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Colombia

Special Operations and Counterterrorist Units

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The national hostage rescue/counterterrorist unit is the Fuerzas Especiales Anti-Terroristas Urbanas (AFEAU). It is made up of between 70 and 100 personnel from all branches of the Armed Forces as well as the National Police and is under the overall command of the Comandante de las Fuerzas Armadas (Commander of the Armed Forces). The unit is broken down into four 15-man sub-units, one each from the Colombian Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and National Police. Each sub-unit is comprised of two officers and 13 enlisted ranks, all of whom are volunteers. AFEAU is commanded by an Army major who heads a headquarters section comprised of an executive officer, first sergeant, communications operator. It was created as a direct result of the failed assault on the Palace of Justice in Bogota which resulted in the deaths of not only the M-19 terrorists, but 80 hostages as well. In addition to the assault teams, the AFEAU has dedicated sniper teams, a crisis management team, and a hostage negotiation element.

Training is carried out primarily at a facility in Facatativa, north of Bogota. Members are schooled in a wide variety of disciplines, including close-quarters combat, short and longs range marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and even air assault operations. Specific hostage rescue skills are developed for the major transportation scenarios including trains, busses, and a wide variety of airplanes.

Little is known of AFEAU’s actual operations, however it was reported that the unit was deployed to secure the airport at Cartagena in anticipation of VIP arrivals for a recent major anti-drug summit. AFEAU also provided security at the guest residences and meeting site attended by the presidents of various nations. In support of this security effort, unit operators carried out preemptive raids on suspected safe houses thought to be housing individuals who represented potential threats to the event.

UNASE units were created in response to a record number of kidnappings in Bogota in 1991. Not a counterterrorist force in the true sense, the specialty of UNASE is hostage rescue. Nonetheless, as guerrilla groups such as FARC and ELN are frequently the perpetrators of kidnappings-for-ransom, UNASE teams often find themselves involved in firefights with these terrorists. Like many other hostage rescue/CT teams, UNASE volunteers come from the ranks of the police force, not the military. Each unit is made up of 35 men, five officers and 15 NCOs and 15 special agents. UNASE worked with the British SAS to effect the rescue of Staff Sergeant Timothy Cowley in 1995. has effected dozens of successful rescues. Some members of UNASE were trained in Madrid under the Spanish Civil Guard. These units are now based in most major Colombian cities including Cali, Bogota, Barranquilla and Bucaramangara

Centro de Information Anti-Extorsion y Secuestro (Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Center) CIAES - 13th Brigade

CIAES is a unit of the Ministry of Defense Joint Intelligence Center. It was established in the mid-1980's in response to a deteriorating national situation and has several missions beyond the CT role, especially in the coordination of the various CT players throughout the nation. The national CIAES is located at the Army General Headquarters in Bogota. The most capable CT unit within CIAES is the 13th Brigade. The CIAES staff includes representatives from the Army, National Police, and other security services.

This is a National Police unit with the primary mission of rescuing kidnap victims of both terrorists and criminals. GOES came into existence in the mid-1980s and is composed of approximately 150 men. GOES operational units are composed of approximately 10 men each and are assigned to Bogota, Barranquilla, Cali, and Medellin. When the units are operational, they are formed into 3-man teams with reserves and a supporting sniper team. All members are volunteers who must serve a minimum of two years.

The mission of the Colombian Air Force's GASDA unit is directed at countering terrorist and criminal actions at all Colombian airports. The GASDA came into existence in the early 1980's but was expanded in 1985. While part of the Air Force, it is controlled operationally by the CIAES. GASDA is located at the Madrid Air Base, outside of Bogota. Organized into 25-man sections, it is believed the unit strength is somewhere between 60 - 90 men. Each 25 man section has three assault teams, a security team, and a support element. Members are volunteers from the Air Force security police units, most are airborne qualified in addition to having passed the Army's rigorous Lancero course.

This is a SEAL-type unit established in the mid-1960s and works against drug trafficking but is also given other missions such as naval CT. The unit is based at the Cartagena Naval Base and is approximately 100 men strong. The GCA is composed of 25 man platoons and also possess a Training Company and a Security Company.  In October 1967, soon after the unit's inception, a Mobile Training Team from the US Navy's SEAL Team 2 Mobile Training Team traveled to Cartagena to train that unit. The SEALs trained them in basic swimming (!), demolitions, scuba, and land warfare. They were reportedly pretty good, but the CO wasn't a particularly good operator. He later got blown up testing a homemade limpet mine.

These companies were established in the 14 Brigades in the early 1980's. Initially, these units were known as Army Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Commandos (CAES), but when the National Police were given the primary CT mission, the Army changed the name to the current CCGU. The size of the individual CCGU's may vary from 20-30 men, but is unique in often including civilian personnel. A Brigade area may have more than one CCGU assigned. Like many of the other Colombian CT forces, the CCGU will receive training at the Special Operations Center (Centro de Operaciones Especiales) located at the National Police NCO school in Subate. This facility has had support from the Spanish, Israelis, West Germans, and others.