COLOMBIA: COUNTERING THE MARIJUANA TRADE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP97R00694R000500640001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 21
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: February 1, 1986
• Content Type: REPORT

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Directorate -Seent
It11'
n e igence
Colombia:
Countering the
Marijuana Trade
Seeret
GI 86-10012
February 1986
Copy 3 2 8
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E,?F\ Directorate of Secret
Intelligence
Colombia:
Countering the
Marijuana Trade
This paper was prepared by
Strategic Narcotics Western
Hemisphere Branch, Office of Global Issues, with a
contribution from the Narcotics Analysis Branch of
the Office of Imagery Analysis.)
Comments and queries are welcome and may be
addressed to the Chief, Terrorism/Narcotics Analysis
Division, OGI, on
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Secret
G186-10012
February 1986
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Colombia:
Countering the
Marijuana Trade
Key Judgments Colombian marijuana growers suffered the most significant setback in
Inlorntation available years when an extensive eradication campaign conducted by the Colombi-
as of 22 Januarv 1986 an National Police in 1985 eliminated most of the fall marijuana crop in
was used in this report.
the important northeastern growing area. The eradication campaign has
not yet significantly reduced marijuana exports because traffickers are
obtaining supplies from unaffected areas, stockpiles, and herbicide-dam-
aged plants. If the Colombians sustain their eradication program, we
expect the full impact on supplies will be demonstrated in spring and
summer 1986 when exports should be substantially reduced.
On the basis of an aerial survey flown in July 1985, we estimate that
marijuana production in the northeast may be as low as 1,200 metric tons,
an 85-percent reduction from the 1983 estimate for the same area.
Overflight of approximately one-half of the growing area in the northeast
revealed little marijuana in areas where cultivation had once been abun-
dant. No attempt was made to estimate production outside this area.
We expect that marijuana growers and traffickers will react by intensify-
ing cultivation in areas of previously low production. Aerial surveys spotted
marijuana around the Golfo de Uraba near the Panama border as well as
in northern Bolivar Department; U-2 flights over Colombia in September
photographed several suspect marijuana fields in southern Bolivar; and
some marijuana growers from northeastern
Current joint drug interdiction operations in the Caribbean involving the
United States, Colombia, and several Caribbean nations are likely to
discourage marijuana exports through early 1986. On the basis of their
response in the past, we expect large trafficking organizations will wait out
the interdiction forces and then intensify shipments north from stash sites
on the Colombian coast and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Small traffickers,
however, do not have the resources to stand down temporarily and will
probably continue trying to get loads through.
We judge the government's eradication program has already significantly
reduced the amount of marijuana available for market, an unprecedented
achievement in Colombian drug control. To sustain the momentum, the
government must not only continue eradication programs in the northeast
to prevent growers from reestablishing their fields but also expand them to
new areas before cultivation gets a firm hold.
iii Secret
G1 86-100012
February 1986
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Key Judgments
Introduction
Marijuana Cultivation
The 1985 Fall Marijuana Estimate
Assessing the Impact of Eradication
Countermeasures
Alternate Trafficking Routes and Techniques
Interdiction Operations
Outlook
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Figure I
Primary Marijuana Cultivation Areas and Eradication Efforts
Ne v a d~,'a
Ji e
r
Mart a
Aruba N- An INmh
INrlhl C-_
(ionn ~e
* PAt AMA
Panama
BOGOTA
CO Ion i is
*QUITO
Ecuador Brazil
Valledupar.
July-September 1985
Primary cultivation
Eradicated area
Department boundary
Road
Secret
25 Kdometers
25 Mlles
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Colombia:
Countering the
Marijuana Trade
Introduction
According to official US Government figures, about
90 percent of the marijuana consumed annually in the
United States is imported. Colombia has dominated
the marijuana export trade since 1982, supplying
from 40 to 70 percent of US imports. Over the past 15
months, the Colombian Government assisted by the
United States made a concentrated effort to reduce
marijuana exports from Colombia. The Colombian
National Police initiated an extensive marijuana
eradication campaign starting in 1984, and joint
Colombian, US, and Caribbean forces have recently
intensified interdiction operations in the Caribbean.
We believe the combination of effective eradication
and increased interdiction has disrupted normal mari-
juana trafficking operations, forcing traffickers to
seek new ways to circumvent control efforts and to
meet market obligations in North America. The
Colombian Government seems determined to keep the
drug traffickers on the defensive, which could lead to
significant changes in marijuana-growing and traf-
ficking patterns in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Marijuana Cultivation
Marijuana can grow almost anywhere in Colombia,
but past estimates indicate that the
greatest concentration of commercial marijuana culti-
vation is in northeastern Colombia, on the slopes and
valleys of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the
Serrania de Valledupar, and the Serrania de Perija
Mountains. At altitudes of 600 to 1,200 meters, the
marijuana plantations extend from ridgeline to ridge-
line, often covering entire mountainsides. Over the
past decade, Colombian growers using slash-and-burn
techniques have cleared huge areas of land-often
government owned-to grow marijuana. Unknown
quantities of marijuana are also grown elsewhere in
planting can occur severa times a
year, depending on the amount of rainfall. The crop in
northeastern Colombia is planted over several weeks
starting sometime in March and continuing through
April. Maturation takes six to seven months; the
harvest usually begins in September and continues
into November. We estimate that this crop, some-
times called the fall crop, normally accounts for 80 to
90 percent of the marijuana grown in the northeast.
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The Aerial Survey
To gauge the effectiveness of Colombia's yearlong
marijuana eradication program, the Colombian Na-
tional Police and the US Department of State con-
ducted an aerial survey in July 1985. Concentrating
on the northeast, the survey covered approximately
3,500 square kilometers, or 40 to 50 percent of the
known growing area. The survey team investigated
growing areas in Bolivar Department and
around the Golfo de Uraba in the Departments of
Choco and Antioquia. The team was able to confirm
that marijuana is grown in these areas but did not
obtain adequate information to estimate production.
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The team found little marijuana in former high-
density growing areas, including the Rio Frio Valley,
the hillsides and valleys near the northern coast, and
the Serrania de Perija Mountains. Areas where large
marijuana fields flourished in 1983 were covered with
ferns, other natural vegetation, or scattered wild
marijuana. Caretaker shacks burned by eradication
teams were charred and uninhabited. Although some
of the land was planted with corn and other crops,
most was evidently abandoned. 25X1
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Figure 2
Aerial Survey Flightlines
Caribbean Sea Map 1
Santa Marti
Nort
h
Pacific
Ocean ?1 *BOGOTA
PBuenaven!~i'a
CloIombia
'Marta
July 1985
Coto"mnbia
0 50Kilometers
50 Miles
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Colombia: Marijuana Eradicated, 1985 a 25X1
Month Hectares
Total 7,107
May 420
June 744
July
August
1,166
1,776
October, 966
November
December
855
NA
The 1985 Fall Marijuana Estimate
We estimate the marijuana crop in the Sierra Nevada
de Santa Marta, Serrania de Perija, and Serrania de
Valledupar Mountains covered approximately 1,300
hectares at the time of the survey. This is an 85-
nercent reduction from the 8,500 hectares estimated
for the same area in 1983. As a
result, we conclude Colombia's total 1985 marijuana
production was lower than it has been for several
years, and we expect eradication efforts since the late
July aerial survey have further reduced the crop.
Figure 3. Glyphosate spraying equipment on Bell
212 helicopter operated by the Colombian Na-
tional Police. This helicopter can carry 500
gallons ofglyphosate. (The Colombian police use
the gallons sprayed as an indication of the num-
ber of hectares eradicated.)F----]
Not only was hectarage reduced but yields also were
less. We estimate that under normal condition25X1
mercially grown marijuana in northeastern Colombia
results in an average yield of 1,100 to 1,200 kilograms
per hectare. On the basis of field conditions, we
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Figure 4
Marijuana Cultivation
Tveatura BOGOTA
Cnlnm
North
Pacific
Ocean
Yaviz
Golfo
de
Cupica
Golfo
de
Uraba
Santa
Marta
Peninsula
de la Guajira
Golfo de
Venezuela
Primary cultivation
Expanding cultivation
Alternate transshipment point
Department boundary
Road
Carrot
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conclude that some 20 percent of the marijuana
observed in July was wild, reseeding itself after
spraying operations eliminated the primary crop.
Yields from such reseeded plots would be much lower
than those obtained from cultivated fields. Taking this
into account, we calculated total production based on
an average yield of 900 kilograms per hectare. Be-
cause much of the wild marijuana probably was not
harvested, we estimate potential marijuana produc-
tion in northeastern Colombia totaled no more than
1,200 tons, and probably less, in July-a reduction of
more than 8,000 tons from the probable production in
1984.
Although the estimate allows us to assess the impact
of the aerial spray campaign on marijuana production
in the areas surveyed, it has limitations. Fields re-
planted after early eradication may not have been
mature enough to be detectable from the air, although
we doubt this occurred in many instances. Our main
concern is that we could not determine if a major shift
in cultivation to areas outside the northeast has
occurred. such a shift
may have begun as early as 1983, when growers first
learned that the Colombian Government intended to
eradicate marijuana. F__-]
Assessing the Impact of Eradication
Bogota's eradication campaign has had a severe effect
on the northeastern growing region,
with small operations have been put out of business,
and the larger growers have been forced to abandon
operations or relocate them to areas not being
sprayed,
=growers have harvested and sold a portion of the
sprayed crop, albeit at a lower profit margin.
the eradication campaign
still has not had a major impact on the traffickers
who, although forced to scramble, reportedly continue
to satisfy their export requirements.
traffickers are meeting demand pri-
marily by supplementing the herbicide-damaged mar-
ijuana with leaf from areas not yet sprayed.
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traffickers could be meeting
demand by drawing down stockpiles and by obtaining
limited amounts of marijuana from other countries. In
early September, US Coast Guard officers described
marijuana seized from a Colombian mother ship as
old and of marginal quality.
one smuggling group was planning to transport
Jamaican-produced narcotics to Colombia for mixing
with Colombian-produced drugs before moving the
contraband north. Colombian traffickers could also
obtain supplies from Belize or Mexico, where mari-
juana is widely cultivated. 25X1
Seizure statistics-a rough indication of the level of
trade-often present a conflicting picture and do not
necessarily verify the effect of the eradication opera-
tion. Seizures by Colombian authorities are down
more than 40 percent for the period January through
September 1985, compared with 1984. The tonnages
seized by US Coast Guard interdiction forces are
down by more than 30 percent for the period January
through mid-November 1985.
Ohowever, traffickers are temporarily holding
back shipments until intensified interdiction efforts in
the Caribbean end in February 1986. The large drop
in in-country seizures may suggest that traffickers
and growers have altered smuggling routes and shift-
ed cultivation to new areas to avoid government
antinarcotics activities, which remain concentratec'', -
the northeast.
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Countermeasures
We conclude that, given continued low levels of
eradication outside the northeast growing area, a
large-scale shift in cultivated areas would be the most
effective way for growers to adjust to a sustained
eradication campaign. Reports indicate several areas
have the potential to become important marijuana
cultivation sites: 25X1
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? The Serrania de Motilones and the Serrania de
Valledupar Mountains Inside Venezuela. Over the
past several months, the Colombian police have
seized numerous marijuana-loaded, Venezuelan-
licensed vehicles on the roads from Venezuela to
Valledupar, Colombia
The American Consulate in Barranquilla reported
that the Venezuelan military recently destroyed 100
hectares of marijuana cultivation in the northwest-
ern mountains. The 1985 survey covered large areas
of these mountains on the Colombian side, where
there had been extensive eradication, but none on
the Venezuelan side of the mountains.
? Bolivar Department.
growers are expanding cultivation around several
towns in southern Bolivar. Growth in this area has
been confirmed on overhead imagery: high-altitude
reconnaissance by a U-2 in August picked up some
suspect marijuana fields in southern Bolivar, and
imagery from the aerial survey aircraft clearly
shows marijuana in the mountains of north-central
Bolivar. growers
in this area migrated from the Serrania de Perija
Mountains in the northeast and continue to main-
tain contact with growers there.
Nevada de Santa Marta.
planting has expanded in this area. The July
1985 survey did not cover the southern portion of
the Santa Marta range, and only one flightline was
flown along the southeastern side of the mountains.
Although some marijuana was detected, we believe
cultivation in this area was insignificant in 1985.
This section of the mountains could become more
important in 1986 if growers realize there has been
no eradication there.
marijuana cultivators
forced to relocate to Bolivar have established tics to
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) insurgent group. The growers reportedly
pay the rebels in exchange for protection from
government antinarcotics forces. 25X1
? Golfo de Uraba Region. The survey imagery indi-
cated substantial marijuana cultivation along the
Panama border in the Department of Choco. In late
September, the existence of
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marijuana fields in the Rio Sucio and Rio Atrato
basins and in Choco Department; growers in these
areas have reportedly taken over land intended for
along the border between Antioquia and Cordoba
Departments, east of the city of Turbo. The Colom-
bians are concerned about the spread of cultivation
into the Uraba area and plan to establish a forward
eradication base there.
supplies by next spring or summer. Just how tight
supplies become will depend largely on how much of a
shift in growing areas has taken place inside Colom-
bia over the past few years. If the shift began as early
as December 1983, when Colombian authorities first
debated using an herbicide for aerial application
against marijuana, the impact of the eradication will
be lessened. We doubt, however, that traffickers could
shift enough production in two years to completely
offset the 7,000 or more hectares eradicated in 1985.
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? Norte de Santander Department. Growers have
reportedly established operations in the northern
portion of this department.
recent cultivation probably was initiated by growers
who have been displaced by eradication operations
in nearby Cesar Department.
DEA informants report that traffickers do not antici-
pate any marijuana shortages, largely because mari-
juana grown in these new areas is expected to make
up the losses in the northeast. We believe that this
analysis is correct for the short term, but the impact
of the 1985 eradication campaign in northeastern
Colombia should begin to cause some tightening in
Even though major growers are expanding cultivation,
they are convinced that the government's eradication
program cannot be sustained and that eventually they
will be able to reestablish large-scale cultivation in the
northeast . We
doubt that marijuana production in the northeast can
rebound to previous levels as long as Colombian
authorities keep the pressure on the growers. Howev-
er, some growers will continue to operate in the
region, producing relatively small quantities of mari-
juana. growers re-
maining in areas where eradication occurred have
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adopted several new cultivation techniques-such as
planting fields on the sides of ravines and in steep
valleys and intercropping marijuana with licit crops-
designed to make detection and eradication more
difficult.
Alternative Trafficking Routes and Techniques
Elimination of the northeast as a major supplier will
force Colombian traffickers to use a wider variety of
trafficking routes. In the past, traffickers usually
shipped their marijuana to the Guajira Peninsula on
Colombia's north coast for consolidation and loading
onto mother ships.
traffickers may be making more
extensive use of alternative routes, and we believe
more diverse shipping techniques will be employed to
better protect scarce supplies. These routes and
methods include:
? More maritime trade out of the Golfo de Uraba
region. The port of Turbo, long a secondary mari-
juana export center, may be used more frequently
over the next several months. A variety of ships and
barges have been used to move marijuana produced
in Choco Department down the Rio Atrato to the
Gulfo de Uraba. US Coast Guard officers stationed
at Barranquilla indicate that maritime smuggling
from the Golfo de Uraba is increasing.
Turbo now serves as
a major transshipment point for marijuana grown
along the border of the Departments of Cordoba
and Antioquia.
? Greater use of Pacific coast transshipment points.
drug traffickers use
two locations to stage marijuana shipments from
Colombia's west coast. One staging area extends
from the city of Jurado, just south of the Panama
border, to the Gulf of Cupica. Marijuana is stacked
on the beach near the Gulf of Cupica to await
maritime shipment. Another staging location is
farther south in the area around the port of Buena-
ventura. in August
multiton s ipments o marijuana were being loaded
onto mother ships in the port of Buenaventura.=
traffickers use the beaches
? More use of legitimate merchant ships. According
to information obtained by the US Coast Guard,
marijuana smugglers have increased their use of
merchant ships sailing from Colon, Panama. Ships
leaving Colon declare for Aruba in the Netherlands
Antilles, then rendezvous with mother ships off
Barranquilla to pick up marijuana. Some of these
ships even jettison legitimate cargo to make room
for marijuana, according to US Coast Guard
sources.
? Marijuana grown along the Colombian-Venezuelan
border could be transshipped to the islands off the
north coast of Venezuela where numerous hidden
Boats depart Barranquilla and sail to the islands of
Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, where marijuana
ostensibly of Venezuelan origin is loaded onto moth-
er ships for transport to predetermined locations.
? Better deception techniques. Marijuana traffickers
are using bays busy with pleasure yachts and fishing
boats to better disguise their operations. Two of the
more heavily used bays, Taganga and Ensenada de
Concha, lie just north of Santa Marta
. Pleasure boats in the
area could also be transshipping marijuana grown in
the interior areas of Bolivar and Antioquia; hauling
marijuana to the Guajira Peninsula for loading onto
mother ships or to stash sites in the Netherlands
Antilles; or meeting mother ships at any predeter-
mined location off the Colombian coast.
? More extensive use of containerized cargo ships. US
Customs officials have recently identified the vast
potential for increased smuggling of contraband
using maritime containers. Containers are easily
modified by equipping the sides and roof with false
compartments for illicit drugs. The large volume of
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containers passing through the ports of Barran-
quilla, Cartagena, and Buenaventura bound for US
destinations may be impossible for traffickers to
resist, and the extensive repositioning and trans-
shipping of cargo containers complicates the screen-
ing of such cargo for illegal shipments.
? Barge operations. Drug smugglers occasionally use
oceangoing tugs to tow barges loaded with marijua-
na. The barges are towed by one tug from Colombia
to a location in the Caribbean (Hispaniola in one
case) where it is met by another tug that tows it to a
predetermined point off the US coast. The largest
maritime marijuana seizure in history occurred in
1985 when the Coast Guard seized a tug with a
barge carrying 160 tons of marijuana off the South
Carolina coast. The use of oceangoing tugs to tow
barges loaded with marijuana offers traffickers
greater flexibility. If smugglers suspect that an
interdiction is imminent, they can easily release the
barge before the tug is seized. Because the barge
does not show up on radar, the Coast Guard is
unaware of its existence. In some cases, marijuana-
laden barges are submerged, later recovered, and
hauled to destinations along the US coast, according
to US Coast Guard sources.
Interdiction Operations
On 1 November a combined narcotics interdiction
operation made up of air and maritime forces from
the United States, Colombia, and several Caribbean
nations began in the Caribbean. We believe these
stepped-up enforcement efforts will curtail marijuana
shipments as long as the operations continue.
traffickers continually monitor
the movements of interdiction forces, and they are
constantly aware of the level of effort arrayed against
them as well as the approximate location of maritime
forces. They may also have contacts among the South
American and Caribbean forces participating in the
operation. major
traffickers have nearly ceased maritime shipments of
marijuana from the north coast of Colombia, and
several Coast Guard sources believe the traffickers
are waiting out the interdiction operation.
Large trafficking organizations probably can absorb
the losses incurred during a temporary suspension of
operations, but smaller traffickers with less financial
cushion and fewer markets must find ways to evade
the interdiction forces. According to a United States
Coast Guard source, one trafficker whose ship was
seized near the Bahamas had hauled the marijuana
from the coast of Colombia east, through the Leeward
Islands, then north about 150 kilometers until he
could turn west to the Bahamas. This circuitous route
took the trafficking ship some 600 kilometers out of
its way and probably extended the transit time by a
week. The eastern Caribbean route was almost cer-
tainly used to avoid transiting the narrow and con-
stantly patrolled passages between Mexico, Cuba,
Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. The trafficker was
carrying a relatively small load of marijuana, accord-
ing to US Coast Guard sources. We expect that most
of the shipments seized during the current operations
will belong to small exporters.0 25X1
Large marijuana traffickers are already preparing to
move marijuana north once interdiction operations
end. A US Coast Guard officer in Panama has
identified several suspect drug smuggling ships in
Colon that he believes are waiting to pick up marijua-
na stashed along the Colombian coast. DEA sources
indicate that some Colombian traffickers are buying
their own ships from contacts in other Latin Ameri-
can countries. In addition, US Coast Guard sources
report that Colombian traffickers are attempting to
obtain more ships of non-Colombian registry to haul
marijuana. An increase in the number and type of
ships will make the interdiction task even more com-
plicated.
Outlook
Colombia's 1985 eradication campaign has implica-
tions beyond the immediate effect on 1985/86 mari-
juana exports to the United States. The success of the
1985 program has essentially taken the northeast
growing region out of production, a major achieve-
ment in the history of marijuana control in the
Western Hemisphere. Colombia has set an example of
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effective drug control that can be duplicated by other
countries in the region. Colombia will have to keep up
the pressure in the northeast both to discourage
growers from moving back and to deny traffickers the
large and easily accessible supplies from the region.
The eradication program will also have to be expand-
ed to prevent establishment of major new growing
In the absence of continued government control mea-
sures, marijuana cultivation could bounce back quick-
ly in the northeast. Marijuana is easy to grow, adapts
to a variety of physical conditions, and requires little
maintenance. It is typically cultivated by migrant
laborers and subsistence farmers, of which there are
many in Colombia. Growers whose fields are eradicat-
ed one year can be back in business the next, especial-
ly if marijuana brokers provide subsidies-as is often
the case-for tools, seeds, and living expenses. Still,
persistent efforts by the Colombian National Police
should discourage the kind of unrestricted cultivation
formerly found in the northeast. F___1
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