?Recycled? Paramilitary Groups Threaten Colombia
As the U.S. prepares to give millions of dollars in
aid to Colombia?s police and military programs, a
report has been released by the Department of
Defense that calls in to question the progress of
the paramilitary demobilization process. The 40 page
report, that is called Bacrim, details what is
being called the ?third generation? of paramilitary
groups in Colombia. It has been reported that 22 new
paramilitary groups have formed out of the remains of
demobilized paramilitary blocks. It is estimated
that these groups include 2,500 armed men, and
networks that cover the entire country. Unlike their
predessesors, these new groups seemed to be focused
almost entirely on profiting from, and controlling
Colombia?s drug trade. The OAS has stated that, "No
longer do they use camouflage, but they maintain
the control on the civil population of the zone.
And they even carried out a census to impose coke
production quotas".
There have been reports of paramilitary ?recycling?
since January 2005. One example is a group called
the ?Eagles?, that is made up of demobilized
paramilitaries from the Central Bolivar Block, and
have groups throughout several regions. In Feburary
of this year in Ocaña, the Eagles called a meeting
of all the merchants of the town. When they were all
assembled, the leader gave an order to his men, who
then savagely beat a man who was masked on the
floor. The leader of the group, Sinai, then
threatened that this same thing would happen to the
merchants or their families if they did not pay
their quota, or if they dared denounce them.
In some cases it seems almost as if leaders of
demobilized paramilitary groups have planned for
re-organization long in advance. In one case, Hernán
Giraldo, commander of the Resistance Block of
Tayrona, who on February 3 demobilized his group of
1,166 men warned that some structure of the group
would stay intact. Immediately after politely
conducting the formal process of demobilization,
Giraldo whispered to several assistants in the group
that they would keep a good number of arms in case
the government decided to break the agreements of
Santa fe de Ralito. He was also heard saying that,
?The is for if we decided to regroup?.
The fact that many former paramilitaries have
re-organized themselves is proof to the fact that
the re-intergration programs in place are not being
successful. Ernesto Báez, political spokesman of
the AUC noted in an interview that only 1,500 of the
30,000 demobilized persons have found work, and that
few have hope for succeeding in a society that they
believe to be ?cowardly, opportunistic, and
egotistical?. When after demobilization, they find
that they cannot easily find work and become part of
normal society, they resolved themselves to continue
a life of crime. Báez concluded his interview with
a daunting prediction, ?if they don?t help the
demobilized, the next paramilitary generation will
be more violent and bloodthirsty than the previous?.
Colombian Coca Cultivation Increases
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
released a new report this week, detailing the drug
cultivation and production of the Andean region. The
report showed that overall coca cultivation rose by
one percent to 159,600 hectares from 2004. The
Andean region is the only place where coca is
cultivated, so these numbers also reflect the global
output of cocaine.
This increase is the result of coca production
increasing by 8% in Colombia but dropping in both
Bolivia and Peru. Colombia remained the world's
largest coca grower in 2005, accounting for 54
percent of total cultivation. UNODC Executive
Director Antonio Maria Costa said at the
presentation of the report in Bogota that, "The
drug control balance in the Andean region is
fragile. Governments are trying to hold the line on
the significant reductions that have been made in
the past five years and overall figures remain
nearly a third below their peak of 2000. But they
need substantial international assistance so they
can provide poor coca farmers with sustainable
alternative livelihoods."
The number of hectares under coca cultivation in
Colombia rose from 80,000 to 86,000 in 2005. This
increase marks a significant increase after four
years of decreases. The report is quick to note
however, that 86,000 hectares is a vast improvement
compared to coca cultivation at its peak with
163,300 hectares in 2000.
In addition, new research by UNODC and the Colombian
government shows that coca crops have been producing
a substantially higher yield than was previously
realized. Thus in the report, production levels have
been calculated on the basis of this new
information. Mr. Costa noted that, "The higher than
expected average annual yields may help to explain
why the price and purity of cocaine have remained
steady on the streets of consuming countries despite
the overall reduction in world supply and a dramatic
increase in cocaine seizures?. Colombia topped the
list for the third year in a row for the country
with the highest number of cocaine seizures.
To read the complete report by the UNODC click here
