Colombian Contractors Hired by the USA to Function in Danger Zones

Are You Currently Really a Colombian Contractor Working to the U.S. Government?

If you're a contractor out of Colombia hired from the USA authorities to operate in Iraq or Afghanistan or another threat zone, and you're injured at work, you might qualify for reimbursement under the Defense Base Act.

As a contractor injured while operating in Iraq or Afghanistan for the United States authorities, the law will give you the security you deserve.                                                                                                         

We are attorneys who specialize in helping injured employees covered by the Defense Base Act. Regardless of where the harm may have happened, if it occurred while working under contract with the authorities of the United States of America, then you might qualify for benefits.

We can assist you to pursue health care and compensation for your injuries. We're frequently able to negotiate with a huge cash settlement too, based on the conditions of your situation. Each circumstance differs, thus, we will help you to get the most benefits just after reviewing your situation.

A U.S.-made Huey II army helicopter manned by thieves wearing U.S. Army fatigues crash lands after being pockmarked by continual guerrilla fire in the jungle below. Its team members, among them injured, are encompassed by enemy guerrillas. Another 3 planes, now carrying American crews, cut through the hot muggy skies. While two of these circle, shooting machine-guns at the concealed enemy, one swoops down along with the downed Huey, along with the Americans jump throughout the wash of their blades to the firefight on the floor, successfully rescuing the downed crew members. However, it occurred in Colombia past February, within this U.S. $1.3 billion intervention referred to as"Plan Colombia." But they weren't a part of this U.S. Armed Forces, however, civilian employees of a private firm, the brand new"privateer mercenaries" of a U.S. policy which currently"outsources" its wars.

Like the old English"privateer" pirates of the Caribbean five hundred decades back, sailing under no federal flag - robbing and plundering Latin America's wealth for the British Crown, Washington currently employs countless contract workers through U.S. companies to carry out its policies in Colombia and other nations. In the previous times, the British claimed that since the pirate ships didn't fly the flag, the Crown wasn't accountable for their activities. While the new privateers are underwritten through U.S. taxation, they're "contract workers." Such as the sixteenth-century pirates, even should they get caught in an awkward offense, or are murdered, the U.S. government can deny responsibility for their actions. What is more only a select few in Congress understand the actions and their operations aren't subject to public scrutiny, even though they're on the government payroll.

And there's an economic thought also. Deploying high ranking active duty military officers to personnel Colombian operations is a lot more expensive than hiring retired officers operating independently. A U.S. government official, who asked not to be named, explained there were many reasons the U.S. government outsources jobs:"[Outsourcing] could be a flexible, cost-effective way of supplying specific labor-intensive solutions on a short term foundation. After we employ government employees, they're here forever. A few of those jobs are just temporary.”

Outsourcing belligerent actions on the part of the U.S. government isn't new. Many such firms were included in the Vietnam war, however, they had been just a minuscule presence when compared with the significant military attempt by the U.S. there. What's new is that today contract workers are at the forefront of surgeries. From the Colombian warfare, personal outsourced military guys are out on the frontlines, although the actual U.S. troops are concealed on foundations as coaches. The precise amount of contract workers in Colombia isn't known. A new State Department report claims that there are just 200 U.S. army soldiers and approximately 170 American contractors working in Colombia. Historically, official counts of U.S. employees and contractors tend to be underestimated in counter-insurgency surgeries.

The biggest U.S. builder Business in Latin America is currently, headquartered in Reston, Virginia near the CIA, and Pentagon. It hires and puts many ex-military employees, but is a whole lot more varied and much more high tech than that. The organization's site promotes it as an Internet Technologies company. When you dig a bit deeper, it's evident this is no ordinary high-tech beginning up.

Through these occasions, we've committed ourselves to provide clients with the very best and most educated alternatives. Our IT expertise has developed with this ever-changing business, and we continue to supply our customers solid solutions according to this development." 

