2007

Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) Program Handover In Colombia, December 2007

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Commander Umberto Guatibonza, chief of the Colombian National Police GAULA units, points out areas where kidnap victims sometimes are taken and held hostage, Dec. 5, 2007.  The Bureau of Diplomatic Security's Antiterrorism Assistance program trains Colombia's elite GAULA anti-kidnapping units in hostage rescue techniques.  Kidnapping in Colombia has decreased 78 percent since 2004. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PHOTO.	U.S. and Colombian officials arrive at Sibate, outside Bogota, for a ceremony turning over a U.S. training facility to the Colombian Ministry of Defense for the Colombian National Police special anti-kidnapping units, the GAULA.  Attending the Dec. 6, 2007 ceremony were Colombian Vice Minister of Defense Sergio Jaramillo (second row, second from left); U.S. Bureau of Diplomatic Security Assistant Director for Training Mark Hunter (to the right of Jaramillo), and U.S. Embassy Bogota Chargé Brian A. Nichols (carrying briefcase). DEPARTMENT OF STATE PHOTO.	DS's Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) program director in Bogota (l.) speaks with a Colombian instructor at a training facility in Sibate, Colombia, Dec. 6, 2007.  The ATA program includes specialized instruction for Colombia's GAULA anti-kidnapping units. This training has contributed to the dramatic decline (78 percent since 2004) of kidnappings throughout the country. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PHOTO.
A DS Antiterrorism Assistance program coordinator confers with Colombian GAULA anti-kidnapping instructors at a training center in Sibate, Colombia, Dec. 6, 2007.  The U.S. Department of State turned the facility over to the Colombian Ministry of Defense as a permanent training facility for its special GAULA anti-kidnapping unit. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PHOTO.	Members of Colombia's special anti-kidnapping unit, the GAULA, prepare for a demonstration during a ceremony in Sibate, Colombia.  The United States turned over the GAULA training facility there to the Colombian Ministry of Defense on Dec. 6, 2007. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security, through its Antiterrorism Assistance program, provided anti-kidnapping training to Colombia's GAULA forces. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PHOTO.	Col. Luis Erbin Guio Cortes (l.), director of the Nacional GAULA Militares, Colombia's special armed forces anti-kidnapping unit, speaks with the DS Antiterrorism Assistance program coordinator, Dec. 6, 2007.  The U.S. State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security provides specialized training in hostage rescue to GAULA units. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PHOTO.
A guard stands at his post in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace in Bogota, Colombia, Dec. 5, 2007. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security provides assistance to Colombia through a special program of presidential security. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PHOTO.		Security personnel at the presidential palace in Bogota monitor activities outside the building from a command center, Dec. 5, 2007.  The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security provides assistance to Colombia through a presidential security program that protects President Alvaro Uribe, Vice President Francisco Santos, and their families. DEPARTMENT OF STATE PHOTO.