No Objection___I_o Declassi_fica_ ion in full 2013 _1_ 1 18 LC-63-2-7-3-0 -- I I S IGI-77-0042 2 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 SECRET July 15 1977 In recent years Colombia has emerged as a focal point for international narcotics tra ficking becoming the primary source for refined cocaine hydrochloride and marihuana smuggled into the United I States Canada and many Wegtern European countries now become a market for Colombian cocaine Even Japan has Unfortunately Colombia is ' developing an economy in whfch drugs are becoming a significant factor ' It is estimated that at least 20 tons of Colombian cocaine enters the United States annually This coupled with the equally lucrative ' marihuana trade is estimated to return to the Colombian economy 600 million to one billion dollars annually producing inflationary effects and other adverse i pacts on the Colombian economy and institutions This situatidn has been further complicated by recent I reports that heroin traffickers are operating in Cali and there are preliminary reports of attempts to grow opium poppies in Colombia These reports of opium cultivation in Colombia raise a concern that Colombia could become a majqr source country One recent report from Mexico indicates that Mexic1¥1 traffickers needing a safer and more reliable source of opium gum have sent specialists to Colombia to ' plant experimental opium fields Six campesinos from Mexico and JOO i kilograms of poppy seeds allegedly have been sent to Cali The Mexicans were to have made contact with the owners of several large plantations in Buga where the first fields were to be planted -· SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 1 No Objection To Declassification in fl- 111013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 SECRET The narcotics problem is one which must be solved jointly by - the producer and user nations As a result of the severity of the narcotics problem in the United States which represents over seventeen billion dollars in social cost to our country annually and results in thousands of drug-related deaths virtually all United States Government agencies with a presence overseas are reporting information on narcotics The best of our collection efforts however frequently fail to produce evidence needed for successful prosecutions These efforts therefore need to be supplemented by the cooperation of the host government first in the investigative and later in the enforcement fields Such cooperation is however complicated and imperiled by narcotics-related corruption a problem which the United States shares with Colombia and other countries invblved in any aspect of the highly lucrative narcotics trade The extent of official corruption in Colombia especially in the law enforcement and judicial sectors renders effective enforcement and legal action in the narcotics field very difficult There is no question that the efforts of the narcotics traffickers in Colombia are greatly facilitated by the cooperation and protection of influential Colombian officials they would find it difficult to operate Without this support It is for this reason that we want to share with you the following information that we have developed on narcotics-related official corruption in your country knowing that your sincere interest in attacking the narcotics problem will result in an investigation of your own into this matter This information on SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 2 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 _1_'1__ 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 SECRET international narcotics trafficking is generally derived as a byproduct of law enforcement and criminal intelligence activities in the United States as well as those conducted by foreign goverrunents who have an exchange of information with the United States It ranges in quality from solid and detailed to somewhat sketchy 1 Following are examples of narcotics-related corruption in the political field which have come to the attention of the United States Government a Fidel Duarte Sotelo a Justice Ministry official is the brother of Hilda Duarte Sotelo de Robayo a narcotics trafficker whose network handles over 100 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride monthly narcotics trade Duarte is well aware of his sister's In January 1977 at her request Duarte arranged to have narcotics courier Lorena Pinzas Diaz released from custody b As of May 1976 Arcesio Sanchez Ojeda Liberal Party member of the Colombian House of Representatives from Narino Department was involved in cocaine trafficking with his brother Lt Carlos Vicente Sanchez Ojeda who at the time was assigned to the District Customs Office in Buenaventura Colombia On May 4 1976 Colombian authorities confiscated 68 kilograms of cocaine belonging to Arcesio Sanchez The seizure occurred at a checkpoint in Villamoreno de Pasto Colombia On May 5 Lt Sanchez traveled from Buenaventura to Ipiales where he attempted to bribe officials to return the cocaine The Sanchez SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 3 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 SECRET brothers carry out their cocaine trafficking activities in Ipiales Pasto Cali and Buenaventura c Orlando Ceballos Pineda City Comptroller of Santa Marta was identified in July 1975 as being involved in trafficking both cocaine and marihuana Orlando Noguera brother-in-law of the Governor of Magdalena Department was also identified as a trafficker in that area and was indicted in 1tiami Florida d Oscar Montoya Montoya Minister