® SECR E'f N coo9 - 1 CE OF THE ir-o 'ORN - ··r rEt · ·ISE 20l3 JUl I I All 9 32 d€ i1¥ INFO MEMO USD P FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FROM ManhaJJ Billingslea PDASD SO SllUECT rl 'a ecent Successes against the Colombian FARC pf t F-bOG 'l- • General Hill's effort in Colombia is beginning to yield dividends The enhanced train-and-equip effort has now been underway for roughly a year • Colombia now has several specialized U S SOP-trained commando units that are conducting counter-terrorist operations • These units conduct the kind otjCbX1 · 1-4 c j lli 1 1 4 cj and small unit direct action necessary to pursue I HVTs • Since January l 2003 President Uribe's team and the special commando units have killed 543 FARC captured 1 063 and induced the defection desertion of 300 through an amnesty program • In contrast during the last two years of the Pastrana government only 780 · FARC were killed with few captured and few defections The FARC was gaining ground • Perhaps more importantly the HVT effort is taking its toll on FARC senior leadership 15 mid- and high-level PARC leaders have been killed and 44 captured • Both we and the Colombians can do more Intensification of the j bX1 · 1·4 • Cb 1 1-4 • with U S help is key to inducing defections such as the FARC Finance Chief and may prove what breaks the back of the FARC I • SOUTHCOM also continues to refine the Colombian process for taking jCbX1 · 1·4 c and getting it to the field in time to act I • Finally I note that we still have not had a breakthrough on the DoDcontractors who are being held hostage There is however a significant ongoing effort underway to find and free our people 'IPPR N NA R N O7-1 C'-C 3 10 35 I 1 Derived Prom Multiple Soura s Do l iuify On XI SECOEF CONTROi i XO 2 3 44 03