UMOPAR
Encyclopedia
The Unidad Móvil Policial para Áreas Rurales (UMOPAR) (Mobile Police Unit for Rural Areas), a subsidiary of the Special Antinarcotics Force (Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico--FELCN) of the Bolivian National Police (Cuerpo de Policía Nacional) was created in 1987 and is a Bolivian
anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency force which was founded by, and is funded, advised, equipped, and trained by the United States government as part of its "War on Drugs
".
There have been complaints that UMOPAR, which is effectively controlled by the United States
Drug Enforcement Agency and military, was the most powerfully armed and best trained military force in Bolivia. In 1984, UMOPAR troops kidnapped the President of Bolivia, Siles Zuazo, and staged an unsuccessful coup attempt against the Bolivian government.
and U.S. military officials based at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, who plan their operations, provide intelligence
, and lead the drug raids, using UMOPAR mainly as a "strike force" for U.S. operations.
UMOPAR forces receive extensive training from DEA and U.S. military personnel, including the U.S. Army Special Forces, both in facilities in Bolivia (such as the Garras International Antinarcotics Training School
), and at U.S. military bases such as Fort Benning
, or the School of the Americas in Panama
.
In 1987, under a U.S. State Department contract, an Oregon
corporation known as Evergreen International Airlines
provided several private military contractor pilots, many of whom had flown for the CIA's Air America in Laos
and Cambodia
, to transport DEA agents and UMOPAR troops throughout the Upper Huallaga Valley.
In 1988, U.S. Ambassador Rowell decided that UMOPAR troops needed their own airmobile task force to increase their effectiveness. The United States Department of Defense
loaned UMOPAR 12 UH-1H helicopters, and Rowell assigned his U.S. Army-Navy attache
, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Hayes to command the UMOPAR troops in the unit, which was called the Diablos Rojos (Red Devils).
abuses.
The use of torture by UMOPAR forces has been widespread and systematic, and includes methods such as being hung upside down and beaten, burned with cigarettes, electrocution, death threats, and being submerged underwater to simulate drowning, amongst other methods.
UMOPAR forces act with almost total impunity, and human rights violations are rarely investigated, much less prosecuted.
Other examples of abuses include:
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency force which was founded by, and is funded, advised, equipped, and trained by the United States government as part of its "War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
".
There have been complaints that UMOPAR, which is effectively controlled by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Drug Enforcement Agency and military, was the most powerfully armed and best trained military force in Bolivia. In 1984, UMOPAR troops kidnapped the President of Bolivia, Siles Zuazo, and staged an unsuccessful coup attempt against the Bolivian government.
U.S. involvement
Although UMOPAR is technically headed by Defensa Social, a branch of the Bolivian Interior Ministry, they are in practice controlled by DEADEA
DEA is the commonly used acronym for the Drug Enforcement Administration, a United States law enforcement agency.DEA or Dea may also refer to:- Organizations :* DEA , UK development education charity...
and U.S. military officials based at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, who plan their operations, provide intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
, and lead the drug raids, using UMOPAR mainly as a "strike force" for U.S. operations.
UMOPAR forces receive extensive training from DEA and U.S. military personnel, including the U.S. Army Special Forces, both in facilities in Bolivia (such as the Garras International Antinarcotics Training School
Garras International Antinarcotics Training School
The Garras International Antinarcotics Training School is a military training facility located in Bolivia, which trains military and law enforcement personnel from Bolivia and other Latin American countries in counternarcotics, intelligence, and counterinsurgency techniques....
), and at U.S. military bases such as Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, or the School of the Americas in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
In 1987, under a U.S. State Department contract, an Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
corporation known as Evergreen International Airlines
Evergreen International Airlines
Evergreen International Airlines is a cargo airline based in McMinnville, Oregon, USA. It operates contract freight services, offering charters and scheduled flights, as well as wet lease services. It operates services for the U.S. military and the United States Postal Service, as well as ad hoc...
provided several private military contractor pilots, many of whom had flown for the CIA's Air America in Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, to transport DEA agents and UMOPAR troops throughout the Upper Huallaga Valley.
