U/S BURNS' OCTOBER 24 MEETING WITH COLOMBIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 010323 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/25/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ETRD PTER KJUS CO SUBJECT: U/S BURNS' OCTOBER 24 MEETING WITH COLOMBIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ARAUJO BOGOTA 00010323 001.3 OF 003 Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood Reasons: 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (U) October 24, 2006; 430PM, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ¶2. (U) Participants: U.S. Under Secretary Burns A/S for WHA Thomas P. Shannon Ambassador William B. Wood Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mary Lee Warren Daniel Tomlinson, NSC Attorney Advisor Patricia Pugh, L Political Counselor John Creamer P Special Assistant Heidi Bronke D/ Political Counselor Scott Hamilton (notetaker) COLOMBIA Foreign Minister Maria Consuelo Araujo Ambassador Carolina Barco DCM Jaime Ruiz Deputy Foreign Minister Camilo Reyes U.S. and Canada desk chief Patricia Cortes -------------- Summary -------------- ¶3. (C) U/S Burns said the U.S was committed to maintaining a substantial assistance program, but emphasized to Foreign Minister Araujo that Colombia must make concrete progress on human rights and labor violence. U/S Burns and Araujo discussed shared regional objectives, including promotion of security cooperation, economic integration and democratic consolidation. U/S Burns said the U.S. would seek FTA ratification as soon as possible, and would recommend that Congress extend the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) for all four beneficiaries. Araujo warmly greeted the ATPDEA extension request. U/S Burns and Araujo agreed on the need to support Guatemala's UNSC candidacy; Araujo said the GOC would support a Caribbean candidate in the event of an extended deadlock. The Under Secretary thanked Colombia for its counternarcotics SIPDIS assistance to Afghanistan. End summary. -------------- Delegation to Colombia -------------- ¶4. (C) Foreign Minister Araujo welcomed U/S Burns and said the bilateral "strategic alliance" was critical to both countries. U/S Burns responded that he had come to Colombia at President Bush' request to help set the course of bilateral relations for the next five years The U.S. delegation included 15 representatives from 6 agencies. It was time to take stock of the relationship, build on our successes, and make course corrections if necessary. He thanked Ambassador Barco for her efforts in Washington. -------------- Plan Colombia Extension -------------- ¶5. (C) U/S Burns said the U.S. was committed to strengthening bilateral relations. The Administration would recommend that Congress continue recent Plan Colombia funding levels of approximately USD 600 million over the next two years. Still, it was key that Colombia and the U.S. develop a long-term plan to consolidate the gains achieved to date and to maintain congressional support. The U.S. wanted to work with the GOC to prepare a Plan Colombia Consolidation document that would reflect U.S. and Colombian priorities, and would show how Plan Colombia's next phase would evolve. -------------- Regional Agenda -------------- ¶6. (C) Araujo said the U.S. and Colombia shared a commitment to combat terrorism and drug trafficking, as well as to promote economic integration. Colombia cooperated with Paraguay on security issues, and was working to deepen economic ties with Central America. Chile's recent accession had strengthened the Andean Community; the GOC had also invited Mexico to join the group during Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon's recent Bogota visit. BOGOTA 00010323 002.3 OF 003 Colombia expected to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Chile in November, and was also discussing the possibility of launching free trade talks with Canada. Colombia hoped these trade initiatives would lead to the creation of a Pacific Coast grouping, bound by interlocking free trade accords, that would include the U.S., Mexico, Peru, Chile, Central America and Colombia. She added that Colombia hoped to join the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) and would soon open an Embassy in Australia. ¶7. (C) U/S Burns agreed U.S. and Colombian regional objectives coincided. He planned to travel to Brazil in the near future to urge them to be more active on global issues. A/S Shannon added that Colombia's domestic success in combating terrorism and narco-trafficking and restoring economic growth had opened up space for Colombian diplomacy. At the recent EU-Latin America Summit, Colombia acted as an integrating force in the Andes. The U.S. would look for ways to link regional trade agreements and isolate Venezuelan President Chavez' "non-integrationist" mentality. The U.S. supported greater ties between the dynamic North and South-East Asian economies and Latin America. -------------- Human Rights, Labor Concerns -------------- ¶8. (C) U/S Burns voiced concern that GOC success in taking back territory from terrorists and demobilizing over 31,000 former paramilitaries would be undermined by a lack of progress on human rights and labor issues. Some in the U.S. congress and NGO community believed human rights and labor abuses were still too frequent and that violators went unpunished; they advocated conditioning further U.S. assistance--as well as ratification of a U.S.