Joint Task Force OMEGA (Spanish: Fuerza de tarea conjunta OMEGA) is a joint task force involving the Military of Colombia in support of Plan Patriota (Now replaced by Plan Consolidación) assembled with the main purpose of capturing the leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Mission
editIts purpose is to conduct military operations, planning, developing and implementing assault operations, surveillance, interdiction, security and support, combating and neutralizing the narco-terrorist organizations, with an emphasis on neutralizing their leaders, their logistics infrastructure, economic base, and precipitate the military defeat of their armed paramilitaries.
Organization
editThe JTF OMEGA was formed by the best 15,000 soldiers in the military of Colombia selected from the Army, Air Force and Navy. The task force headquarters is located in the Military Fort Larandia in the Department of Caqueta.
Field units
editField units of the Task Force consist of eight brigades as follows:
- Mobile Brigades 1, 2 and 3 which make up the Rapid Deployment Force (Fuerza de Despliegue Rápido or "FUDRA"), these units are based in La Macarena in the Department of Meta;
- Mobile Brigade No. 6 based in Cartagena del Chairá, Department of Guaviare
- Mobile Brigade No. 7 based in Calamar, Department of Guaviare
- Mobile Brigade No. 9 based in San Vicente del Caguán, Department of Guaviare
- Mobile Brigade No. 10 based in Miraflores, Department of Guaviare
- Mobile Brigade No. 22 based in Peñas Coloradas, Department of Caqueta.
Apart from the land component, the JTF has a river component located in Tres Esquinas, Department of Caqueta, and an aviation component in the bases of Larandia and Apiay.[1]
Operations
editOperations left 137 members of the Colombian military killed in action and 1,300 wounded. After the end of Plan Patriota, The Joint Task Force OMEGA was renamed to OMEGA Campaign on December 10, 2006 to support the Plan Consolidación.[2]
Commanders
edit- General Reinaldo Castellanos (????-2004) [3]
- General Carlos Alberto Fracica (2004-2005) [4][5]
- General Gilberto Rocha (2005-2006)[6]
- General Alejandro Navas (2006-2008)[7]
- General Javier Alberto Florez Aristizabal (2008–present)[8]
Guerrilla infiltration scandal
editDuring an operation on July 15, 2007 in the jungles of Colombia by the Colombian National Army soldiers of the 17th Counter-Guerrilla Battalion 2nd Mobile Brigade, localized a FARC campsite in the village of Montañitas, in the municipality of Mesetas, Meta Department and after a confrontation with members of FARC's 42nd Front, soldiers found on the body a guerrilla named José Nerup Reyes Peña (the presumed leader of that front), hard discs and USB drives containing information about members of the FARC guerrilla infiltration in the JTF OMEGA. The hard drive contained detailed maps outlining anti-guerrilla operations by Omega.[9][10]
References
edit- ^ "Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta OMEGA" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- ^ (in Spanish) eltiempo.com:Derrota total de las Farc es el objetivo de la nueva fase de operaciones militares en el sur de país Archived 2007-01-23 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Uribe cambia jefe militar para derrotar a insurgentes" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
- ^ (in Spanish) Mindefensa anuncia nueva línea de mando de las Fuerzas Militares
- ^ (in Spanish) Salió El General Fracica
- ^ (in Spanish) PRESIDENTE URIBE RATIFICA CÚPULA MILITAR
- ^ (in Spanish) Relevo en el comando de la Fuerza de Tarea Conjunta Omega[permanent dead link]
- ^ (in Spanish) Comandante General de las Fuerzas Militares anunció nueva línea de mando en el Ejército Nacional
- ^ Washington Post: Traffickers Infiltrate Military in Colombia
- ^ "Revista Semana: Infiltrado el corazón de las Fuerzas Militares" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
External links
edit- (in Spanish) Colombian National Armada: Joint Task Force OMEGA Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine