Pubdate: Fri, 17 Jun 2005 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 2005 The Miami Herald Contact: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262 Author: Dan Molinski, Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) FOR TRAFFICKERS, IT'S QUICK CASH OR BUST Paramilitaries Desperate To Make Big Bucks Before They Demobilize Are Smuggling Out Much Larger Quantities Of Cocaine -- Leading To More Seizures BOGOTA - Paramilitary leaders are rushing to sell millions of dollars' worth of cocaine before they demobilize so they can retire wealthy from Colombia's protracted war, a top military commander said Thursday. Navy chief Adm. Mauricio Soto said in an interview with The Associated Press that the paramilitary United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, is shipping an unprecedented amount of stored cocaine from the country ahead of their demobilization, which is under way as part of a peace deal with the government. As a result, cocaine seizures have shot up, as traffickers try to smuggle out more shipments, Soto said. "[The paramilitaries] are desperate. They urgently need to sell what they have," Soto said. "They need the money, because if they are going to demobilize, what interests them is the cash." The Colombian Navy has seized a record 63 tons of the drug this year, 55 percent of it belonging to the AUC, Soto said. In comparison, the navy seized 84 tons in all of 2004. In both years, the navy has been responsible for two-thirds of all cocaine seizures in Colombia. Jose Miguel Vivanco, director for Human Rights Watch-Americas, said he is not surprised that AUC chieftains are selling their cocaine supplies before demobilizing, because an amnesty bill would not penalize them if they lie about crimes committed or ill-gotten goods they have hidden. "These criminals have no incentive to fully disclose this information," Vivanco said in a telephone interview from Washington. The amnesty bill, set to be approved by Congress this month, would offer reduced prison sentences for AUC members in return for their demobilization. The legislation also calls for the AUC to return any profits made from illegal activities, but analysts say the paramilitary leaders will attempt to hide their many millions of dollars in laundered drug-trafficking profits. Human Rights Watch said the bill severely limits the time frame for investigation of paramilitaries' crimes, making it virtually impossible to hold them accountable. It proposed eliminating provisions that force prosecutors to file all charges within 24 hours after receiving statements from demobilized fighters, as well as another part of the bill that would limit the time for investigation to 30 days after charges are filed. U.S. lawmakers, the United Nations and others have expressed concern that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's peace deal ignores the AUC's continuing involvement in the drug trade. Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine, with trafficking dominated by the right- wing AUC and leftist rebels. The paramilitary factions, which sprung up in the 1980s to attack leftist rebels, are engaged in peace talks with the government that aim to disarm the AUC's 13,000 fighters by the end of 2005. Two leftist rebel groups who have been battling a succession of elected governments in Colombia for more than 40 years have refused to enter into peace talks. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom