Plan Colombia - Military Programs

Military Programs

As of 2008 Plan Colombia's U.S.-funded military programs comprised:

• Army Aviation Brigade (2000-2008 cost: $844 million)
  • This program is executed by the U.S. State and Defense departments. It equips and trains the helicopter units of the Colombian Army. It is subdivided into various specific programs.
    • Plan Colombia Helicopter Program (PCHP) comprises helicopters provided for free by the U.S. government to the Colombian Army. The program needs 43 contract pilots and 87 contract mechanics to operate.
      • 17 Bell UH-1N helicopters ( Former Canadian aircraft bought via US gov )
      • 22 Bell UH-1H (Huey II) helicopters
      • 13 Sikorsky UH-60L helicopters
    • Foreign Military Sales (FMS) helicopters are purchased by the Colombian Army but supported by U.S. personnel.
      • 20 Sikorsky UH-60L helicopters
    • Technical Assistance Field Team
      • Based at Tolemaida Army Base (Melgar, Cundinamarca), the team provides maintenance to U.S.-made helicopters.
    • Joint Initial Entry Rotary Wing School
      • Based at Melgar Air base (Melgar, Tolima), it is a flight school for Colombian combat-helicopter pilots. Additional pilot training is provided at the U.S. Army's helicopter training center (Fort Rucker, Alabama)
• National Police Air Service (2000-2008 cost: $463 million)
  • The U.S. State Department provides support to approximately 90 aircraft operated by the Colombian National Police. The U.S. Defense Department supports the construction of an aviation depot at Madrid Air Base (Madrid, Cundinamarca).
• National Police Eradication Program (2000-2008 cost: $458 million)
  • This program is executed by a private company, Dyncorp, under the supervision of the U.S. State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), and operates out of Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. U.S. State Department-owned planes spray chemicals to destroy coca and oppium poppy crops in rural Colombia. From 2000 to 2008 more than 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of crops were destroyed.
    • 13 Air Tractor AT-802 armored crop dusters
    • 13 Bell UH-1N helicopters
    • 4 Alenia C-27 cargo planes
• National Police Interdiction Efforts (2000-2008 cost: $153 million)
  • The U.S. State Department equips and trains a Colombian National Police unit known as Junglas. The unit's 500 members are divided into three companies based in Bogotá, Santa Marta, and Tulua.
• Infrastructure Security Strategy (2000-2008 cost: $115 million)
  • This program secures part of the Cano Limon-Covenas Pipeline, benefiting international oil company Occidental Petroleum. Its air component has 2 Sikorsky UH-60 and 8 Bell UH-1H (Huey II) helicopters. Its ground component includes U.S. Special Forces training and equipment for 1,600 Colombian Army soldiers.
• Army Ground Forces (2000-2008 cost: $104 million)
  • Joint Task Force Omega
    • It was established to operate in the central departments of Meta, Guaviare, and Caqueta. U.S. military advisors provided planning and intelligence support. The U.S. also provided weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and a base in La Macarena, Meta. It has about 10,000 soldiers.
  • Counternarcotics Brigade
    • It was established to operate in the southern departments of Putumayo and Caqueta. The U.S. Defense Department provided training and built bases in Tres Esquinas and Larandia, Caqueta. The U.S. State Department provided weapons, ammunition and training. It has about 2,300 soldiers.
  • Joint Special Forces Command
    • It was established to pursue wanted individuals and rescue hostages. The U.S. provided training, weapons, ammunition, and a base near Bogotá. It has about 2,000 soldiers.
• Police Presence in Conflict Zones (2000-2008 cost: $92 million)
  • This program aims to establish government presence in all Colombian municipalities. Fifteen percent of Colombian municipalities had no police presence in 2002. Today all municipalities are covered, but in many of them government presence is limited to a small number of policemen. The program organized 68 squadrons of Carabineros, of 120 policemen each. The U.S. Department of State provides training, weapons, ammunition, night-vision goggles, and other equipment.
• Coastal and River Interdiction (2000-2008 cost: $89 million)
  • This program gave the Colombian Navy and Marines water vessels and aircraft to patrol the country's coast and rivers. The Navy received 8 interceptor boats and 2 Cessna Grand Caravan transport planes. The Marines received 95 patrol boats. The U.S. also provided both services with weapons, fuel, communications gear, night-vision goggles, and other equipment.
• Air Interdiction (2000-2008 cost: $62 million)
  • The U.S. State and Defense departments provided the Colombian Air Force with 7 surveillance planes and their maintenance support. The program also operates five radars inside Colombia, other radars outside the country, and airborne radars. The program is also known as the Air Bridge Denial Program.
• Another $2 billion were allocated from 2000 to 2008 to other programs including the Critical Flight Safety Program to extend the life of the U.S. State Department's fleet of aircraft, additional counternarcotics funding and aviation support for battlefield medical evacuations.