theredplough
05-11-2007, 10:59 PM
COLOMBIA has made its largest ever drugs seizure, with almost 25 tonnes of cocaine, valued at £250 million, found ready for export in a hide on the coast.
The discovery, near the town of Pizarro in the province of Choco, was the result of eight months of undercover work by Colombia's secret intelligence service, the DAS, which received a tip-off the huge consignment had been put together.
The drugs, in waterproof, vacuum-packed bricks, were about to be loaded on to "go fast" launches to make the trip along the Pacific coast towards Mexico. The high-speed motor boats were to either rendezvous with larger ships or transfer the drugs to other launches which would take them to Central America or Mexico where Mexican cartels would smuggle the cocaine across the border in to the United States.
Intelligence sources told The Scotsman that the drugs belonged to various drugs trafficking organisations that had pooled this shipment, but that the principal owners were the Norte Del Valle cartel and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Norte Del Valle cartel, the successor of the Medellin and Cali cartels, is the last of the great cartels and its leaders are among America's most wanted, with £2.5 million rewards on their heads.
The seizure will be good news for Columbia's president, Alvaro Uribe, who arrives in Washington today to defend his government against accusations that $4 billion invested the war on drugs has been a failure.
Mr Uribe will also have to answer some difficult questions about his government's links to right-wing paramilitaries, after his former DAS chief, Jorge Noguera, was arrested and accused of feeding the paramilitary information about suspected guerrilla sympathisers who were later assassinated.
The war on drugs is not going well. The US anti-drug czar, John Walters, last week admitted that cocaine prices were falling and purity rising, undermining the White House narcotics strategy and perhaps preparing the way for a change in direction, which may involve cutting back aid to Colombia and concentrating more on demand reduction and interdiction.
This is something Mr Uribe is desperate to avoid as he needs the £400 million in US aid every year to keep up the pressure on the FARC.
US authorities insist the Norte del Valle cartel has smuggled well in excess of 500 tonnes of cocaine to the American mainland. The Norte del Valle cartel had strong links to right-wing paramilitaries that fought the guerrillas, but since the demobilisation of the paramilitary United Self Defence Forces of Colombia, drugs traffickers have begun to work more closely with the left-wing rebels, who can guarantee them a steady supply of cocaine. The cartels have the established smuggling routes that the guerrillas lack, making the two sides a perfect business partnership.
"The guerrillas and the cartels put aside any political problems they had in the past. The bottom line is money and working together is the best way for both sides to earn," said a DEA source.
• THE FARC, a 12,000-strong Marxist guerrilla army which has been fighting to overthrow the government for more than four decades, has become one of the most powerful players in the Colombian drugs world. All coca farmers in the area they control have to sell to guerrilla-appointed buyers at fixed prices, ensuring that in much of Colombia the FARC now have a monopoly on drug production. There are US indictments and extradition warrants pending for almost 50 of the FARC's top commanders on charges of drugs trafficking.
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=676312007
The discovery, near the town of Pizarro in the province of Choco, was the result of eight months of undercover work by Colombia's secret intelligence service, the DAS, which received a tip-off the huge consignment had been put together.
The drugs, in waterproof, vacuum-packed bricks, were about to be loaded on to "go fast" launches to make the trip along the Pacific coast towards Mexico. The high-speed motor boats were to either rendezvous with larger ships or transfer the drugs to other launches which would take them to Central America or Mexico where Mexican cartels would smuggle the cocaine across the border in to the United States.
Intelligence sources told The Scotsman that the drugs belonged to various drugs trafficking organisations that had pooled this shipment, but that the principal owners were the Norte Del Valle cartel and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Norte Del Valle cartel, the successor of the Medellin and Cali cartels, is the last of the great cartels and its leaders are among America's most wanted, with £2.5 million rewards on their heads.
The seizure will be good news for Columbia's president, Alvaro Uribe, who arrives in Washington today to defend his government against accusations that $4 billion invested the war on drugs has been a failure.
Mr Uribe will also have to answer some difficult questions about his government's links to right-wing paramilitaries, after his former DAS chief, Jorge Noguera, was arrested and accused of feeding the paramilitary information about suspected guerrilla sympathisers who were later assassinated.
The war on drugs is not going well. The US anti-drug czar, John Walters, last week admitted that cocaine prices were falling and purity rising, undermining the White House narcotics strategy and perhaps preparing the way for a change in direction, which may involve cutting back aid to Colombia and concentrating more on demand reduction and interdiction.
This is something Mr Uribe is desperate to avoid as he needs the £400 million in US aid every year to keep up the pressure on the FARC.
US authorities insist the Norte del Valle cartel has smuggled well in excess of 500 tonnes of cocaine to the American mainland. The Norte del Valle cartel had strong links to right-wing paramilitaries that fought the guerrillas, but since the demobilisation of the paramilitary United Self Defence Forces of Colombia, drugs traffickers have begun to work more closely with the left-wing rebels, who can guarantee them a steady supply of cocaine. The cartels have the established smuggling routes that the guerrillas lack, making the two sides a perfect business partnership.
"The guerrillas and the cartels put aside any political problems they had in the past. The bottom line is money and working together is the best way for both sides to earn," said a DEA source.
• THE FARC, a 12,000-strong Marxist guerrilla army which has been fighting to overthrow the government for more than four decades, has become one of the most powerful players in the Colombian drugs world. All coca farmers in the area they control have to sell to guerrilla-appointed buyers at fixed prices, ensuring that in much of Colombia the FARC now have a monopoly on drug production. There are US indictments and extradition warrants pending for almost 50 of the FARC's top commanders on charges of drugs trafficking.
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=676312007