Spanish police nab sailboat and cocaine cargo

Spanish police have seized 600 kilos (1,320 pounds) of cocaine on a sailboat in the Atlantic bound for Spain in a drugs operation that netted seven suspects, including three Europeans, police said Saturday.

The cocaine had been transferred to the British-registered sailboat off the coast of the island of Antigua in the Antilles, a police statement said.

Police, who had been following the sailboat since last month, intercepted it between the Portuguese islands of the Azores and Madeira and found on board 600 packets each containing a kilo of cocaine.

Three European crew members from France, Italy and Spain were arrested in the operation. Four others from Colombia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, picked up by police in Madrid, are suspected of being responsible for the drugs network, police said.

Anti-narcotics officials believe Portugal and Spain have become the main points of entry into Europe for cocaine coming from Latin America.

In related news, a man claiming to be a Catholic priest was arrested Friday at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport after he was caught carrying 3.5 kilograms of cocaine under his robes, a spokesman for Dutch border police said.

New armed groups in Colombia threaten prospects for peace

For decades, Colombians have been caught in the crossfire between leftist guerillas (FARC, ELN) and right-wing paramilitary organizations. In 2003, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe signed a peace deal with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the country’s largest paramilitary group, in an effort to initiate a transition from war to peace. Since then, over thirty thousand combatants have demobilized and requested legal, economic, and social benefits under the Justice and Peace Law of 2005 (Ley 975- in Spanish).

In early 2006, the Organization of American States (OAS) Peace Support Mission in Colombia (MAPP/OEA) and civil society organizations warned of a possible rearming of demobilized paramilitary groups and the merging of former paramilitary members with transnational criminal syndicates. Evidence has since emerged that these new armed groups also established relations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN). According to the March 2006 OAS report:

In regions where guerrilla activity is low and the entry of the forces of law and order has not been effective, conditions arise under which various armed illegal groups can assume control. In these areas, the problem arises when middle-level demobilized combatants step into the vacuum. They assume control of the criminal activities that were traditionally the preserve of the units or groups based there (extortion, levies on drug production, social cleansing, alliances with local administrations) and organize themselves into small groups, armed with side arms, remaining in urban areas and communicating by cell phones.

The report also points out:

There is a risk of demobilized sectors of the population being co-opted, and of new combatants being recruited. This phenomenon has emerged primarily in areas with consolidated illegal economies.

On January 11, 2008 Stephanie Hanson of the Council on Foreign Relations published "Colombia’s Right-Wing Paramilitaries and Splinter Groups," providing an insightful assessment of this developing situation. The report is available at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Related information:
In May 2007, the International Crisis Group published a similar report on the emergence of "Colombia's New Armed Groups" which urged the Colombian government to move beyond treating the groups as simple "criminal gangs" but as organizations requiring an urgent and comprehensive response.

For additional information on Colombia's illegal armed groups:
FARC, ELN, AUC Backgrounder (Council on Foreign Relations)

Photo by Jason P. Howe

Narco-submarines used for shipping tons of cocaine

On September 11, 2000, reports began to circulate regarding super-sized narco-submarine construction efforts underway in Bogota, Colombia, raising many incredulous eyebrows in the process. "They won't believe me in Washington," said Leo Arreguin, the surprised DEA director in Colombia, on stumbling upon the most spectacular findings of his career as an anti-narcotics agent. Arreguin had discovered a submarine 36 meters (118 feet) long and capable of transporting up to 15 tons of cocaine. "Never in my 32 years of police work have I seen something like this." According to police, the project was the result of efforts by Russian and Colombian mafias with ties to organized crime in the United States. Upon seeing the submarine, one Russian embassy official exclaimed, "This is technology from my country!"

Since 1994, traffickers have used mini-submarines to transport drugs, but Ismael Idrobo from the Colombian Naval Academy pointed out that never before had such a large vessel been discovered. Built in Bogota, the narco-submarine was to be dismantled into three sections and transported to Buenaventura, a seaside port located over 700 kilometers away. The vessel, weighing in at 150 tons, could have operated at depths of 100 meters (330 feet) and able to carry 10-15 tons of cargo while remaining submerged for over six hours at a time.

