(Click on Image to Enlarge)
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.
Covert Action In Colombia -- Dana Priest, Washington Post
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.
Read more ....
Update: Secret CIA Operation Killed Two Dozen Colombian Rebel Leaders
My Comment: The CIA's operation was effective because they did not only pinpoint where the FARC leadership was hiding (via through NSA communications intercepts) .... but they gave the tools to the Colombian military to take them out. It would not surprise me if this CIA covert operation will become a case study in the CIA and elsewhere on how to cripple a rebel insurgency.
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