Covert action in Colombia

U.S. intelligence, GPS bomb kits help Latin American nation cripple rebel forces

The 50-year-old Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), once considered the best-funded insurgency in the world, is at its smallest and most vulnerable state in decades, due in part to a CIA covert action program that has helped Colombian forces kill at least two dozen rebel leaders, according to interviews with more than 30 former and current U.S. and Colombian officials.

The secret assistance, which also includes substantial eavesdropping help from the National Security Agency, is funded through a multibillion-dollar black budget. It is not a part of the public $9 billion package of mostly U.S. military aid called Plan Colombia, which began in 2000.


[התמונה הבאה מגיעה מקישור שלא מתחיל ב https ולכן לא הוטמעה בדף כדי לשמור על https תקין: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/investigative/colombia/images/w-FARC-982-web.jpg]

Sources: U.S. State Department, Pais Libre, Colombian Defense Ministry and the Air Force. Research and data compiled by Elyssa Pachico. Graphic by Cristina Rivero. Map by Gene Thorp




[התמונה הבאה מגיעה מקישור שלא מתחיל ב https ולכן לא הוטמעה בדף כדי לשמור על https תקין: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/wp-content/themes/wapo-blogs/inc/imrs.php?src=http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2013/12/SuperTucanoCloseUp2100x1298.jpg&w=1500]

A Colombian Air Force member cleans an A-29 Super Tucano, a turboprop aircraft typically involved in strikes on FARC targets. (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/investigative/2013/12/21/covert-action-in-colombia/
.

Diplomacy is about surviving until the next century - politics is about surviving until Friday afternoon
Sir Humphrey Appleby