Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05BOGOTA3217
2005-04-07 17:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bogota
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF

Tags:  PGOV PREL SNAR PTER KJUS PHUM CO 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 003217 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR PTER KJUS PHUM CO
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF
STAFF GENERAL MYERS


Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 1.5 (b)
and (d).

-------
Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 003217

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR PTER KJUS PHUM CO
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF
STAFF GENERAL MYERS


Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 1.5 (b)
and (d).

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) With USG assistance, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe
has made great strides in fighting drug trafficking and
terrorism. A nation-wide, multi-phased offensive by the
security forces has re-taken key territory from the FARC.
The peace process with the United Self-Defense Forces of
Colombia (AUC) has already resulted in the demobilization of
almost 5,000 paramilitaries. Colombia's human rights record,
although imperfect, is improving. Executive-legislative
relations have been tense, but Uribe managed to push through
some important legislation, including a bill to allow
presidential re-election. The economy continues to improve,
albeit slowly. Three U.S. citizens have been held hostage by
the FARC for two years now; their safe recovery continues to
be one of our top priorities. Five U.S. military personnel
were arrested in late March for transporting drugs. We are
working closely with Colombian authorities to ensure that the
case is fully investigated. The Ministry of Defense has
expressed interest in a special bilateral security agreement.
End Summary.

--------------
U.S. Assistance Key to Security Improvements
--------------


2. (C) USG Assistance to Colombia is premised on combating
the interrelated issues of drug trafficking and terrorism and
includes training, material aid, and guidance to the security
forces and other institutions. President Uribe and Colombian
Minister of Defense (MOD) Jorge Alberto Uribe (not related)
have characterized U.S. assistance as key to the GOC's
"Democratic Security Policy" and acknowledged the United
States as Colombia's most important ally. Since taking
office, President Uribe has focused on establishing a state
presence throughout national territory.

-- Plan Patriota: The military's multi-phased campaign plan
to re-take areas dominated by the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC) is entering its third year. The priority

for DOD funding is to provide assistance for forces involved
in Plan Patriota. The first phase, which focused on securing
Cundinamarca Department, which surrounds Bogota, pushed the
FARC presence out of reach of the capital and resulted in the
deaths of at least five mid-level FARC commanders. The
second, much more complex phase has reached the one-year
mark. It involves seven mobile brigades with assistance from
two Army Divisions and the Air Force to destroy FARC support
bases, block key FARC mobility corridors, and kill or capture
senior FARC commanders in the FARC's traditional stronghold
in southern Colombia. In the first year, troops destroyed
numerous FARC supply caches and established a presence in
towns that had been essentially run by the FARC for years.
This year, the phase will focus on grinding down the FARC
with a war of attrition. Infectious diseases -- especially
leishmaniasis, a parasitic skin and intestinal infection --
are the number one cause of military casualties. There have
been 2,098 new cases of leishmaniasis in the military this
year, bringing the total to over 5,200 in the past 15 months.
This alarming rate is expected to continue. The GOC is
seeking U.S. assistance for the high cost of treatment.

-- FARC violence in the first quarter of 2005, although
tactically aggressive, remained localized and below 2004
levels in all categories.
-- Joint Caribbean Command: The military recently created a
joint command for the Caribbean coastal region. The
commander will have operational command of over 40,000 Army
troops, 10,000 sailors and marines, and elements of the Air
Force. Our contacts in the military have said the new
command could lead to additional joint commands in other key
areas.

-- Center for Coordinated Integral Action: With support from
the U.S. MILGRP, the GOC formed an interagency center to
facilitate social services in seven areas that have
traditionally suffered from little state presence and
pressure from illegal armed groups. The center focuses on
providing immediate social services, including documentation
and medical clinics, and establishing longer term projects,
such as economic reactivation. Approximately 40,000
individuals have been enrolled in state health care, judges,
investigators, and public defenders have been placed in all
16 municipalities of the Plan Patriota area, and a public
library was recently opened in the town of San Vicente del
Caguan, which had long been dominated by the FARC.

-- Drug Eradication: Eradication and interdiction are at
record levels. As of April 5, 60,747 hectares of coca and
936 hectares of opium poppy had been sprayed since the
beginning of 2005. During this same time, 1,317 hectares of
coca and poppy were manually eradicated. In 2004, over
136,000 hectares of coca and 3,000 hectares of poppy were
sprayed. The GOC is prepared to begin spraying in national
parks, and we are moving closer to being authorized to do so.
Ground fire against spray planes and manual eradication
remain problematic.

-- Deserters: Since Uribe took office, over 7,000 illegal
armed group members have deserted and entered the
government's reinsertion program. The program is plagued by
limited funding and weak management, but is slowly improving.


-- Military Justice Reforms: The Colombian military justice
system has traditionally been inefficient and weak. We
continually pressure the Defense Ministry to create a system
that delivers credible findings to ensure expeditious justice
for both the innocent and the guilty. Director of Military
Justice Brigadier General Puentes has proposed a two-phase
reform strategy that would attempt to overcome recurring
complaints of impunity and prevent a collapse of the system
from service misbehavior hearings.

