DEFMIN FOCUSED ON GOVERNANCE AND HEALTH, NOT

UNCLAS QUITO 000962 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MOPS MASS EC CO SUBJECT: DEFMIN FOCUSED ON GOVERNANCE AND HEALTH, NOT THREATS REF: QUITO 911 ¶1. SUMMARY: The Ambassador paid a courtesy call on new Ecuadorian Defense Minister Solon Espinosa April 27. Avoiding mention of the security threats facing his nation, Espinosa instead trumpeted new President Alfredo Palacio's honesty and his administration's intention to raise health standards in Ecuador. END SUMMARY. ¶2. Retired Brigadier General Espinosa, 76, is perhaps best known here for establishing SOLCA, a foundation dedicated to the fight against cancer in Ecuador (Reftel). His military career long over, Espinosa served as Ecuador's comptroller general (1972-1974) and as Pichincha Chamber of Industries president (1988-1990). Embassy pol-mil contacts consider him bright and dedicated, but long-removed from the defense scene. Nonetheless, Espinosa was one of Palacio's first Cabinet choices. ¶3. The Ambassador called on the septuagenarian minister April 27 and found him soft-spoken and statesmanlike. Health and governance dominated their conversation. Palacio was a rarity in Ecuador, Espinosa asserted: an honest politician focused on national, not personal interests. The new administration was determined to raise the nation's dismal health indicators, and international suggestions and assistance were welcome. ¶4. The United States was Ecuador's largest foreign donor and investor, the Ambassador responded, and numerous Embassy entities, including USAID, the Peace Corps, and the Military Group, managed recurring or ad hoc health programs. She emphasized the U.S. military's well-received Medical Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETES),which had treated hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged Ecuadorians during her tenure in-country. In Ecuador's most at-risk and least-healthy region, the Colombia frontier, the U.S. employed a "security plus development" strategy; a key component was a USDA-funded feeding program for border residents. ¶5. Espinosa didn't bite, refusing to engage on the northern border and the threats Ecuador faced there from Colombian narcoterrorism. Instead, he claimed the Ecuadorian armed forces must regain the confidence of the populace and adhere always to constitutional precepts. It was police, not military, who had clashed recently with protesters determined to depose peacefully former President Gutierrez. Nevertheless, the troops received the same black eye as the boys in blue. Responding to the Ambassador's inquiry, Espinosa revealed he did not know new Police Commander General Jose Vinueza. Ecuadorian military and police would cooperate, however. ¶6. COMMENT: The Ambassador chose not to push substance hard in their first encounter, as Espinosa, long-removed from military affairs and management, was clearly still in read-in mode (and will remain there awhile). The Defense Attache and Milgroup Commander are preparing correspondence that details our the U.S. military assistance program in Ecuador, and will brief the Defmin personally in the coming weeks. END COMMENT. ¶7. ADDITIONAL BIO DATA: Unlike other Palacio Administration appointees we have engaged this week, Espinosa chose not to bash the Gutierrez team, showing a non-partisan, stateman-like bent. He mentioned he had studied at the Inter-American Defense College (we imagine in the 1960s). KENNEY