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Quietly U.S. Special Forces Enter Colombia to Train Troops
By Ibon Villelabeitia
Reuters
Friday 17 January 2003
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Some 60 U.S. Special Forces members have quietly flown into a lawless Colombian region to train local troops to protect a key oil pipeline from Marxist rebels, U.S. and Colombian officials said on Friday.
The arrival of the U.S. soldiers, who join 10 other American Special Forces already on the ground in the eastern, oil-rich province of Arauca since early December, marks a deeper involvement for Washington in the South American nation's four-decade-old guerrilla war.
The U.S. personnel, who are staying at two military bases in what is one of Colombia's most violent areas, will train a Colombian army brigade to defend the Cano Limon pipeline.
Marxist rebels seeking extortion money bombed the pipeline, which serves an oilfield operated by U.S. firm Occidental Petroleum, 40 times in 2002 and a record 170 times the year before.
The United States has been wary of getting involved in the Andean nation's messy war, which claims thousands of lives a year and pits rebels against right-wing paramilitary outlaws and the state security forces.
Aid was long restricted to the fight against Colombia's massive cocaine industry, but, following the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States authorized Bogota to use American assistance against illegal armed groups it dubs "terrorists."
The training, which is scheduled to begin in two weeks, is part of a proposed $98 million aid package.
"The plan is to start training in two weeks. The U.S. Special Forces will require a lot of equipment so there will be a lot of flights coming to Arauca in the next days," a U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The supplies include surveillance and monitoring hardware as well as materials to deactivate explosives.
Under U.S. law, the official said the Special Forces will not be allowed to engage in combat.
ONE OF COLOMBIA'S MOST DANGEROUS TOWNS
The official said the U.S. personnel, who belong to the U.S. Special Forces 7th Group based in Fort Bragg, N.C., will train Colombian troops in the "detection and interdiction of potential damage to infrastructure.
The 490-mile pipeline is a favorite target of both the 17,000-strong Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- Latin America's oldest guerrilla army known as FARC -- and the smaller Cuban-inspired National Liberation Army, or ELN.
The U.S. soldiers are staying in bases in Arauca and Saravena, towns heavily infiltrated by rebels and declared as "special combat zones" last year by President Alvaro Uribe to rein in violence. Military presence has been stepped up.
Saravena is one of the most violent towns in Colombia, and local troops live in heavily fortified barracks in constant fear of rebel snipers. The guerrillas, who punish local people who fraternize with the security forces, have even targeted the troops' pet dog, police say.
Last week, FARC rebels set off three car bombs in Arauca province, killing 5 civilians and wounding 15.
Under the $2 billion U.S. "Plan Colombia," U.S. Special Forces in 2001 trained three Colombian anti-drug battalions in the south to fight the booming cocaine trade, which is a significant source of funding for illegal armed groups.
Uribe, who took office in August pledging to crack down on illegal armed groups on the right and left, is lobbying for more U.S. military aid, including more intelligence and the resumption of anti-drug interdiction flights. Colombia is the third-largest recipient of U.S. aid.
Protecting Cano Limon, Colombia's second-largest export pipeline, is a key goal of Uribe, who depends on oil revenues to boost military and social spending. Oil is Colombia's top source of foreign income.
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