US Casualties in Colombia's civil war

by Alfredo Castro

28 August 2002

US troops are being targeted in Colombia. For the first time ever by any media outlet, ANNCOL can reveal the names of 12 US citizens who have been killed in recent years whilst working for the US government on military related projects in Colombia.

Only weeks ago, US military aircraft deployed over Bogota as part of a huge security buildup were unable to prevent a mortar attack on the Colombian Presidential Palace while Alvaro Uribe was being sworn in as president. Until now, no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack but the explosions have highlighted the fact that US troops involved in the Colombian civil war are increasingly running the risk of becoming targets.

Also this month a Colombian army helicopter donated by the US as part of their massive military aid program to Colombia was brought down near the town of Solita by what some reports said was guerrilla gunfire. The Huey helicopter was giving air support during heavy combat between FARC rebel units and US-trained troops from one of the counterinsurgency battalions that are also financed by US money.

Six occupants of the helicopter – none of them US citizens - where killed in the incident including the El Salvadorian pilot Eduardo Gil who was working on contract for the US State Department. Specifically Gil was employed by DynCorp, a Virginia-based mercenary company run by ex-US military and intelligence personnel who supply manpower for US semi-covert operations. DynCorp employs numerous foreigners for their missions in Colombia in an effort to circumvent Congressional restrictions on the numbers of US citizens allowed to directly participate in the Colombian civil war. The DynCorp mercenaries frequently come under fire from guerrilla forces.

In an interview earlier this year with the Chilean electronic journal ‘El Mostrador’, FARC spokesman Javier Cifuentes announced that the 2,000 US military personnel that he claimed were currently based in Colombia could be considered to be military objectives by the guerrilla organisation. The statement is similar to one made last year by FARC commander Andres Paris who said that "all Colombian or foreign military personnel who are in the combat zones will be military targets."

Some observers would consider Cifuentes’ estimate of 2,000 US military personnel as high although nobody outside of the US government is sure of the true figure due the secrecy surrounding US military involvement in Colombia. It is suspected for example that the largest CIA station in the world is located in Bogota although figures for the numbers of agents that they currently have in Colombia are closely guarded.

Here, however, for the first time ever by any media outlet, ANNCOL can reveal the names of 12 US citizens who have been killed in recent years whilst working for the US government on military related projects in Colombia.

The mainstream media seems to have intentionally ignored many of these deaths and it is believed that there could have been more US casualties in Colombia in recent years that have gone unreported.

1. Agent Edgar Lara Garcia – A DEA agent killed in October 2001 in Mendeihuaca in the department of La Guajira in northern Colombia.

2. Agent Jose Lara Garcia – Another DEA agent also killed in October 2001 in Mendeihuaca in the department of La Guajira in northern Colombia

3. Michael Demons (34) – Killed at a military base near the city of Florencia in southern Colombia whilst working on contract for the US State Department in October 2000.

4. Captain Jennifer Odom (29) – A US army pilot attached to the 204th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas, she was killed on July 3rd 1999 when her US Army DeHavilland RC7 aircraft crashed whilst conducting intelligence operations against FARC guerrillas in Putumayo department.

5. Captain Jose Santiago – A native of Florida, Santiago was the US army co-pilot of the above aircraft.

6. Chief Warrant Officer Thomas Moore – A native of Arkansas, Moore was a US army crewmember of the above aircraft.

7. Private First Class Bruce Cluff – A native of Utah, Cluff was a US army crewmember of the above aircraft.

8. Private First Class Ray Kruegar – A native of Texas, Kruegar was a US army crewmember of the above aircraft.

9. Agent Frank Arnold Moreno (37) – A native of Texas, Moreno was working for the US Drug Enforcement Agency when he was shot and killed in November 1998 at a bar in northern Bogota.

10. Pilot Wayne Harley Mulgrew (46) – A native of California, Mulgrew was killed in July 1998 when his Turbo Thrush T-65 aircraft crashed close to the banks of the Guayabero River in the department of Guaviare in southern Colombia. He was working on contract for the US State Department.

11. Pilot Gary Clyde Chestnut (46) – A native of Alabama, Chestnut was killed in July 1998 on the same flight as above. He too was working on contract for the US State Department.

12. Pilot Robert Ernest Martin (35) – Killed January 7th 1997 when his Turbo Thrush T-65 aircraft crashed in southern Colombia. He was working on contract for the US State Department.