PROGRESS IN CESAR DEPARTMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 005282

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PTER ECON SNAR VE CO FARC
SUBJECT: PROGRESS IN CESAR DEPARTMENT

REF: BOGOTA 112

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood; Reasons: 1.4 B & D


1. (C) Summary: Officials and residents of Cesar Department
praise President Uribe's security improvements. The cities
and highways of Cesar's central valley are far safer than
they were a year ago, and the economy has grown slightly.
However, guerrillas and paramilitaries find refuge in the
highlands, and contraband and outlaws still cross an open
border with Venezuela. The indigenous occasionally
accommodate the FARC in the highlands. End Summary.

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Background
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2. (U) Cesar and its capital, Valledupar, occupy a valley in
the North of Colombia. Cattle and coal mining dominate the
economy. Paramilitaries move contraband fuel from Venezuela
through the Department.


3. (C) Cesar has suffered in recent decades from depredations
of guerrillas, paramilitaries, and common criminals driving
people into Valledupar and other cities. Internally
displaced persons comprise roughly ten percent of
Valledupar's population of 400,000.

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The Valley is Secure, but not the Highlands
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4. (C) President Uribe's Democratic Security Policy has
brought the lowlands of Cesar under governmental control and
opened the corridor to neighboring departments. Highways are
now relatively free from illegal roadblocks and kidnappings.
The FARC's 19th Front operates from base camps in the Sierra
Nevada range. The 41st Front can regroup and resupply in
Venezuela, according to military and intelligence officials.
The Army aims to cut the FARC's and paramilitaries' access to
the valley by attacking them in the foothills. Guerrillas
and paramilitaries are feeling the pinch of these military
operations, but are still active though at reduced levels.

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Crime Down; Legitimate Activity Up
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5. (C) Crime in Cesar decreased significantly in the first
four months of 2004 in comparison with the same period in

2003. Kidnappings and murders dropped by 73 and 17 percent,
respectively. Marijuana and cocaine seizures more than
doubled during the same period. The arrest rate for all
crimes rose by 19 percent. The number of guerrillas captured
rose by 1000 percent, and paramilitaries by 1400 percent.
National Police (CNP) Commander Orlando Pineda pointed to the
significant rise in paramilitary arrests as evidence that the
police do not favor them.


6. (C) Under "Plan Coverage," which assigns police to
formerly unprotected zones, the CNP has deployed small
detachments of officers to 25 small towns. Police encourage
crime reporting through community organizations. The CNP's
Pineda noted that rapid response to crime reports was key to
winning citizen cooperation. He said that most of the police
were from Cesar. Department of Administrative Security (DAS;
FBI equivalent) officers agreed that the police program was
working well in the small towns.


7. (C) Cattlemen are less subject to kidnapping and
extortion, and landowners can once again visit their
properties. With GOC support, some 110,000 new acres of
cotton will be planted (Cesar was once a major cotton
producer). Coal extraction at U.S.-owned Drummond Industries
is at record levels. The Army established a training center
near Drummond, and units protect the company's rail line from
attacks by the FARC and ELN. Drummond VP Alfredo Araujo said
there had been no attacks for a year.

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Uribe Gets the Credit
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8. (C) Given improvements to security and the economy,
support for Uribe's Democratic Security Policy is near
unanimous in Cesar. Local opinion makers said that these
improvements have consolidated support for Uribe. That said,
Congressmen Alfredo Cuello and Jorge Ramirez both opined that
the bill to permit reelection would have a tough time in the
House of Representatives.

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Indigenous Colombians Remain Vulnerable
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9. (C) Valledupar Mayor Ciro Pupo described the region's
indigenous population as abandoned. Col. Juan Carlos
Figueroa, Commander of the Valledupar Army battalion, said
that the lack of state presence in the highlands of Santa
Marta had led the indigenous groups to develop long-standing
accommodations with the FARC. Col. Figueroa said that
paramilitaries murdered 14 indigenous last year, but the GOC
Vice President's Office put the figure at 43 for the first
nine months of 2003. The VP's report also noted recruitment
of young people as guides for armed groups fighting in the
highlands.

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Governor's Vision
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10. (C) Governor Hernando Molina Araujo is seeking to
encourage the GOC's Solidarity Network to provide assistance
to small businesses and farms, including for coffee and
cocoa, to promote resettling the highlands as they become
more secure. The goal is to integrate poor and marginal
populations into the local economy and civil society. He
said that resentment toward the failings of the state was a
major factor in leading disaffected youth to join the illegal
armed groups. Col. Figueroa cited the large landholdings in
the region as a factor in negative attitudes toward the
state. A handful of politically powerful families -- notably
the Araujo clan, from which the governor hails -- control
these landholdings (reftel).
WOOD