SAS secretly helps Bogota fight rebels

The Independent (London)
22 October 1999
By David Smith
This Month's News | CSN Home | US Involvement in Colombia

MEMBERS OF the SAS are secretly helping Colombia fight the war against drugs.

"The SAS have given us great help in recent times," said General Jose Serrano, commander of the paramilitary police force. "We are very grateful to the British government for this."

Small teams of SAS specialists rotate routinely through Bogota, British diplomats confirmed, working with General Serrano's main unit, La Jungla. This battalion is responsible for locating and destroying drug factories in remote areas.

"They are working with this police unit much of the time, training them," said President Andres Pastrana told 'Channel 4 News'.

"We produce drugs ... you consume them, so we have to join in one fight together against the drug organisation."