Israeli mercenaries take on Colombian narco-terrorists

Israeli mercenaries have taken to the jungles to fight against Colombia's narco-guerillas, according to Beatrice Overlander on Ynet news.
The FARC rebel army (pictured left) once controlled an autonomous region in the heart of the South American cocaine giant and still has a grip on almost half the country's territory. They announced online that Israeli, American and British commandos now are menacing its guerrilla fighters and the drug lords who fund them. FARC had reportedly bought plastic explosives from the IRA and hosted a renegade trio of Northern Irish fighters five years ago to train their rebels in urban warfare and sabotage before escalating their tactics in Colombia's cities.

Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos admitted only that Israeli intelligence advisers have shadowed local defense officials in the past year. He told local reporters that
these Israelis were hired by the Colombian Defense Ministry in order to boost the army's intelligence gathering capabilities and the command and control structure inside the military.

Defense Minister Santos credits the former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami for suggesting the cooperation, and a $10m contract was signed in April.

The Israeli group, reportedly made up of three senior generals, a lower ranking officer and three translators, is highly esteemed by the Colombians. "They are like psychoanalysts; they ask us the material questions and help us see all the problems we weren't aware of before," Deputy Defense Minister Sergio Jaramillo told the newspaper. "They are the best in the world," another high ranking officer stated.

Israeli veterans have long been considered the most effective bodyguards in Latin America because of their anti-insurgency experience, zeal, and accuracy. Their popularity in Colombia and salaries increased exponentially after the election of President Alvaro Uribe, a pro-American conservative pledged to law and order. Now Israeli suppliers sell Colombia a vast arsenal which include drones, light arms and ammunition, observation and communication systems and even specialized defoliant bombs capable of destroying coca fields. Arms export to Colombia, is big business, worth tens of millions of dollars annually.

"Israel's methods of fighting terror have been duplicated in Colombia," a senior defense official boasted on Thursday.