Feral Jundi

Monday, May 9, 2011

Industry Talk: Global CST Doing ‘Too Good Of A Job’ In Latin America

If anyone remembers the raid that freed the American contractors and Ingrid Betancourt in Colombia, then you might have remembered me talking about Global CST’s supposed involvement.  Well, according to this article, this company was definitely kicking some butt and ruffling some feathers down in Latin America. lol It is an example of private industry competing with government forces in the war fighting department, and government getting all bent out of shape because the company is actually  good at what they are doing.

Which brings me to an interesting point here.  When the US shows some concern about a PMC, then there is a good chance that the company actually knows what they are doing.  And it makes sense, because the Israelis are very good at problem solving and war fighting.  Why wouldn’t a PMC like this not do well?  For more research into the company, I wrote about them awhile back and these guys will be the ones to watch down in Latin America and elsewhere. It would be a good one to contract with for the war against the cartels.

Also, it is interesting that the company has set up a Scribd and a Youtube Channel, but no Twitter or Facebook account?  They might as well go all out with the social networking effort if strategic communications is the intent? Just saying… –Matt

US saw Israeli firm’s rise in Latin America as a threat, cables show
By TIM JOHNSON
May 09, 2011
A security company led by the former head of operations for the Israeli military made such inroads into Latin America a few years ago that U.S. diplomats saw it as a security risk and moved to thwart the company’s expansion, U.S. diplomatic cables show.
The diplomats’ efforts were made easier when an interpreter for the Israeli firm, Global CST, was caught peddling classified Colombian Defense Ministry documents to Marxist guerrillas seeking to topple the state, one cable said.
Still, the ability of the Israeli security consultancy to obtain contracts in Colombia, Peru and Panama in rapid succession speaks to the prowess of retired Israeli military officers in peddling security know-how amid perceptions that they’d bring better results than official U.S. government assistance. (more…)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Colombia: Authorities Capture Kidnapper Of US Military Contractors

     Right on!  This is great news and I hope this bastard rots in a Colombian prison for a long time.  I am sure these guys below are happy as well. –Matt

‘Colombia captures kidnapper of US military contractors’

Tuesday, 22 February 2011

By Adriaan Alsema

Colombia’s Defense Minister said Tuesday authorities have arrested a FARC guerrilla held responsible for the 2003 kidnapping of three American military contractors.

According to Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera, the detainee is Alexander Beltran, alias “Rodrigo Pirinolo,” whose extradition was requested by the United States.

Following the crash of their airplane in the south of Colombia in February 2003, Northrop Grumman employees Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell and Thomas Howes were held captive by FARC guerrillas.

They were held hostage until July 2008 when the Colombian army rescued them, along with French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 11 members of the Colombian security forces in Operation Checkmate.

Story here.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Colombia: FARC Military Leader Mono Jojoy Death Is Blow To Four-Decade Insurgency

They said Operation Sodom, as it has been dubbed, started on Tuesday 21 September, when the heads of all three branches of the Colombian military, the police and the Ministry of Defence met in Bogota to finalise details of the attack.

In the early hours of Wednesday 22 September, 78 aircraft headed for the area known as La Escalera in the Macarena mountain range in Meta province.

They dropped dozens of bombs on Mono Jojoy’s camp, which Defence Minister Rodrigo Rivera has described as “the mother of all lairs” for its size and the number of hidden tunnels it had.

About 400 members of the Colombian special forces then abseiled from helicopters and surrounded the camp.

After hours of fighting, another 400 soldiers and police moved in on the camp, taking it in the early hours of Thursday morning. 

*****

     What can I say?  This is an incredible stroke of luck for the Colombian government in their war against the FARC, and bravo to them for pulling off such an operation.

     The first thing that jumped up at me was how they were able to find out who the boot manufacturer was that Mono used to make his custom made jungle boots.  Because from that little tip, this entire operation was grown.  Basically, once they had a fix on these boots, they were able to slip a GPS tracking device into them and follow the path these boots made from shop to secret jungle camp.

     Once the location was found, you can see from the quote up top that the government forces quickly took advantage.  They knew what they had, and they put everything they had into being successful.