--------------
Peace Process
--------------


3. (C) The GOC has been holding negotiations with the United
Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) since 2002. Almost
5,000 paramilitaries have demobilized thus far. The GOC has
said up to 15,000 more paramilitaries could demobilize by the
end of Uribe's term in August 2006. Congress is debating a
law that would give alternative sentences to members of
illegal armed groups who are implicated in major crimes but
nevertheless choose to demobilize. Further AUC
demobilizations appear to be on hold until the law is
finalized. The GOC has repeatedly assured us that the peace
process will not damage the excellent U.S.-Colombia
extradition relationship. Despite limited resources, the GOC
has made an effort to prevent the FARC from taking over
former AUC territory. For example, the National Police moved
a special police unit to the formerly AUC-controlled Uraba
region in Antioquia and Choco Departments. We have not seen
evidence of a concerted FARC effort to target demobilized
paramilitaries or former AUC territory. Nevertheless, local
communities and the GOC continue to express concern about
their capacity to secure areas if more AUC groups demobilize.


4. (C) The Mexican government has been trying to facilitate
peace talks between the GOC and the National Liberation Army
(ELN),but the ELN has refused to accept Uribe's demands for
a cease-fire and end to kidnapping. The ELN has only about
2,000 members and is no longer a military threat, although it
can execute terrorist attacks. The FARC has shown no
willingness to have peace talks or hold a "humanitarian
exchange."

--------------
Human Rights Record Improving
--------------


5. (C) The Uribe Administration continues to make progress on
human rights. Homicides fell by 16 percent, kidnappings by
42 percent, and forced displacements by 37 percent in 2004,
building on 2003's trends. The GOC increased its dialogue
with NGOs, the UN, and foreign governments, hosting meetings
with local and international human rights organizations that
included over 40 hours of discussions on the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights' 27 human rights
recommendations for Colombia. Human rights training is
mandatory for all members of the military and police. Less
than 2 percent of human rights violations are attributable to
government security forces, according to GOC statistics. But
recent violations by members of the armed forces, such as the
murders in August 2004 of three trade unionists in the highly
conflictive Arauca Department, demonstrate the need for
further improvement.

--------------
Internal Politics
--------------


6. (C) Executive-legislative relations have been tense over
the last two years. A major issue has been Uribe's break
with traditional pork barrel projects and patronage for
members of Congress, and many have exacted payback on the GOC
as a result. Uribe's presidential reelection reform
initiative, however, was passed by Congress in December. The
Constitutional Court is currently reviewing the reform, and
it remains to be seen if it will strike the measure down.
Other major issues before Congress include pension and tax
reform, both controversial proposals that face tough sledding.


7. (C) Elections for Congress and President will be held in
March and May 2006, respectively. The current Congressional
session began March 16 and runs until June 20. The Congress
will resume for the subsequent regular session on July 20.
Given the start of the electoral season, most pundits
indicate that the current Congressional session is the final
one prior to the elections in which major legislation can be
passed.

--------------
Positive Economic Outlook
--------------


8. (U) While the tremendous gains in security have helped the
economy, many analysts are concerned that fiscal and pension
reforms have not yet passed through Congress. Without these
important structural changes, the long-term outlook is less
clear. In 2004, Colombia's gross domestic product (GDP)
increased by 4 percent to nearly USD 90.8 billion. Colombian
exports grew 26 percent in 200 to USD 16 billion. Exports to
the U.S. grew by USD 1 billion. Unemployment remains high at
12.1 percent, but the rate has been declining since the
beginning of the Uribe administration.


9. (U) The seventh round of talks toward a Free Trade
Agreement with Colombia (and other Andean nations) recently
concluded in Washington in March. Movement has been slowed
somewhat due to concerns in the U.S. Congress over the
ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA). Agriculture and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
continue to be major issues, specifically patents,
medications, agricultural subsidies and access to genetic
resources.

--------------
U.S. Hostages
--------------


10. (C) In February 2003, a DOD plane carrying four USG
contractors and a Colombian military representative crashed
in FARC-controlled territory in southern Colombia. The FARC
murdered one of the U.S. contractors and the Colombian and
took the other three U.S. citizens hostage. We believe they
are being held in remote, heavily forested regions the FARC
has long controlled and to which the Colombian military has
little access. Since the contractors were kidnapped, we have
worked closely with the GOC to track all leads that could
reveal their location. President Uribe has personally
pledged GOC cooperation and support in any effort to rescue
the hostages. President Uribe has also given personal
assurances that he would insist the U.S. hostages be included
in any "humanitarian exchange" with the FARC. The hostages'
safe release continues to be one of our top priorities.

--------------
Five Americans Arrested
--------------


11. (C) On March 30, 35 pounds of cocaine were found on a
U.S. military plane that left Colombia for Port Bliss. Three
U.S. military personnel temporarily stationed in Colombia and
two in the U.S. were arrested for transporting drugs to the
U.S. on military aircraft. One has been released, while the
investigation continues on the others. We are working
closely with Colombian authorities to ensure that the case is
fully investigated and that those guilty are held
accountable.

--------------
Possible Military to Military Agreement
--------------


12. (C) The Ministry of Defense has expressed interest in a
special bilateral security agreement. The Bilateral Working
Group general session in May will provide an opportunity to
explore this opportunity. We hope this will also provide a
mechanism to obtain a SOFA/SFA agreement.
WOOD