Pubdate: Thu, 05 May 2005
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Rachel Van Dong, Special to the Times

2 GIS ARRESTED IN COLOMBIA WITH ARMS CACHE

Officials Say the Soldiers Were Found in a House With More Than 30,000
9-Millimeter Rounds.

BOGOTA, Colombia  In the second embarrassing incident involving U.S.
troops here in a little more than a month, Colombian police have
detained two U.S. soldiers on suspicion of arms smuggling near a large
military base in this nation's heartland, officials said Wednesday.

The soldiers, whose names, ranks and duties were not disclosed, were
arrested Tuesday in a condominium near the town of Carmen de Apicala
with a "big quantity" of ammunition, Colombian Police Chief Jorge
Daniel Castro told local radio.

The U.S. Embassy in Bogota confirmed the arrests Wednesday, but it
refused to provide details.

"The two soldiers were detained [Tuesday] afternoon by Colombian
police," said an embassy spokesman, who requested anonymity.

"The embassy is working to ascertain more facts about the case, and we
will know more information as it becomes available."

The soldiers were arrested near the huge Tolemaida military base,
about 50 miles southwest of Bogota, where U.S. troops are stationed to
train Colombian soldiers in anti-narcotics and anti-terrorism tactics.

Castro said a man led police Tuesday to a condominium where a large
stash of ammunition was discovered along with the two American
soldiers, who were unable to satisfactorily explain why they were there.

"It was a big quantity of ammunition, and it's a very suspicious
case," the police chief said.

Three Colombians also were detained. It was unclear what the suspects
planned to do with the more than 30,000 rounds of 9-millimeter ammunition.

The arrests come on the heels of the March 29 detention of five GIs
suspected of smuggling 35 pounds of cocaine to El Paso on U.S.
military aircraft from the Apiay military base in Colombia's Meta province.

That episode touched off a political firestorm in Colombia because the
five soldiers have diplomatic immunity and will be prosecuted in the
United States rather than here. One soldier has been released for lack
of evidence; the other four remain in U.S. custody.

The Colombian attorney general's office is conducting its own
investigation, however, and is hoping that the soldiers, whose
identities have not been released, will provide more information.
Colombian officials believe a U.S. contractor also was involved.

In a separate case, the attorney general's office is investigating
whether a U.S. soldier, Sgt. Jonathan Marshall, was involved in the
Aug. 29 hit-and-run deaths of two Colombian soldiers on a motorcycle
near the Apiay base. The U.S. government conducted two investigations
and concluded that Marshall, who has since returned to the U.S., had
nothing to do with the deaths.

As part of Plan Colombia, the U.S. has spent $3 billion since 2000 on
training Colombian troops in anti-drug and anti-terrorism tactics.
Under the plan, which is slated to end this year, 800 U.S. military
personnel and 600 civilian contractors are allowed in Colombia at any
one time to aid in the training and other activities.

The work of the U.S. military in this country is largely secretive.
Soldiers are not allowed to play direct combat roles in the
40-year-old conflict among the Colombian government, leftist
guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary forces. 
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