     The use of their Embraer Super Tucanos in this operation is very interesting.  With these things, the cost of the air operation is significantly cheaper.  This aircraft is also getting a lot of looks from other countries who are fighting insurgencies where their enemies do not have jet aircraft or any serious air power.  The reasoning here is that why use multi-million dollar jets that cost thousands of dollars an hour to fuel and maintain, when you can accomplish the same task with cheaper prop aircraft?  Colombia is definitely proving the validity of the concept.

     The capture of computer hardware is impressive as well. I would suspect that the FARC is sweating bullets right now because everyone on Mono’s hard drive will now be a target. Expect to see more clean up operations designed to demoralize the FARC, and drive them to either dissolve or just surrender. I certainly hope that Colombia is able to break their will and sink this pathetic drug fueled organization. (Mexican drug cartels, you’re next. lol)

     Now onto some lessons here. The whole GPS in the boot trick is pretty damn cool and I think any chance we can do the same thing with other enemies in today’s various insurgencies would be a good thing. I say the smaller you can make the device, the better, and make it sturdy enough to insert in all and any objects.  Even troops in Afghanistan could be putting GPS devices in all types of things that the enemy could possibly pick up and want to use. These devices should not be just the tools of specialists, and they should be viewed as the tool of modern day combat trackers.

     One area that the GPS trick might be well served, is in the endeavor to track animals for anti-poacher operations.  Eeben Barlow talked about the Rhino poaching problem in South Africa the other day, and I think small GPS tracking devices would be very helpful in anti-poaching operations.

    Better yet, Joseph Kony of the LRA could be tracked using the same method the Colombians used against Mono Jojoy. Either set up some child’s AK with a GPS in the stock, or introduce several of these devices somehow into the possession of this group.  Any way possible to track these folks should be looked at and planned for. If you strive to know your enemy, you should be able to find some weakness or opening at one point in your hunt for him. The imagination is the only limit and the pay off would be incredible. –Matt

FARC Military Leader Suárez’s Death Is Blow to Four-Decade Insurgency

Colombian police examine Farc rebels’ laptops

A chip hidden in the boots of Mono Jojoy allowed to locate in the jungle

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FARC Deaths

The bodies of guerrillas killed, including Mono Jojoy.

Colombia Kills Guerrilla Chief

FARC Military Leader Suárez’s Death Is Blow to Four-Decade Insurgency

By JOSé DE CóRDOBA And DARCY CROWE

BOGOTA—Colombia’s army killed the military leader of the country’s communist guerrillas in a two-day battle that involved airstrikes against his jungle bunker, dealing a major blow to the four-decade insurgency, officials said Thursday.

Victor Suárez, 57 years old, nicknamed “Mono Jojoy,” was the second in command and top field marshal of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Latin America’s biggest and oldest guerrilla group. To many ordinary Colombians, his thick moustache and Che Guevara-style black beret were synonymous with the FARC.

“Mono Jojoy is dead,” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos told reporters in New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly. “This is the most devastating blow ever dealt to the FARC.”

The strike was a big boost for Mr. Santos, who took office in August. He dubbed the military mission, which involved more than 30 aircraft, “Operation Welcome.” In his role as defense minister under Colombia’s previous president, Álvaro Uribe, Mr. Santos oversaw some notable blows against the FARC.

(more…)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Bounties: Three Share $500,000 For Tips On Bombed Rebels–Domingo Biojo Killed, Colombia

Filed under: Bounties,Colombia — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 3:33 AM

     Now I do not know if anyone will be able to receive a bounty from the DoS Narcotics Rewards Program, because Biojo was worth about $2.5 million dollars.(see the reward below)

     The $500,000 divided up between these three folks must have come from the government of Colombia?  Who knows, but either way, good on them for providing the tips. –Matt

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Biojo

Domingo Biojo.

Colombia: 3 share $500K for tips on bombed rebels

09/21/2010

Colombia’s national police chief says three informants will divide a reward of up to $500,000 for leading authorities to the rebel camp where the military killed at least 22 insurgents in an air raid.

Gen. Oscar Naranjo also said Monday that a prominent veteran of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, or FARC, was killed in Sunday’s pre-dawn bombing near the border with Ecuador.

He identified the slain rebel as Domingo Biojo (Bee-oh-HO), a 55-year-old who had spent half his life in the FARC.

Officials say the rebels killed Sunday were from the same FARC unit that killed eight police officers nine days earlier.

