Agrupación de Fuerzas Especiales Antiterroristas Urbanas The Agrupación de Fuerzas Especiales Antiterroristas Urbanas ( " Urban Counter - Terrorism Special Forces Group " , AFEUR ) is an elite unit of the Colombian Army , whose primary mission is to perform counter - terrorist operations and hostage rescues based on stealth , surprise and team work . VIP protection is another task of the unit . For example , they protect the Colombian President when he travels , and provided protection for President Bill Clinton ' s ( Army group ) and President George W . Bush visits to Cartagena , in 2000 , 2004 respectively . They also provided the second security ring to President Bush ' s visit to Bogotá in 2007 . This unit answers directly to the Comando General de las Fuerzas Armadas ( Armed Forces Joint Staff ) , and they are allowed to use any military air transportation to guarantee mobility , and to use any weapon or additional equipment as required to accomplish their missions . History . Due to terrorist acts conducted in cities by guerrilla groups , the Colombian Army needed a specially trained unit to deal with this threat . This unit was required to be able to both operate and co - ordinate operations with other units of the army , or from other military branches . Although Colombia ' s 40 - year long conflict with guerrilla groups had given many reasons for such a unit to exist , two terrorist acts in particular worked as catalysts in the formation the unit : the Dominican embassy siege in 1980 and the Palace of Justice siege ( Colombian Supreme Court ) in 1985 . As the unit ' s experience grew , and its rate of success increased , in 2003 the Colombian Government decided to establish other units assigned to main cities across the nation . Such units are smaller in size , and trained by the main group , and all operate under the AFEUR name . In the same year , the Colombian Navy also deployed its own AFEUR unit attached to the Marine Corps . Although trained by the Army unit , the Navy unit specialises in underwater infiltration training akin to its amphibious nature . This unit is intended to have the same capabilities as its Army counterpart , and so far their main task has been to support Special Forces or other conventional Marine Corps units when operating in semi - urban areas . However it is likely that the unit also took part in the operation to provide protection to President George W . Bush during his visit to Cartagena in December 2004 , and his visit to Bogotá in March 2007 ( 200 units AFEUR will handled the second security ring , the first one was from the Secret Service ) . Recruitment and training . Members of all branches of the Military of Colombia and the National Police are eligible to join AFEUR . Such personnel are required to have no criminal record , and have likely to have already received previous special training such as Colombian Army ’ s Lancero course , or other training abroad . Training takes place at the Colombian Army ’ s Communications School in Facatativá near Bogotá ( which also serves as unit headquarters ) , and includes airborne operations , night operations , and close quarters combat . It is divided in two phases : the first focuses on team work , whilst the second focuses on special skills such as explosives training , paramedic training , sharpshooting and marksmanship , amongst others . The main AFEUR group also shares training with Special Forces units from other countries - mostly likely with the U . S . , due to the military cooperation agreement established between the two governments , and also perhaps with the UK ( although this is less known due to the low profile the UK military like to keep in their operations ) . Commando Forces tournaments . The full effectiveness of this unit is not known , however due to the constant training and exposure to live operations , AFEUR should be regarded as a top class operation . Reports from the media and official sources states that this unit has been involved in every top profile operation against guerrilla groups , in both preventive strikes and emergency response actions in urban and semi - urban areas all across Colombia , though details are kept in secret . On the other hand AFEUR won the " " ( Commando Forces 2005 ) contest , that took place in Chile in June 2005 lasting two weeks . This yearly contest sponsored by the US South Command and the US Special Operations Command with similar teams from Argentina , Bolivia , Chile , Costa Rica , Ecuador , El Salvador , U . S . , Guatemala , Honduras , Jamaica , Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay , Dominican Republic , Peru and Uruguay . The AFEUR team was made up of six operators , two from the Army , three from the Navy , one from the Air Force , two of them snipers . All operators were selected from the actual Army and Navy AFEUR groups performing real operations . Though having a hard time on the physical fitness test , they performed outstandingly in sharpshooting , being the only team shooting targets beyond 1 km , assault force , stalking hunt , and marksmanship tests . The following year 2006 , and by second time in a row , the team won the same contest , this time " " in Paraguay . The team , three operators from the Army , two from the Air Force and two from the Navy , showed a similar performance compared to the previous year , with sniping and team work courses as their main strengths . Again in 2007 , they overcame 18 other delegations to win the contest for the third consecutive time . This time " " in Honduras . The seven representatives ( two from the Army , three from the Air Force and two from the Navy ) overwhelmed the judges with their resistance and their sharp shooting skills . Army lieutenant Diego León Grimaldos was one of the judges .