-Colombian free trade agreement--to concrete achievements on human rights. Colombia could make a good case for further aid, but had to address specific human rights and labor concerns. Ambassador Wood emphasized that the GOC should not only improve its communication with human rights groups critics, but should also ensure that "emblematic" cases were resolved. ¶9. (C) Araujo said the Foreign Ministry recently began to hold weekly inter-ministerial human rights meetings to address concerns. Ambassador Barco reported she constantly pressed the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia) for action on key cases. She explained some were almost 10 years old. Information and witnesses were difficult to obtain. Still, the Justice and Peace Law process was helping to clarify the facts in many cases. Barco said she was in touch with Senator Kennedy's office on the case of Berenice Ceyleyta, and GOC officials recently visited Kennedy staffers and Senate staffer Tim Rieser. Araujo said Colombia was seeking to strengthen the Fiscalia with funding from European countries. She said labor union officials appreciated the monthly meetings they had with President Uribe; the GOC had also improved relations with the ILO. Barco said the Fiscalia had recently set up a special unit to investigate killings of labor leaders. -------------- Free Trade -------------- ¶10. (C) Araujo said passage of the U.S.-Colombia FTA would establish a more mature trade framework and highlight the strategic nature of bilateral ties. U/S Burns responded the U.S. would push hard to sign the FTA as soon as possible, but Congressional uncertainty made predicting FTA passage difficult. President Bush would recommend that Congress extend the Andean Trade Preference Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) for the four ATPDEA recipients -- Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. A/S Shannon said the extension request reflected the U.S. desire not to play Chavez's game of dividing Andean countries. Araujo strongly supported the extension request. -------------- Ecuador and Bolivia -------------- ¶11. (C) Araujo asked the U.S. to be patient with Ecuador. The GOE was finding it difficult to balance its relationships with the U.S., Colombia, and Venezuela. Colombia would not do or say anything that might affect Ecuador's second round of presidential balloting, including resuming aerial fumigation of coca crops along the border. Barco said the APTDEA extension request would set a good tone for Ecuador's second round. Asked about Bolivia, Burns said the U.S. had given Bolivia a conditional 6 month counternarcotics BOGOTA 00010323 003.3 OF 003 certification to give Evo Morales time to reconsider his anti-U.S rhetoric and actions, but early signs were not encouraging. Barco said Morales might be shifting; he seemed to be asking to provide less "help." Araujo praised U.S. efforts to maintain a positive approach toward Ecuador and Bolivia, saying it was critical to avoid greater polarization in the Andes. -------------- Venezuela and UNSC -------------- ¶12. (C) U/S Burns affirmed the U.S. strongly supported Guatemala's UNSC bid. Guatemala's support was solid; it could be elected, while Venezuela could not. President Chavez' speech at the UNGA clearly backfired; many Arab and Asian countries did not want a disruptive Venezuela on the UNSC when it faced vital issues such as Iraq, Iran, Darfur, and North Korea. He asked what would be the GOC position if the current impasse persisted. Araujo replied that Colombia was strongly behind Guatemala, which deserved more time to make its case. The GOC was interested in a Caribbean candidate in the event of continued deadlock. ¶13. (C) Araujo speculated that Chavez's UNSC campaign was largely designed to boost his re-election efforts. Venezuelan Opposition candidate Rosales was running a strong campaign and appeared to be making gains. Shannon said Chavez' vulnerability was that he not only needed to win, he needed to win big. Chavez was determine to best Uribe's 62 percent re-election victory, which highlighted the importance of international election observers to prevent fraud. -------------- Counternarcotics Cooperation -------------- ¶14. (C) U/S Burns thanked Colombia for its counternarcotics (CN) assistance to Afghanistan. The situation in Afghanistan was worsening; the poppy crop this year was the largest in history. The Afghan government was well meaning but did not control its territory. There was widespread public opposition to eradication. He said Colombia was an example of how to eradicate in a responsible way. During his upcoming trip to Kabul, he would urge the Afghans to deepen cooperation with Colombia. Barco said the GOC was working on a more structured CN relationship with Afghanistan. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Warren said Afghanistan had recently extradited its first drug trafficker to the U.S., but appeared to be having second thoughts. Colombia should stress to Afghanistan the importance of extradition as a tool in the fight against drugs. ¶15. (U) This cable has been cleared by U/S Burns. WOOD