BOGOTA, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The Colombian government handed over thousands of dollars to three masked informants in a televised ceremony to mark the start of the government's controversial paid-informants program.
"Reward Monday" is set to become a regular feature on Colombian television as President Alvaro Uribe's government seeks to crack down on the rebel groups that have been fighting the state for the last 38 years.
Three informers from Bolivar state each received almost $2,000 during Monday night's first show. The information provided by one of them had led directly to the capture of five alleged guerrillas, who are accused of running a bomb-making factory in the city of Cartagena.
The information provided by the other two informants led the security forces to Oswaldo Diaz Alfaro, alias "The Teacher," who is believed to be a senior member of Front 35 of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known better by the local acronym FARC.
Diaz Alfaro is accused of planning a assassination attempt against Uribe during his election campaign in April.
Col. Jose Javier Toro explained that the level of payment to informers will depend on the type of information provided. "The amount we pay goes from $20 up to $760,000 for information leading to the capture of the guerrillas' leaders," the colonel said. The sums are a fortune in Colombia where 64 percent of the population lives in poverty and 23 percent live on less than $1 per day.
"Reward Monday" guarantees anonymity to informants and will not ask them to become involved in the capture of guerrillas or paramilitaries or force them to testify in court.
The Uribe government believes the use of informers will significantly increase the armed forces' ability to counter threats by the country's leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary groups and drug cartels. Uribe has pledged to strengthen the Colombian security forces and to crush the rebels militarily if they fail to declare a cease-fire and accept U.N. mediation.
Col. Fernando Villamizar, the commander of the Fusiliers Battalion, said he believed informers were a necessary evil and would increase the armed forces' intelligence gathering abilities. The military has previously had enormous problems tracking down rebel groups in the jungles and mountains of Colombia.
"This system is effective and this has been proved by the arrests we have already managed to make," he said. "The letter of the law is being followed and all the suspects arrested have been placed at the courts' disposal."
The informants program has, however, generated significant unease among human rights groups and pro-peace process organizations, which believe the scheme is one of several hard-line policies introduced by Uribe that will further divide Colombian society and damage the already limited prospects of reaching a peace settlement.
Amnesty International has already warned Uribe that his strategy "risks dragging the civilian population further into the conflict and consolidating the army-backed paramilitary strategy."
Despite criticism, the Uribe government shows no sign of backing down and the lure of instant riches is likely to continue attracting poor Colombians to inform.
After "Reward Monday" was first shown, an informer in Cali told police about a truck driver who was transporting material used in the cocaine production process to a region under FARC control.
"I'm proud to have fulfilled my duty to have informed about a criminal act," the disguised informer told the local press. "And as I'm unemployed at the moment, the money will be very useful indeed."
