BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) -- Colombia's army has blamed its heaviest-ever defeat in the long-running war against leftist guerrillas on unruly soldiers who spent money on liquor and prostitutes instead of food supplies, local media said on Monday.
Citing a confidential army report, the respected El Espectador newspaper said the elite Third Mobile Brigade was decimated by rebels in southern Caqueta province in March because of the "glaring absence" of "personal and tactical discipline."
Officially, the armed forces say 62 soldiers died and 43 others were taken prisoner in the three-day battle in a remote jungle region along the banks of the Caguan River.
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels say they killed more than 80 soldiers.
Either way, it was the worst defeat for the army in more than 30 years of civil conflict.
"The report emphasises the repeated consumption of liquor and frequent visits to brothels. ... Money which should have been used to buy food in a region where supplies were scarce was used to pay for alcohol and prostitutes," El Espectador said.
"There was a glaring absence of command or control ... there was neither personal nor tactical discipline," according to an extract of the document quoted directly by El Espectador.
Army chiefs and defense ministry officials were not immediately available for comment on the press reports because Monday was a bank holiday in Colombia.
The El Espectador newspaper said other sections of the military report -- drawn up by Gen. Dagoberto Barrios, head of the army's 15th Brigade -- criticized the Third Mobile Brigade for stealing from village stores and abusing civilians.
The military and political strength of the FARC has surged to unparalleled levels during President Ernesto Samper's 4-year administration, sparking warnings from U.S. Pentagon officials that the rebels could defeat the military within five years.
The rebels are still holding the 43 prisoners they took during the clash in early March and want to exchange them for an unspecified number of jailed guerrillas.
Colombia army defeat due to brothels, liquor -- report
20 July 1998 Web posted at: 23:17 ART, Buenos Aires time (02:17 GMT)
BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) -- Colombia's army has blamed its heaviest-ever defeat in the long-running war against leftist guerrillas on unruly soldiers who spent money on liquor and prostitutes instead of food supplies, local media said on Monday.
Citing a confidential army report, the respected El Espectador newspaper said the elite Third Mobile Brigade was decimated by rebels in southern Caqueta province in March because of the "glaring absence" of "personal and tactical discipline."
Officially, the armed forces say 62 soldiers died and 43 others were taken prisoner in the three-day battle in a remote jungle region along the banks of the Caguan River.
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels say they killed more than 80 soldiers.
Either way, it was the worst defeat for the army in more than 30 years of civil conflict.
"The report emphasises the repeated consumption of liquor and frequent visits to brothels. ... Money which should have been used to buy food in a region where supplies were scarce was used to pay for alcohol and prostitutes," El Espectador said.
"There was a glaring absence of command or control ... there was neither personal nor tactical discipline," according to an extract of the document quoted directly by El Espectador.
Army chiefs and defense ministry officials were not immediately available for comment on the press reports because Monday was a bank holiday in Colombia.
The El Espectador newspaper said other sections of the military report -- drawn up by Gen. Dagoberto Barrios, head of the army's 15th Brigade -- criticized the Third Mobile Brigade for stealing from village stores and abusing civilians.
The military and political strength of the FARC has surged to unparalleled levels during President Ernesto Samper's 4-year administration, sparking warnings from U.S. Pentagon officials that the rebels could defeat the military within five years.
The rebels are still holding the 43 prisoners they took during the clash in early March and want to exchange them for an unspecified number of jailed guerrillas.