Executive Summary

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COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY FOR PROSPERITY

Executive Summary

Attaining optimal security conditions in order to guarantee democratic prosperity and national progress is one of the primary objectives of the government of President Juan

Manuel Santos.

Based on the key role played by security in fulfilling this objective, the defense and security sector designed the Comprehensive Security and Defense Policy for Prosperity, with the basic goal of establishing security conditions that will act as an engine for prosperity and will further consolidate the security won so far, to bring peace, progress, development, and well-being to the country.

A new vision of current threats and their characteristics, together with an assessment of the real situation of security and defense, were the main inputs for the strategies developed in the framework of this policy.

Under the policy’s strategic vision, the Military Forces and the National Police will apply their efforts with differentiation, taking into account the specific characteristics of each zone.

Executive Summary

In zones classified as red, or where security situations are critical, the objective is to end the violence. In yellow zones the objective is to create the proper conditions for democratic governability, while in green or consolidated zones, the goal is to put optimum security conditions in place in order to promote prosperity.

The defense sector is determined that by the conclusion of this administration there will be no more red zones in the national territory or areas where security indicators or crime rates are critical. It will turn red zones into yellow, and transform yellow zones into green.

With a combination of efforts enriched by intelligence, integrated action, sustained operations, and strong institutions, the defense sector will thoroughly root out illegal organizations, identifying and cutting off their legal and illegal sources of financing, dismantling their logistical supply networks, and neutralizing outside support.

The Comprehensive Security and Defense Policy for Prosperity Establishes Concrete Results and Clear Goals.

The commitments of the Military Forces and Police in this new stage are: 1. To reduce narcotics production to a historic low.2. To dismantle illegal groups and create the security conditions

needed for consolidation.3. To create the security conditions citizens need in order to live in

peaceful coexistence.4. To advance toward a system of credible, integrated, and

interoperable dissuasive capacity.5. To contribute timely response to natural disasters and

catastrophes.6. To strengthen the institutionality and well-being of the defense

and security sector.

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Executive Summary

1. Reduce narcotics production to a historic low.

The strategies in this area will make the drug trafficking business in Colombia inviable.

The Counternarcotics Department of the Colombian National Police will control eradication with support from the Army, increasing manual eradication and aerial spraying efforts. It will attack re-planting head on and will increase the presence of mobile eradication squads in the most critical growing zones.

At the same time, it will intensify the intelligence dedicated to dismantling drug trafficking organizations and all links in the logistics and finances support chain.

The fight against drug trafficking cannot be separated from the fight against the organized crime that is fed by the export and micro-trafficking of narcotics. Therefore, intelligence and specialized police actions will be dedicated to dismantling these organized criminal groups, referred to as BACRIM. The defense and security sector will work with determination to shut down these organizations, so that by the end of this administration they will no longer represent a threat to security.

2. Dismantle illegal groups and create the security conditions needed for consolidation.

One of the emphases of the Comprehensive Policy for Security and Defense for Prosperity is the definitive disarticulation of the structures of illegal groups.

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Executive Summary

The government will implement the Integrated System for Border Administration, Control, and Security to guarantee the irreversibility of the achievements of recent years, to protect the border, and to combat transnational crime.

It will execute a strategic plan for integrated action to protect the people who live in zones where the degree of deterioration in security conditions is greater, and prepare them for the arrival of all the state’s institutions.

3. Create the security conditions citizens need in order to live in peaceful coexistence.

Under the scenario produced by the new security situation, the defense and security sector must be able to quickly adapt to what citizens require to be able to enjoy their rights and freedoms. With that flexibility in mind, the National Police will attack the most critical dynamics affecting citizen security and will promote peaceful coexistence in order to improve the quality of life of Colombians. Technology, criminal investigation, and intelligence are key words for police action in favor of the public.

The National Police will focus on making a significant reduction in the homicide rate. They will also reduce the number of cases of aggravated theft, personal injury, extortion, micro-extortion, kidnapping, and land piracy.

To do this, the Ministry of Defense will strengthen police control across the entire national territory, massify security programs by quadrants and networks, and engage in integrated intervention and frontal attack on criminal structures.

In all cases citizen denouncements and cooperation are key factors to success.

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Executive Summary

4. Advance toward a system of credible, integrated, and interoperable dissuasive capacity.

The Military Forces will continue with their process to strengthen their capabilities.

A diplomacy for security program will be organized to maximize the effectiveness of the fight against transnational crime. The defense and security sector will also develop new bi-national security plans.Colombia will gain further ground in its new role as a provider of cooperation in the area of defense and security, increasing the assistance it provides at the regional and international level based on the country’s successful experiences.

In addition, it will put in motion a strategy and a policy against cybercrime and cyberterrorism.

5. Contribute to a timely response to natural disasters and catastrophes.

The role of the Military Forces and Police in disaster response is crucial for the country. Therefore the Ministry of Defense will create an entity and design a policy to make actions in this area more strategic and coordinated, with clearly defined responsibilities for the tasks of humanitarian assistance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.

6. Strengthen the institutionality and well-being of the defense and security sector.

The goal is to continue the sector’s modernization process and review its structure to adapt it to the needs of today and the challenges of the future.

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Executive Summary

New tools will make expenditure sustainable and promote science, technology, and innovation projects that will seek, among other things, to substitute imports and make the defense sector an engine for innovation.

The Defense Sector Business Group (GSED) will improve its

strategic capabilities, making it more competitive.

The processes will continue to modernize the Military Criminal Justice system and implement the accusatory criminal justice system.

This administration is always concerned for the well-being of force members. The motivation and morale of the troops and continuous improvement of their living conditions and intellectual capacities are priorities of the strategy.

Housing, education, health, and recreation will be promoted vigorously in favor of all the men and women who risk their lives daily for the well-being of all Colombians.

The legal defense of members of the Military Forces and Police has a key role in the well-being of the troops and the Ministry of Defense is committed to it.

The Ministry will establish a Comprehensive Defense Service to safeguard the basic rights of all of its members to due process. It will facilitate timely, free, specialized, and continuous access to a proper defense for both criminal and disciplinary matters.

The success of the Comprehensive Security and Defense Policy for Prosperity depends on the effective application of the 6 pillars supporting it:

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Executive Summary

• Substantial improvements to intelligence based on an operationally structured and strengthened intelligence system.

• Strengthened command and control, making a quantitative and qualitative leap in the way operations are planned and conducted.

• Increased coordination and integration to be more effective and to reach goals.

• Strategic protection of the people: in order to build peace the Military Forces and Police must not only guarantee territorial control and the defeat of illegal groups, but must also continue to win the confidence and the heart of Colombians.

• Strategic application of force: The Military Forces and Police will develop operations based on five directives - massify, focus, surprise, differentiate, and define - in order to meet the challenges presented by illegal armed groups and organized crime.

• Respect for human rights and International Humanitarian Law: rigorous adherence to the law and superior ethical conduct are expected from all members of the Military Forces and Police. They will be recognized as the principle defenders of human rights in Colombia.

We all play a vital role in achieving these objectives.

Peacebuilding requires a joint, coordinated, and sustained effort by the state with the dedicated participation of all Colombians.

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Executive Summary

Libertad y Orden

www.mindefensa.gov.co

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“Strengthening security to advance towards prosperity”