanding a government presence throughout the country,
Colombia is now working to consolidate this progress and share its expertise with others in
the region. The Colombian National Police (CNP) is our closest partner in promoting citizen
security throughout the region and elsewhere in the world. Since 2009, the CNP has trained
approximately 9,000 police from Latin America and West Africa in areas such as criminal
investigation skills, rural commando skills, VIP protection,
intelligence/counter-intelligence, anti-kidnapping/anti-extortion, and canine programs.

To help the Colombian Government implement their National Consolidation Plan, the United
States will continue to provide assistance to support Colombian-led interdiction and
eradication programs. U.S. programs will also enhance the CNP's capability to maintain a
security presence in former conflict and drug trafficking regions, while also expanding
access to state institutions and services in these regions. FY 2012 funds will also be used
to promote and expand local drug prevention programs and encourage the demobilization of
illegal, armed combatants.

Program Goals and Objectives

U.S.
counternarcotics and rule of law assistance supports the Government of Colombia's (GOC)
broad programs that help keep several hundred metric tons of cocaine and heroin from
reaching the United States. The U.S. is increasingly focusing its resources to support
Colombia's National Consolidation Plan, which calls for concentrated efforts to expand state
presence and services in targeted geographic areas where poverty, violence, and illicit crop
cultivation or narcotics trafficking have historically converged. Our programs address
several priority consolidation zones, i.e., areas where insecurity, drug cultivation and
trafficking and a lack of alternative development remain impediments to democratic
development. Within these priority areas, counternarcotics programs are being closely
sequenced with expanding state presence and alternative development to promote more
permanent eradication results.

Objective 1: Continue to support Colombia's
increasing capacity to combat the drug trade through counternarcotics programs closely
coordinated with alternative development.

Objective 2: Assist the GOC in
expanding security and justice in remote and former conflict regions.

Objective
3: Improve the capability of Colombia's Attorney General's Office, particularly its
Human Rights and Justice and Peace Units.

Objective 4: Enhance cooperation
with Colombia to promote regional training and coordination on counternarcotics and citizen
safety initiatives.

FY 2012 Program

Stabilization Operations and
Security Sector Reform

Attorney General's Office

- Funding
will support training, including that provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, for Colombian
agencies that provide protection at Colombia's courts and protect witnesses, prosecutors and
judges.

Reestablishing Rural Police

- Expanding the
government's ability to secure former conflict regions is fundamental to achieving more
lasting eradication and promoting human rights and citizen security. Funding will support
increases in the number of trained and equipped rural police and provide weapons, ammunition
and transportation.

Individual Deserter Program

- U.S.
assistance will provide for the continued support of subject matter expertise to bolster the
Colombian Ministry of Defense's demobilization program. A team of U.S.-supported advisors
offers tailored demobilization and prevention of illegal recruitment strategies, as well as
advanced database management tools.

Strategic Initiative – Rule of Law

- Colombia's police and judicial system are confronting multiple security
challenges, both in urban and rural settings, which go beyond traditional counternarcotics
and rule of law programs. In concert with Colombia's comprehensive strategy to combat the
emergent "bandas criminales" (BACRIM), this program will enhance capacity in both Colombia's
police and justice system to address this disparate threat by supporting some of the new
anti-BACRIM units being created in Colombia's security forces and Prosecutor General's
Office. Assistance will consist of training and specialized equipment, such as communication
and intelligence support. Funds will also be used to support Colombia's National
Consolidation Plan, particularly efforts to increase access to justice in consolidation
zones.

Counternarcotics

Colombian Military

-
Navy Maritime Interdiction: Further expands the Colombian Coast Guard's presence
throughout the Pacific coast where a majority of the drugs destined for the Unites States
depart. The USG will support limited infrastructure and base construction off of Colombia's
Pacific coastline, purchase equipment and weapons for Coast Guard personnel and support
maritime interdiction training. Some funds will also be used to support similar Colombian
Navy programs along their Caribbean coast.

Colombian National Police (CNP)

- CNP Aviation Support: Supports an aviation contract that
provides mechanics, a small number of pilots to oversee Colombian pilots, and supplies
aviation parts and training. This enables CNP Aviation to provide important support for a
range of counternarcotics activities, including security for aerial eradication, transport
for manual eradication personnel, interdiction missions and high-value target
operations.

- CNP Eradication: Aerial eradication is an important tool
in consolidation efforts. It allows the Colombian government to eradicate areas that are not
safe for manual eradication and can more quickly target large coca growing areas. Funding
under this line supports the Colombian National Police with an aviation contract that
supplies spray pilots, parts, and logistics for up to 12 AT-802 spray planes and two Cessna
208 imagery gathering aircraft. Sustained aerial and manual eradication operations in 2009
are credited with a 3 percent reduction in coca cultivation compared to 2008, from 119,000
to 116,000 hectares, as well as a decline in pure cocaine production potential of 3.5
percent, from 280 metric tons (MT) in 2008 to 270 MT in 2009 - a 61 percent drop from the
700 MT estimated production potential in 2001. We are working closely with the Colombian
government to nationalize components of this program, including purchasing of the glyphosate
used in aerial eradication and building a cadre of Colombian mechanics for the AT-802s.

- CNP Interdiction: Trains and equips specialized CNP interdiction units.
Supports interdiction programs at Colombia's ports and airports, including purchasing
scanning equipment and providing training to the CNP. Enhances security and capacity at
rural CNP stations in consolidation areas through security training and infrastructure
upgrades.

- Establishing Rural Police Presence: Funding will also
provide training, weapons and mine detection equipment to rural police/Carabineros that
provide protection for manual eradicators.

Drug Demand Prevention

- U.S. support will help strengthen local anti-drug community organizations, as
well as expand the CNP's Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program.

Rule of
Law and Human Rights

Attorney General's Office

- Assisting
the GOC in investigating and prosecuting human rights cases is a U.S. government priority.
Increasing the administrative capability of the Colombian Prosecutor General's Office, along
with building capacity within this office's Human Rights and Justice and Peace units, will
be focal points of funding under this account.

Justice Sector Reform Program

- Provide training and equipment for the expansion of criminal justice
operations and activities into consolidation areas by enhancing the work of the Fiscalia's
regional offices and judicial training for government officials in these regions. Support
for training in the new accusatory system and criminal code will continue.

Document: International Narcotics Control Strategy Report

Program: International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement

The United States recognizes that it has a "shared responsibility" to assist nations struggling with drug production and trafficking. In Colombia, the USG provides a range of assistance to the CNP and Colombian military, as well as to judicial institutions that investigate and prosecute drug traffickers and human rights offenders. Counternarcotics assistance to the CNP and military includes support for a range of interdiction and eradication operations, as well as programs designed to develop rural policing capabilities. Interdiction support encompasses land, sea and air operations, and efforts are underway to expand the GOC's interdiction capabilities along its Pacific coast. Eradication uses both manual and aerial operations and focuses on strategic coca-growing zones. To support Colombia's National Consolidation Plan, the USG is providing equipment and training to rural security forces in order to help them establish a permanent presence in former conflict and coca growing areas.

The USG also provides alternative development assistance in support of the National Consolidation Plan (PNC). In transition zones where the GOC has only recently established minimum security, the USG works with government actors to support immediate, short-term activities to meet urgent economic and social needs. This includes meeting basic food security needs as well as quick impact priority community projects such as road improvement, bridges, health posts and electrification to demonstrate the benefits of state presence and accelerate the areas' recovery from the effects of conflict and eradication. Medium- and longer-term assistance include strengthening producer associations, increasing market opportunities for licit crops, and technical assistance to civilian agencies of the state to ensure permanent presence at the local level.

In 2008, the United States and Colombia began working closely to transfer operational and financial responsibility ("nationalization") for selected counternarcotics programs to Colombian management and funding. Since that time, Colombia has successfully nationalized several programs, including the Air Bridge Denial program and taking title and support responsibility for 72 fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. Alternative development programs have leveraged approximately $8 of outside funding for every $1 of USG funding from local governments, beneficiary groups, and private sector actors. Reflecting Colombia's increasing capability, the GOC has taken an important and active role in training police and justice officials from many Latin American and African countries, including Haiti, Mexico, Honduras, and Panama.

Moving beyond strictly counternarcotics issues, the USCG conducted three resident courses in search and rescue, law enforcement, port security and professional development in 2011.