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Paramilitary
gunmen of the United Self-Defense Forces
(AUC)
during a training session in Colombia.
Reuters photo.
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OPERATION
'WHITE TERROR'
A Tale
of Drugs, Guns, and Murder
11/15/06
Sniper
rifles. Grenade launchers. Pistols. Heaps
of ammunition. The warehouse on St. Croix
was no ordinary gun shop. The woman inspecting
the arms was no ordinary buyer, either. She
worked for a ruthless terrorist organization,
and she was about to place a large order with
an undercover FBI agent.
The
carefully orchestratedand recordedgun
show in April 2002 was part of "Operation
White Terror," a case that spanned three
continents and once again demonstrates the
interrelationship of national security and
criminal investigations and the use of drug
money to fuel terror.
The
arms inspectorFanny Cecilia Barrera
de Amarisworked for the leaders
of Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (the United
Self-Defense Forces of Columbia), or AUC,
a right-wing paramilitary organization known
for its violence and brutality. In one 10-month
span, the AUC was reportedly responsible for
804 assassinations, 203 kidnappings, and
75 massacres with 507 total victims. The
terrorist operation, which once boasted some
20,000 members, has been fueled largely by
the sale of drugs. The AUC smuggled more than
50,000 kilos of cocaine into the U.S. over
eight years.
Here's
how we uncovered and shut down the drugs-for-weapons
scheme in concert with agents of the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA):
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Just
four days after the 9/11 attacks, a man
named Uwe Jensen approached one of our confidential
sources and learned that our source had
connections in Eastern Europe that might
lead to the purchase of huge stores of military
weapons for the AUC. Jensena naturalized
U.S. citizen from Denmark living in Houston-was
a weapons scout for Romero-Varela.
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Jensen
and his associate, Carlos Ali Romero-Varela,
began negotiations in Houston with our source
to buy Warsaw Pact weapons for $25 million
in cocaine. Several other informants and
undercover officers we recruited helped
us create the appearance of a Eurasian organized
crime group. At one point, Romero-Varela
had a CD-ROM weapons catalog sent to AUC
leaders in Colombia.
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Two
high-ranking AUC leadersincluding
Elkin Alberto Arroyave-Ruiz, also
known as Commandante Napo, and Edgar
Fernando Blanco-Puerta, also known as
Commandant Emilioplaced their order
from the catalog. They asked for shoulder-fired
anti-aircraft missiles; 9,000 assault rifles,
including AK-47s, sub-machine guns, and
sniper rifles; rocket propelled grenade
launchers and nearly 300,000 grenades, and
300 pistols.
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Our
agents, working undercover, met to arrange
a deal with AUC members in London; Panama
City, Panama; and St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
The Defense Department loaned us the weapons
and delivered them to St. Croix, where our
agents arranged for Barrera de Amaris
to check out the goods. The deal was sealed.
It was a dangerous operation that put the
lives of our agents at risk, particularly
with video cameras secretly recording the
action and dialogue.
With
the proof we needed, we moved in to arrest
the various players. On November 5, 2002,
we arrested Jensen in Houston. The same day,
Romero-Varela, Arroyave-Ruiz, and Blanco were
lured to Costa Rica and arrested. Jensen,
Arroyave-Ruiz, and Blanco pled guilty and
were sentenced to lengthy prison terms. The
weapons inspector, Barrera de Amaris, was
extradited from Columbia and sentenced to
five years in prison.
As
the case has broadened, more arrests have
followed. The investigation has been worked
by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task
Force, which includes FBI and DEA agents working
hand-in-hand.
Links:
Press
release of May 31, 2006
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