In 1988, U.S. Ambassador Rowell decided that UMOPAR troops needed their own airmobile task force to increase their effectiveness. The United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
loaned UMOPAR 12 UH-1H helicopters, and Rowell assigned his U.S. Army-Navy attache
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Hayes to command the UMOPAR troops in the unit, which was called the Diablos Rojos (Red Devils).
Human rights abuses
UMOPAR troops have frequently been responsible for beatings, torture, rapes, extortion, robberies, arbitrary shootings, mass arrests without warrants, and various other human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses.
The use of torture by UMOPAR forces has been widespread and systematic, and includes methods such as being hung upside down and beaten, burned with cigarettes, electrocution, death threats, and being submerged underwater to simulate drowning, amongst other methods.
UMOPAR forces act with almost total impunity, and human rights violations are rarely investigated, much less prosecuted.
Other examples of abuses include:
- In June of 1988, UMOPAR troops killed 12 peasants and wounded over 100 in the Massacre of Villa Tunari
- On May 9, 1997, two UMOPAR agents detained and beat a fifteen-year-old girl, Valeriana Condori, during a coca-eradication mission in Uncía.
- In July 1998, Father Hugo Ortiz, a Catholic priest and president of the Asamblea Permanente de Derechos Humanos de Bolivia (APDH), (Permanent Human Rights Assembly of Bolivia) , was beaten by UMOPAR troops while travelling to a meeting.
- In September 2000, a 19 year old boy, Isaac Mejía Arce was tortured to death by UMOPAR troops using a technique known as el arrastre (dragging), where two men sat on top of his body while it was dragged around over the ground (a method frequently used by UMOPAR troops to extract information from suspects). Arce began coughing up blood, and ultimately went into a comaComaIn medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, and died on February 1, 2001. - In 2002, a member of UMOPAR shot at two government representatives as they were entering a community to investigate human rights violations.
See also
- Law enforcement in BoliviaLaw enforcement in BoliviaBolivia has a national police force called the Cuerpo de Policía Nacional made of 31,000 officers that is responsible for internal security and maintaining law and order. Unlike in most Latin American countries, the Bolivian police force always has been responsible to the national government...
- Narcotics in BoliviaNarcotics in BoliviaNarcotics in Bolivia-Coca :Bolivia's most lucrative crop and economic activity in the 1980s was coca, whose leaves were processed clandestinely into cocaine. The country was the second largest grower of coca in the world, supplying approximately 15 percent of the United States cocaine market in the...
- Plan ColombiaPlan ColombiaThe term Plan Colombia is most often used to refer to U.S. legislation aimed at curbing drug smuggling and combating a left-wing insurgency by supporting different activities in Colombia....
- Peruvian Investigative PolicePeruvian Investigative PoliceThe Policía de Investigaciones del Perú or Peruvian Investigative Police were a Peruvian plainclothes police unit, similar to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation , whose function was to investigate crimes, gather intelligence, and fight subversion...
- Andean Information NetworkAndean Information NetworkThe Andean Information Network or AIN is a Bolivian non-profit non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to raise awareness on the drug war and human rights, particularly in the coca-growing areas of Bolivia...
- Narco NewsNarco NewsNarco News is an online newspaper that covers the "War on Drugs” and social movements throughout the Americas. Its articles are available in English and Spanish, with some translations in Italian, French, Portuguese, and German. Narco News is funded by the Fund for Authentic Journalism.The founder...
Further reading
- Documents mentioning "UMOPAR" at UNHCR Refworld
- Google Scholar results for "UMOPAR"
- Google Books results for "UMOPAR"
- Andean Information Network -- covers Bolivian drug war, human rights, etc. -- frequently discusses UMOPAR