of Labor has had contact with Alberto Prieto Escovar a known narcotics trafficker in Medellin Montoya and Prieto have discussed illicit traffic in cocaine and coffee e Several prominent persons provided character references to facilitate the release from prison of narcotics trafficker Norberto Moreno Carrillo Moreno was arrested in Popayan on November 2 1976 for possessing five kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride and was to have been released the week of April 3 1977 Among those who provided character references for Moreno were General Abraham Varon Valencia Minister of Defense Henry Garcia Orozco Supreme Court Magistrate for Cundinamarca Department Martin Suarez Sarabia President of the Sixth Corrnnissioh Public Works of the Colombian Senate and Police Colonel Gilardo Ospina 2 Following are examples of narcotics-related corruption in the Colombian judiciary which have come to our attention SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 4 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 SECRET a In January 1977 Ciceron Pineda Jimenez Judge No 92 of the Criminal Arraignment Court of Bogota received a bribe of 600 000 pesos U S $16 500 to release Peruvian narcotics courier Lucrecia Ester Ibaceta Pereche whose arrest at El Dorado Airport on January 15 1977 was highly publicized in El Bogotano Ibaceta had been arrested with approximately nine kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride concealed in the false compartment of her luggage Payment of the bribe was made through Juan Donado a lawyer who in turn received 300 000 pesos U S $8 250 for his help b Nicolas Pena Pena Judge of Circuit Court No 41 in Bogota was given 100 000 pesos U S $2 740 to release Hugo Humberto Hoyos Serna narcotics trafficker arrested May 9 1977 by the Anti-narcotics Unit of the F-2 in Bogota _ Pena however demanded an additional 175 000 pesos U S $4 795 c As of September 1976 several officers of the Judicial Police assigned to Barranquilla's Cortizzos Airport were accepting bribes from narcotics traffickers operating in Santa Marta and Barranquilla They were Corporal Pablo Acosta Ladino Corporal Humberto Seranno S Guard Israel Pedraza Leon and Guard Jesus Castano N d In December 1976 leading drug traffickers and their lawyers hosted a party in Cali for judges and magistrates of the district at the Tequendama Social Club Among those present was SECRET - No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 SECRET Judge Remey Hoyos Garces of the 16th Circuit Court which had jurisdiction in the case of the notorious Colombian narcotics trafficker Benjamin Papa Negro Herrera Zuleta then under indictment for narcotics trafficking Herrera's lawyer Cristobal Grajales Lopez was one of the hosts of the party Another of the guests was Rafael Robledo Cancion President of the Judicial Court of Cali who had ruled in favor of a lower court decision to release Herrera Herrera had been paroled May 28 1975 from the Atlanta Georgia penitentiary and had returned to Colombia where he reswned his trafficking activities J Following are examples of narcotics-related corruption involving the Colombian Customs Service military and police which have come to the attention of the United States Government a Colombian naval officer Alfredo Gomez was identified as one of the principals in a smuggling scheme involving the Colombian naval training vessel Gloria from which about 48 kilos of cocaine were seized in May and August 1976 brother was second in command of the Gloria Gomez' Another unidentified high official aboard the vessel was reportedly advised by representatives of the traffickers to ensure the safe off-loading of the cocaine or face reprisals Information later developed indicated that despite the seizures sizable quantities of cocaine were successfully off-loaded from the Gloria in Miami and New York SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 6 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 SECRET b Colonel Humberto Cardona Orozco who was removed from his position as Chief of the Uniformed Customs Police in December 1976 for narcotics-related corruption took bribes from many of Colombia's leading narcotics smugglers with whom he was personally acquainted Between June 1 and July JO 1976 Cardona received bribes in Colombian pesos amounting to over U S $34 000 from lower-level Customs officials in Santa Marta and Riohacha Before leaving the Customs Service Cardona promoted six officers four of whom were involved in narcotics trafficking They were Captains Luis Eduardo Montenegro Mera Gerardo Silva Fernandez Hernan Garcia Escobar and Jaime Torres Castro The latter Torres was involved in narcotics smuggling with Lt Hernando Vargas Martinez who had worked with Cardona In early 1977 Cardona became Chief of War Materiel of the Military Industries INDUMIL a position which lent itself to narcotics-related corruption just as his Customs job had In June 1977 Cardona was appointed to the group of OAS military observers assigned to the border between Honduras and El Salvador Colombian traffickers are known to look upon this as an opportunity to facilitate the movement of cocaine hydrochloride to the United States c As of October 1976 Alvaro Crespo owner of a cocaine laboratory near Cali on a ranch known as El Carmelo was paying 25 to JO percent of his profits to two police officials to protect his operation They were Captain Harold Lozano Jaramillo former SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 7 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 Chief of F-2 in Cali and Major Elias Forero