Sunday’s attack marked Colombia’s biggest military success since President Juan Manuel Santos took office Aug. 7.

Story here.

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Narcotics Rewards Program: Sixto Antonio Cabana Guillen

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

WANTED

Also known as “Domingo Bioho”

Date of Birth: 06/15/1955

Place of Birth: Cienaga, Magadalena, Colombia

Height: 1.77 meters,

Weight: Unknown

Hair: Black, Eyes: Brown

The FARC is a foreign terrorist organization in Colombia that was established in 1964 with a Marxist philosophy and the declared intent to overthrow the democratic Colombian government. The FARC is Latin America’s oldest, largest, most capable and best-equipped insurgency — with perhaps 12,000 fighters and thousands of supporters, mostly in rural areas. In addition to its attacks on Colombian military, political and economic targets, the FARC’s various fronts are deeply involved in narcotics trafficking, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, murder and other criminal activities. Today, the FARC controls the majority of cocaine manufacturing and distribution within Colombia, and is responsible for much of the world’s cocaine supply and what is trafficked to the United States.

(more…)

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Law Enforcement: I.C.E. Takes Down ‘Super Cartel’, Responsible For Almost Half The Cocaine In The U.S.

     The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE), estimated the cartel, named El Dorado, made $5 billion profit from their trade over the past few years.

     Agents involved in Operation Pacific Rim alleged on Friday that the gang trafficked cocaine to every continent except Antarctica, with drugs bound for Europe and Britain smuggled through Spain.

     They believe the gang were responsible for almost half of the cocaine on American streets, or more than 912 tonnes with an estimated street value of more than $24 billion.

*****

     This is stunning news, and I am floored that this is not getting the attention it deserves.  I know the whole McChrystal thing or the Gulf spill is hogging all the news right now, but this is some news of actual success in that other war we are fighting in.  This bust is like taking down the Walmart of cartels. We will see what players step up to fill that gap, but still, this is huge.

     That is the other part of this that is intriguing, and that is the second and third order effects from something like this.  Often when you kill the big dog, the dogs in the pack fight for the new position. They also kill off any traces of the old dog, just to establish pure dominance and the new command.  It is a brutal fight and there will always be an alpha dog that comes up from that process. So how ICE is able to take advantage of this chaos within the drug market will be interesting to watch. Stand by for some battles over that territory.

    I also think that the money taken in these raids should be going towards a bounty system, along with funding the law enforcement agencies involved. We should see way more money being offered in the reward programs, and the wanted list should also include way more people. It is also important to note that ICE does have a ‘prize‘ system in place within the the law enforcement realm.

    With the current arrangement at ICE, there is an incentive attached to the process of taking down these cartels.  ICE has a deal called the Asset Forfeiture/Equitable Sharing program. It is a way to reward police agencies that cooperate with ICE in their operations, and they basically get to ‘split the prize’. That can be a lot of money to split, and just look at the numbers in the quote up top! If this program was opened up to include ‘licensed’ and bonded companies or individuals, they too could take part in that prize system and this would dramatically expand the program.

     We already have the Rewards For Justice Program, yet only law enforcement agencies get to claim prizes after captures? I say open it up to private industry and lets get this business of eradicating drug cartels started. And believe me, there are plenty of drug cartels, terrorists, and pirates for militaries, police departments and private industry to go after.-Matt

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ICE takes down billion-dollar Colombian drug trafficking organization

June 18, 2010

DTO finances its illicit empire by sending cocaine all over the globe

In Operation Pacific Rim, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), working closely with the Colombian National Police and Mexican authorities, took down a major drug trafficking organization — an industrial and transportation empire with a profit margin in the billions. The drug kingpins operating out of Colombia wrestled with a vexing problem — they made so much money from illegal narcotics trafficking that they couldn’t launder it all.

In fact, tracking the cold hard cash is one of the specialties of ICE’s investigative directorate, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). HSI is the largest investigative agency within the Department of Homeland Security. HSI agents working with ICE Attaché offices in Bogota and elsewhere brought this giant among drug organizations to its knees. HSI began Operation Pacific Rim in September 2009 after scoring a previous victory in an investigation where they seized $41 million in Colombia and Mexico. This is often the case in federal law enforcement, with one case that tips investigators off to an even bigger fish to fry.

(more…)

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