The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has been impersonating FARC guerrillas to track down and capture illegal drug traffickers across the world.
The DEA has used the guerrillas name as bait in three high-profile international operations over the last two years which have resulted in the capture of several global drug kingpins.
Using this method, in the last two weeks the DEA managed to orchestrate the capture of three alleged members of Al Quaeda who were part of a North African subsidiary group. The three now stand trial in a Southern District court in New York to face charges of drug trafficking and supporting terrorist organizations which could bring them life sentences.
In the capture operation, which was hailed by the DEA as the first major proof of the links between drug trafficking and the Bin Laden group, it was critical to employ agents posing as FARC members who was pretending to be searching for a safe way to move shipments of 500 kilos of cocaine from West Africa to Spain through Saharan routes.
According to former Colonel John Marulanda, the FARC are an attractive ally for the world’s superior crime leagues because the guerrillas are recognized for their increasing role in drug trafficking.
Marulanda stated that arms traffickers prefer to receive a kilo of cocaine in payment instead of the money, as business negotiations tend to be priced according to the producer country. If the drug reaches Europe, the earnings are multiplied by 20.