DEFENSE MINISTER DENIES CONJUGAL VISIT WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 011817

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2014
TAGS: SNAR PREL PINR CO PGOV
SUBJECT: DEFENSE MINISTER DENIES CONJUGAL VISIT WITH
INCARCERATED DRUG TRAFFICKER


Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) On November 16, Defense Minister Jorge Uribe requested
a meeting with the Ambassador to explain an article in El
Nuevo Herald that claimed he had made a conjugal visit to a
woman imprisoned in Medellin. The woman, Dora Adriana Alzate
Restrepo, was arrested and sentenced to nine years in jail
when authorities found heroin in her suitcase bound for Miami
in the Medellin airport in February 2003. Uribe told the
Ambassador that he had had a ten-year, personal relationship
with Alzate, whom he met while he was president of Delima
Marsh and she worked for an associate company. On the day of
her arrest, Uribe and Alzate were traveling separately to the
U.S. from Medellin and were chatting in the airport. Alzate
was detained by security and Uribe boarded the plane unaware
of her fate. After her arrest, Uribe said that he visited
her in prison once and spoke with her on the telephone once.
He emphasized he had no prior knowledge of her drug
trafficking activities and has not had any contact with her
since becoming Minister. Uribe subsequently called the
Ambassador back to tell him that he had talked to President
Uribe, who had given him full support.


2. (C) Uribe said that he wanted to present the facts
directly to the Ambassador so there would be no questions
between them. The MOD is one of our strongest allies in
combating drug trafficking. The Ambassador told Uribe that
his private life was none of the Embassy's business, that his
record on drugs, as far as the U.S. was concerned, was
perfect, and that the Embassy continued to have the highest
confidence in him.
WOOD