In 2003, the Spanish customs agency (SVA) reported that it suspected that mafias hailing from the northwest Spanish province of Galicia possessed submarines for carrying out their narcotics trafficking operations. At that time, the agency explained that Russian submarines had been up for sale and that narcotraffickers from various countries potentially could use them to evade counter-narcotics patrols. Then in 2006, Spanish police discovered a 10-meter long submarine near the Cies islands, close to the port city of Vigo. Not surprising, Vigo is an industrial city known for its long tradition of building submarines.

Since 2005, Colombia's navy has captured 18 homemade submarines. In November 2007, Colombian marines seized a makeshift submarine capable of smuggling up to 12 metric tons of cocaine through the Pacific to Central America. The vessel, under construction but nearly completed, was found in a rural area in south Nariño province and had enough space for four crew members. That same month, the Costa Rican Coast Guard announced that U.S. Coast Guards had seized a submarine carrying 3.5 tons of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica and arrested three Colombians on board. In December, Colombian forces, backed by the U.S. Coast Guard, stopped an underwater craft that was then sunk by its crew members in order to destroy their incriminating cargo. Since then, another submarine was discovered on January 4. In both cases, the smugglers opened the hatches to sink the vessels before they could be boarded by authorities. Each of these submarines had the capacity to ship 10 to 12 tons of cocaine to the United States.

In 2008, look for more discoveries of these narco-submarines off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, the worlds' fifth poorest country and an increasingly important transit hub for Colombian narcotics smuggled to Europe.

Colombian negotiations hinge on identity of three-year-old boy

Just when it appears that a group of hostages will finally be released by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Colombian negotiations suddenly unravel for one reason or another. The most recent episode of stalled negotiations hinge on resolving the mysterious identity of a three-year old boy named Emmanuel.

Clara Rojas was kidnapped by the FARC on February 23, 2002 along with presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt as the two campaigned in southern Colombia. In April 2006, journalist Jorge Enrique Botero reported that Rojas had given birth to a child named Emmanuel that she had conceived through a consensual relationship with a FARC guerrilla. This story was later confirmed in April 2007 when police officer John Frank Pinchao escaped from the FARC and gave information to authorities regarding the birth of Rojas' son.

On December 18, 2007, the FARC announced that it would release three captives, Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel, and former congresswoman Consuelo Gonzalez. However, since then numerous doubts have surfaced regarding the identity and whereabouts of Emmanuel. The FARC has also accused the government of intentionally sabotaging efforts to free the hostages by dispatching military personnel to the guerrilla-controlled areas.

After days of delays and accusations, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe announced on December 31 that he suspected that Rojas' son had actually been given to Colombian child welfare agents (ICBF) in June 2005 by a man claiming to be his great-uncle. Since then, the boy has undergone DNA testing to determine whether in fact he is the son of Clara Rojas. The test results are expected to be released on Friday.

My time in Colombia has come to an end

This will probably be my final blog entry from Colombia since today is my last day at IOM with internet access. During the past three months I have had a wonderful time working in Bogota and I have learned many valuable lessons about working in the field of international affairs. First, I have learned that getting your "foot in the door" of an international organization can be a little bit tricky and sometimes requires the help of friends, acquaintances, and kind-hearted strangers. I have also learned that while it can be exciting to live and work in an exotic locale such as Bogota, Colombia, sometimes the workload and tight deadlines can border on insane. Regarding the staff at IOM, I have learned that there are many hardworking and dedicated people striving everyday to make Colombia a better place for future generations. The staff here is absolutely phenomenal and I congratulate you on the wonderful things that you are doing.

I am grateful to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for allowing me this opportunity to work in such a fine organization. I would like to thank my co-workers for all their support -- especially my supervisors Catalina and Fernando. And while I am excited to see my friends and family again, I am also sorry to leave behind the many wonderful people that I have come to know in Colombia. You will definitely be missed.

So long, Colombia! Until next time...