12th June, 1812 (Friday)
Santa Marta City.

What can I say.  I met my big brothers and enjoyed some beautiful
landscapes in the Sierra.  I got to share some of the old wisdom of the
Manos, the leaders of the Kogi Indians, heirs of the Tayronas and I kind
of have they support for our cause.

I came down last Wednesday evening to the base camp where I got the good
news.  Santa Marta surrendered quite bloodless.  Well, there was little
they could have managed, most of the royalist troops were fighting
Matheson in the East and Labatut in the South, and the few defenders
were easily outnumbered by my men who managed to sneak into the city
unnoticed.  What can I say.  I have a disciplined body.

The new pro-patriotic government of Santa Marta welcomed me when I came
in yesterday morning, and yesterday afternoon they were signing the
Colombian Pact.  I was also informed that the Authorities of Cartagena
and Caracas has confirmed the Pact.

Now our immediate mission is to free Antioquia and Riohacha and to clear
the provinces of Cartagena, Santa Marta and Maracaibo from royalists.
There are also rumors of coming rebellions in Pamplona and Socorro.

Labatut will march to Riohacha.

I was expecting that Bolivar would help cleaning the South of Santa
Marta to move to the South of Maracaibo, but given that he had to go
back to Venezuela, from where news are not exactly pleasant, I guess
that Matheson will have this duty.  He would go the way down to Pamplona
where he would support the rebellion, and help triggering it if
necessary.  I should already have troops in the Middle Magdalena that
will become handy to support anything in Socorro.

I will go with Girardot to the south of Cartagena, where we should push
into freeing Antioquia from the Northeast, while fresh Darien troops
would come from the West and my Middle Magdalena troops would support us
from the East.  My main goal is actually Santa Fe, which I have
discussed with Matheson but not with the other Generals.  But this will
come with time.  Antioquia is my immediate goal.

My informants also tell me that the authorities in Panama and
Buenaventura are quite nervous and worried, in a bad sense for me, with
the State of Darien, as if we would be ready to go and seize those
ports.  I cannot blame them: they are right.  But I need my troops in
central New Granada for right this time and I won't move into
Buenaventura before Santiago de Cali or any other major city in Popayán
rebels first against Samano.

The problem is that Samano is concentrating more forces into Cali and
Buenaventura than those I am willing to spend right now.

I will not stay in Santa Marta to long.  Tomorrow morning I will march
to Cartagena and then South with Girardot.

-- Gen. C. E. Tomás Pinzón G.
   Santa Marta
   Santa Marta Province, Colombia.