This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 006342 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/LP, WHA/AND 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2016 
TAGS:          
SUBJECT: GOC SEEKS MORE ERADICATION, FUNDS OWN SPRAY 
OPERATION 
 
REF: BOGOTA 00602 
 
 1.  (SBU) Summary: President Uribe has responded to estimates 
that coca cultivation is on the rise in Colombia by pressing 
the GOC and the United States to substantially increase 
bilateral eradication efforts. After intensive meetings to 
discuss eradication, Ambassador Wood and Minister of Defense 
Ospina agreed June 27 on several methods of increasing coca 
spraying and jointly pledged to raise 2006 coca spray goals 
by almost 25 percent to 160,000 hectares.  The GOC has 
demonstrated its commitment to increase spraying by pledging 
USD 4.5 million for its own spray operation.  Please see the 
action request in paragraph 11.  End summary. 
 
More Eradication Needed, Says GOC 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
 2.  (C)  Ambassador Wood was called to two meetings (June 20 
and 27) with Minister of Defense (MOD) Camilo Alfonso Ospina 
Bernal to discuss ways to increase aerial eradication of coca 
in 2006.  In the first meeting, MOD Ospina urged more coca 
spraying, explaining that he was acting under presidential 
orders and in response to the June 20 release of 2005 UN/GOC 
figures estimating that coca cultivation had increased by 10 
percent from 2004. 
 
 3.  (SBU)  The Embassy spent the week in between the two 
meetings evaluating proposals to increase spraying in the 
short term.  An initial focus was on ways to reduce the 50 
percent of planned missions that are cancelled due to adverse 
weather conditions, but deeper analysis showed that 
alteration of the GOC,s Environmental Management Plan for 
Aerial Eradication is not possible without potentially 
serious undesirable side effects such as increased impacts on 
spray planes or an increase in collateral environmental 
damage.  An Embassy team then studied other possible changes 
in spray operations that could result in the eradication of 
an increased number of hectares of coca. 
 
 4.  (C) The Ambassador renewed the discussion with the MOD 
and his military staff on June 27 with the following 
proposals to increase coca spraying: 
 
A)  If the GOC assumes responsibility for opium poppy via 
manual eradication, the T-65 spray aircraft could be 
reprogrammed to go after coca alone.  This would gain the 
program an estimated 12,000 hectares of sprayed coca during 
the six months left in 2006. 
 
B)  If GOC policymakers respect the bilateral spray plan and 
do not order adjustments for political reasons, spray 
packages will maximize efficiency and spray more coca.  This 
would "save" the program some 18,000 hectares that were lost 
in late 2005 when the AT-802 spray package was sent 
prematurely in November to Narino, where predictably 
inclement weather grounded spray aircraft for 50 days through 
the end of the year. 
 
C)  If the GOC were to eliminate restrictions against 
spraying in indigenous reserves, national parks, and along 
the Ecuador border, this would open up new areas of dense, 
highly-productive coca to spraying, increasing spray 
productivity and removing more potential cocaine from the 
market by eradication.  CNC has not estimated total coca 
cultivation in indigenous reserves, national parks, and the 
10 kilometer buffer zone along the Ecuador border, but the 
Colombian National Police (CNP) estimates that these areas 
contain 7,350 (indigenous), 8,375 (parks), and 6,000 (border) 
hectares of coca. 
 
 5.  (C)  At the June 27 meeting, the MOD agreed that the GOC 
would tackle opium poppy eradication manually and that the 
GOC would limit politically-motivated adjustments to the 
spray plan.  He also pledged to work with the GOC Minister of 
Interior and Justice Sabas Pretelt to determine the status of 
eradication in protected areas (i.e., indigenous areas, 
national parks, and the border) and to facilitate law 
enforcement activity (spraying) throughout Colombian soil. 
 
 6. (C) In return, by mutual agreement, the 2006 coca spray 
goal was increased by 30,000 hectares to a total of 160,000 
hectares. 
 
GOC Launches Own Spray Operation 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 7. (SBU)  Concurrent with the above meetings, the Embassy was 
informed on June 22 by General Jorge Baron, head of the 
CNP,s Anti-narcotics Directorate, that President Uribe has 
ordered the Ministry of Treasury to allocate some USD 4.5 
million for the purchase of spray planes.  General Baron 
reported that he had already gotten preliminary proposals 
from several companies on lease-purchase plans for AT-402, 
AT-602, and T-65 spray planes.  A formal GOC solicitation 
process for spray planes will be launched in the near future, 
once terms of reference are worked out.  General Baron 
estimated that it would take at least three to four months 
before the required GOC bidding process can be completed. 
 
 8.  (SBU)  The GOC funding is only sufficient to cover the 
lease-purchase of the spray planes (although the proposed 
packages also include pilots who will train GOC spray 
pilots).  General Baron requested USG assistance in 
purchasing the chemicals used in the aerial eradication 
program (while details are too preliminary to make an 
accurate estimate, a four-plane operation would probably use 
around USD 4 million in chemicals per year).  Many other 
issues in regards to the GOC spray operation remain - 
security helicopters to accompany the GOC spray planes; 
supporting ground personnel; additional forward operating 
locations; and required navigational and tracking equipment 
for the spray planes. 
 
Moving Forward 
--------------------- 
 
 9.  (SBU)  Opium Poppy:  Ambassador Wood has already sent the 
MOD a letter requesting a commitment in writing to give 
priority to the manual eradication of opium poppy.  The 
Embassy has offered planning, logistical, and equipment 
support for manual poppy eradication and is awaiting a formal 
GOC plan, which is forthcoming.  At the same time, NAS is 
working with the CNP to revise the annual spray plan to 
redirect the T-65,s to full time coca eradication. 
 
 10.  (SBU)  Indigenous Reserves ("Resguardos"):  The CNP 
received, following the June 27 meeting, a resolution signed 
by the National Council of Dangerous Drugs Director/Minister 
of Interior and Justice Sabas Pretelt.  The resolution grants 
authority to spray in three resguardos.  The resolution 
became official July 10 after its approval by the National 
Council of Dangerous Drugs and is the first movement forward 
in getting permission to spray in the "protected" areas since 
 2005. 
 
Action Requested: 
--------------------- 
 
 11.  (U)  For INL/A:  The Embassy urgently needs a per 
hectare estimate for how much each hectare over the 130,000 
contracted amount will cost.  That is, now that the Embassy 
has raised its goal from 130,000 to 160,000 hectares for the 
first contract year (see reftel), how much will the 
additional 30,000 hectares cost the USG? 
 
 12.  (SBU)  Comment.  Ever since the publication of the CNC 
coca cultivation estimate in March 2006, various GOC 
officials have been saying, in private and in public, that 
the GOC remains committed to eradication and in fact wishes 
to redouble its eradication efforts in order to have 
substantial decreases in coca cultivation in 2006.  The GOC 
initiative to purchase four additional spray aircraft with 
USD 4.5 million from the GOC,s own budget demonstrates an 
unprecedented GOC commitment to increased coca spraying.  End 
comment. 
WOOD