Zambrano Crespo's laboratory was capable of producing JO kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride at a time d Subsequent to his arrest in February 1976 in Cali Benjamin Herrera Zuleta a major Colombian narcotics trafficker was released through the intervention of F-2 Captain Harold Lozano Jaramillo As of December 1976 Lozano was operating a laboratory in his residence in Cali and supplying cocaine hydrochloride at night traveling in uniform and escorted by his F-2 bodyguards His wife traveled frequently to Panama to deposit the proceeds from his narcotics activities As of May 1977 Lozano was still involved in narcotics activities e As of September 1976 Captain Marcos A Bonilla of the F-2 owned a finca in Florencia where a cocaine laboratory was operating Bonilla has been linked in negotiations with Fernando Guiterrez and Augusto Vargas and allegedly has used F-2 vehicles and personnel to carry coca paste and cocaine from Florencia to Neiva f As of July 1976 Jose David Melendro Urena and Lt Jose Villamizar Villamizar of the Colombian Customs Service were arranging for the passage of cocaine hydrochloride across the Colombian border from Ecuador for which they received large sums of money One shipment of five kilograms occurred SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 8 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 N g_- 3-2-7-3-0 SECRET on July 16 1976 at Ipiales At that time Melendro was an undercover agent for the Director of Customs and assigned to the Division of Special Investigations g Lt Francisco Morales Ramirez who is working in the Customs Service at Bogota 1 s Eldorado Airport is involved with cocaine traffickers When stationed in Cali Morales organized a narcotics network between Ipiales Department of Narino and Cali h Captain Hugo Efrain Paez Angarita who was recently transferred to the Customs Service in Cucuta Department of Norte de Santander is involved in narcotics trafficking Paez was previously assigned to Riohacha Department of Guajira where he received payments from Customs officials under his jurisdiction to allow shipments of rnarihuana to be sent to the United States i As of October 1976 one of the biggest traffickers in Twnaco was the Commander of the National Police F-2 for Tumaco Lt Jorge Eliecer Arroyave Zapata j As of February 1977 a major Colombian narcotics trafficker Hilda Durate Sotelo de Robayo had the cooperation of Edgar Alberto Suarez a DAS official in the Anti-kidnapping and Extortion Division CAES k As of November 1976 DAS agent Ediberto Pinzon in Bolivar was involved in the transporting of coca paste and cocaine to other areas in official vehicles SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 9 No Objection To eclassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 SECRET 1 As of J1 U1e 1977 and despite the fact that he retired fonner Chief of the National Police General Henry Garcia Bohorquez continued to use his influence to facilitate the activities of several important Colombian narcotics traffickers Among them is Jose Augusto Duque Avila m DAS officials in several parts of Colombia have been identified as being directly involved in narcotics trafficking or in supplying information to traffickers In November 1976 Bolivar Rojas Munoz a DAS detective in the Public Order Unit in Bogota was supplying information to traffickers on DAS investigations official vehicles and tag numbers and other DAS detectives During this time frame Saturnia Sanchez assigned to the Bogota airport gathered narcotics infonnation from DAS files and sold it to Pedro Beltran a fonner DAS detective closely associated with several noted traffickers n As of November 1976 Samuel Gutierrez DAS Chief in Narino was protecting and assisting narcotics traffickers in that area 4 As noted above infonnation on Colombian officials involved in narcotics-related corruption ranges from solid and detailed to somewhat sketchy It is in the latter instances of course where further investigation by your Government would be most valuable especially when the allegation involves an influential and high-level figures We have for instance received allegations that Defense SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 10 No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 NLC-63-2-7-3-0 Minister General Abraham Varon Valencia has received narcotics and contraband payoffs through Colonel Humberto Cardona Orozco who as noted above was removed from his post as Chief of Customs for his corrupt activities Cardona also reportedly made payoffs to Major Guillermo Garcia Gil Varon's adjutant and confidant Also as noted above General Varon was one of those who provided a character reference for Norberto Moreno a prominent trafficker who was under arrest for possession of cocaine hydrochloride We also have information that Anibal Turbay Bernal the nephew of Liberal Party leader Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala belongs to the narcotics network of Jose Manuel Parra Urrea which in one three-month period alone this year sold at least U S $1 5 million worth of narcotics to United States buyers Julio Cesar Turbay's presidential candidacy is anticipated by Farra's organization In June 1977 James Acosta a close associate of Parra said that the network had made a multi-million peso investment in Anibal Turbay and as a result is expected to be able to choose the heads of the Colombian law enforcement agencies should Julio Cesar Turbay become president SECRET No Objection To Declassification in Full 2013 11 18 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