SCENESETTER FOR NOVEMBER 13-14 VISIT OF PRESIDENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 010462 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PHUM SNAR EAID ETRD ECON CO SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR NOVEMBER 13-14 VISIT OF PRESIDENT URIBE TO WASHINGTON, D.C. Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood Reason: 1.4 (b,d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) President Uribe arrives in Washington for November 13-14 meetings with executive and legislative branch officials in the wake of a highly successful visit to Colombia by U/S for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns. Uribe will emphasize the importance to Colombia of ratification of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, and of ATPDEA extension, pending ratification of the FTA. Uribe is also likely to advocate ATPDEA extension for other Andean beneficiaries. ¶2. (C) Uribe remains the country's dominant political figure, with approval ratings close to 70 percent. His congressional coalition controls both houses of Congress, but is increasingly difficult to manage. Tensions between the military and police have heated up. Progress on paramilitary demobilization has slowed; Uribe's success in removing over 32,000 paramilitaries from the battlefield has not been matched by effective reintegration programs for former combatants, and some demobilized are returning to crime. The GOC and ELN are conducting peace talks; it is unclear whether the ELN is willing to agree to implement a cease-fire. Uribe suspended outreach to the FARC on humanitarian exchange of some FARC hostages for jailed FARC terrorists following an October 19 car bomb attack in Bogota; there is no sign the FARC is serious about the talks. End summary. -------------- -------------- Strategic Relationship and Plan Colombia Consolidation -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) U/S Burns and Uribe agreed to strengthen the strategic relationship across the board during the Under Secretary's October 24-26 visit to Colombia. Burns SIPDIS encouraged Colombia to seek stronger partnerships with Mexico, Peru, Chile and Brazil. Burns and Uribe discussed the importance of Colombia's efforts to help promote regional economic integration, intensify security relationships, and deepen democratic cooperation. Burns and Uribe agreed to prepare a Plan Colombia Consolidation Plan by January for submission to the U.S. Congress. The Plan would chart assistance levels through 2013 and define the GOC's increasing assumption of responsibility for Plan Colombia costs. -------------- Counternarcotics -------------- ¶4. (C) Aerial eradication is at a new record of 145,716 hectares, with 1.5 months left in the year. Interdictions and lab destructions continue at a rapid pace, and seizures of money and other assets are increasing. Nationalizing programs is our priority. This is complicated since missions and goals have increased in the last few years, as have the number of air assets that require support. The Colombians set up a pilot Colombian government spray package (with a lot of USG support). It has sprayed over 2,600 hectares. -------------- Bilateral Issues -------------- ¶5. (C) -- Economic: Colombia's economy is expanding by nearly 6 percent annually. We expect the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be signed on November 22, although necessary review by the Constitutional Court will only occur in 2007. We expect Colombia's Congress to approve it this year. There is no date yet for submission to our Congress. Colombia's Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) preferences are set to expire at the end of this year. Extension of ATPDEA until entry into force of the FTA for Colombia is a matter of urgent priority for the GOC, whose senior officials have also emphasized the importance of ATPDEA extension for Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. -- Paramilitary Demobilization/Justice: The GOC has removed over 32,000 former paramilitaries from the battlefield, in addition to 11,000 individual deserters from all terrorist groups, in the last four years. The GOC's appointment of a High Commissioner for Demobilization (Frank Pearl) is welcome, and reintegration of ex-paramilitaries is slowly getting off the ground. Reintegration programs have not materialized, and ex-paramilitaries are returning to crime. Implementation of the Justice and Peace law is also lagging. -- Extradition: Uribe has extradited over 380 Colombians to the U.S., including FARC terrorists "Simon Trinidad," currently on trial in New York for abetting kidnapping of 3 U.S. citizens, and FARC finance expert "Sonia," whose U.S. trial starts in January. Uribe approved, but suspended, extradition of 5 paramilitary leaders, subject to full compliance with Justice and Peace Law terms. U/S Burns and INL A/S Patterson emphasized it was vital that extraditions continue, and noted the GOC's increased use of suspensions will be viewed skeptically in Congress and elsewhere. -- Victims, Justice, and Reparations: The National Reparations and Reconciliation Commission has opened two of its five regional offices to register victims of paramilitary violence and assist them with legal issues associated with implementation of the Justice and Peace Law. The Commission will design individual and collective reparations. The Commission has been seized with organizational issues, and has launched few concrete programs. U/S Burns stressed the need for the Commission to start programs that recognize victims' suffering and begin the reconciliation process. --FARC and ELN Talks: Prior to an October 19 car bomb attributed to the FARC at the Nueva Granada military university in Bogota, the GOC and FARC had traded public statements on a possible exchange of imprisoned FARC terrorists for FARC "political" hostages. Uribe accepted a FARC proposal for an "encounter zone" for negotiations but insisted it be free of armed FARC. Uribe has always insisted FARC prisoners do not return to criminal activities. The car bomb led Uribe to suspend outreach to the FARC as long as it conducted terrorist acts. To date, the FARC has not shown it is serious about the talks. The ELN is negotiating with the GOC but it is unclear whether it is ready to implement a cease-fire; the U.S. supports a process that leads to ELN cease-fire, disarmament, and demobilization. -- Human Rights: Recent GOC actions to strengthen human rights protections are promising. Defense Minister Santos appointed the first civilian, a woman, to head the Military Penal Justice (MPJ) system and announced the need for additional MPJ reforms. The Prosecutor General's Office is implementing an MOU it signed with the MOD that assigns civilian investigators to cases of alleged military human rights abuses, and permits the Office to make the initial decision to send a case to civilian courts. The Prosecutor General's office arrested 14 military officials since late August for their alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings, and four deputies for alleged involvement in paramilitary criminal activities. In October, the GOC published an implementing decree on the Justice and Peace Law that largely meets our concerns. New head of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Juan Pablo Corlazzoli, has a positive relationship with the GOC, and with us. WOOD =======================CABLE ENDS============================