COAST GUARD COMMANDANT ADMIRAL COLLINS MEETS WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 004129

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2014
TAGS: PINR PINS PTER PREL SNAR MCAP MASS MARR ASEC
SUBJECT: COAST GUARD COMMANDANT ADMIRAL COLLINS MEETS WITH
URIBE

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

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Summary
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1. (C) Summary: In a meeting with Colombian President Alvaro
Uribe and other senior officials, Admiral Thomas Collins,
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, praised the Colombian
Navy. He noted he hopes to improve already close relations
between the two coast guard services, including the possible
basing of USCG helicopter assets with sniper platforms for
co-use. All agreed on the importance of targeting the large
shipments originating on Colombia's Pacific coast, which has
long been controlled by illegal armed groups and lacks a
significant state presence. President Uribe emphasized that
both his government and the USG are under pressure to show
increasingly better results in order to keep up public
support for their counterdrug policies. End Summary.

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A Good News Story
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2. (C) On April 20, Admiral Thomas Collins, Commandant of the
U.S. Coast Guard, met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe,
Minister of Defense (MOD) Jorge Alberto Uribe, and Navy
Commander Admiral Mauricio Soto. Admiral Collins praised the
Colombian Navy, noting that the Navy is responsible for 60
percent of all Colombian drug seizures. He credited Admiral
Soto with these successes and other improvements in the Navy,
and said he hopes to improve already excellent relations
between our Coast Guards. Collins noted that the Colombian
Navy is missing air power, and said the U.S. Coast Guard is
considering basing USCG helicopter assets close in-shore,
including use of sniper platforms that can take out the
engines of illegal go-fast boats. Presently, the Colombian
Navy has only one helicopter active on the Pacific Coast and
is only able to use Air Force resources on a limited basis.
Other important cooperation projects include intelligence
sharing, especially out of the 11-country Joint Task Force in
Key West, Florida, professional exchanges, and training
opportunities in the U.S. The soon-to-be-implemented
international maritime regulation code (ISPS),signed by 108
countries, including Colombia, will significantly increase
port controls and be a powerful tool against shipments of
drugs, arms, and other illegal goods.


3. (C) In the vulnerable Pacific "littoral zone," which has
little or no state presence, traffickers send the largest
drug shipments. Soto said that the Navy already has begun to
expand its presence in the area with three new projects: a
Navy base in the port city of Tumaco, Narino department,
which will open next month and be assisted by the Army's
Counterdrug Brigade; a joint fusion intelligence center in
Cali, Valle del Cauca department; and a Coast Guard station
in the port city of Bahia Solano, Choco department, where
there is already a Marine detachment. Collins referred to
this coast as the "ATM" of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC) and paramilitary groups because of the easy
cash these large, hard-to-detect drug shipments bring.
Collins assured the MOD that he would keep Eastern Pacific
counter-drug operations a high priority.

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Uribe Focused on Results
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4. (C) President Uribe expressed concern that unless the
amount of drugs reaching the United States goes down and the
price goes up, neither his government nor the U.S. will be
able to maintain public support. He commented that his
administration was running out of time to show results.
Collins and Ambassador assured Uribe that recent progress has
clearly hurt drug traffickers and impressed the public. Soto
added that the Navy has already seized 12 go-fast boats and
23 tons of cocaine this year. Uribe agreed that close
cooperation was key to increasing pressure on traffickers.
Turning to the recent discovery of drugs aboard Colombia's
sail training "tall ship," "La Gloria," in Cartagena, both
the President and MOD noted that they are taking immediate
action to find and prosecute those responsible. Collins
agreed that the event was unfortunate but congratulated
Colombia on its decisive response and committment to full
investigation.
WOOD