Government contracts account for 98 percent of the company. Approximately half of the earnings come in the Pentagon and a lot of its workers are retired army guys. The remaining contracts are large with civilian government agencies. According to its site, the past year it generated over $1.8 billion in annual revenues, a $4.4 billion-dollar contract backlog, and over 20,000 employees in over 550 locations. Like most multinational giants have gobbled up a few of the contests. In 1999 it acquired GTE Information Systems that has helped the organization pursue authorities mega-contracts.

The business mainly"engages in eradication assignments, training, and drug interdiction, but also participates in aviation, reconnaissance, search and rescue, aerial medical evacuation, ferrying equipment, and personnel from 1 nation to another, in addition to aircraft maintenance," by this contract. It provides the technicians, and virtually any sort of personnel needed to perform the war in Colombia, such as administrative employees.

Since 1997, has functioned under a 600 million-dollar State Department contract in Latin America. However, based on its contract with the State Department, recently obtained by CorpWatch, "assignment deployments might be created to any global location, such as, possibly, out of Central and South America." 

A number of its employees in Colombia, for example, its helicopter pilots are Colombians, Peruvians, and Guatemalans, but many are out of the U.S. All have to speak passable English and Spanish, and all need to have U.S. authorities"Secret" personnel security clearances, except in the instances of foreign builders, where this condition might be waived.

The business spokesperson refused to comment on the organization's overseas operations. Nor will the State Department create on-the-record statements regarding operations.  Since Demons wasn't a military officer and did not work directly for the U.S. government, there was no official report as well as his death had been treated as if he had been a tourist. None of those deaths were reported from the news websites.

It also functions in Bolivia and Peru, in battle zones where native coca growers believe U.S. drug operations encroach in their cultural usage of coca and their economic livelihood. However, by far the biggest operations are in Colombia, and by its contract with the State Department, it's a"command and control" role within the area, seemingly outside any government supervision.

It shroud of secrecy has the prospect of providing cover to a vast selection of actions outside stated US policy aims. It has been contracted to assist eliminate drug production in Colombia. However, a DEA Record, recently acquired under the Freedom of Information Act, said that on May 12, 2000, the Colombian National Police intercepted a FedEx.

The parcel at the airport. It had been shipped from the Bogota website and longing for office on Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. The title of the sender was blacked out.

It is publicly labeled"mercenary" with a hostile Colombian media, a fee they vigorously deny. A State Department official told CorpWatch who"mercenaries are employed in warfare. That can be counter-narcotics." However, in Colombia, the line between the counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics was obscured for several decades. Although it's true that Colombia now generates a lot of the cocaine used in the USA which makes it a goal for its"war on drugs," Washington's policy aims may go beyond medication. 

The U.S. is concerned about Colombia's over 30-year extended guerilla insurgency. Critics state that Plan Colombia is a growth of Washington's participation in counter-insurgency.

A sign of additional U.S. policy goals is observable to anybody carrying a commercial flight from Houston into Bogotá. Amongst the U.S. passengers, the embassy forms, both the businessmen and elderly ex-military kinds may be recognizable. But individuals who stand out most are the young gringos using cocker-spaniel hairdos sporting blue jeans and sweatshirts with acrylic firm logos inscribed on them. Growing oil supplies is in the center of the Bush administration energy policy. And the two U.S. presidential candidates during the 2000 elections had ties to oil investments in Colombia.

Working together with U.S. military officers, Narcotic Affairs is assumed to become a part of the drug war just, conducting the fumigation operations against drug crops. However, there are signs it is also involved with the counter-insurgency. 

Their regular obvious coordination with the Narcotic Affairs Section and their workers, in addition to using the Armed forces, raises the issue of U.S. cooperation with"outsourced" death squads, a charge vehemently denied by U.S. officials.

They informed the Peruvian Air Force that took them down, killing a woman and her seven-month-old girl. While there was speculation that could be involved, the provider denied the allegations. 

The rising death toll around using contractors such as has captured the interest of U.S. lawmakers.                                                                         

"U.S. taxpayers are unwittingly financing a personal war with personal soldiers," it lately testified in Congress. When there's a possibility of a privatized Gulf of Tonkin incident, then the American men and women deserve to get a full and open discussion before this policy goes farther."

Is it to hide body bags from the media and therefore shield them from public view?" she asked.