CONGRESS AND POLITICAL CLASS SHAKEN BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 010608

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREF PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: CONGRESS AND POLITICAL CLASS SHAKEN BY
PARAMILITARY TIES

REF: BOGOTA 10956

Classified By: Political Counselor John Creamer - Reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary. The arrest of three congressmen for
paramilitary ties--and the prospect of more such arrests--has
shaken the Colombian political class, and weakened President
Uribe's congressional coalition. U Party insiders claim new
leadership elections scheduled for November 26 will revive
the party, but the scandal has exacerbated internal party
tensions. U Party Senator Marta Lucia Ramirez said the
arrests offer an opportunity to clean up Colombia's political
parties. Still, presidential advisors said the arrests will
complicate efforts to advance Uribe's legislative agenda and
will damage the President's public image. FM Maria Araujo,
whose brothers are reportedly implicated in the para scandal,
offered to resign on November 17, but President Uribe not
accept the resignation and offered full support for the FM.
End Summary.

==========================================
Arrests Shake Congress and Political Class
==========================================

2. (C) On November 10, the Colombian Supreme Court indicted
Senator Jairo Enrique Merlano Fernandez (U Party),Senator
Alvaro Garcia Romero (Colombia Democratica),and
Representative Eric Morris (Colombia Democratica) for alleged
involvement in a paramilitary bloc in Sucre Department,
creating a new crisis within the Congress and Uribe's
Congressional coalition (see reftel). The Supreme Court is
reportedly considering investigating up to 90 former and
current members of Congress, and more indictments are
expected. "El Tiempo" reports that politicians from
Magdalena, Cordoba, Cesar, Bolivar, La Guajira and Atlantico
departments are especially vulnerable. Our contacts agree
that given the pervasive paramilitary presence in the North
Coast in the past, some level of contact would have been
unavoidable.


3. (C) Paramilitary ties to Congress will likely affect
parties from across the spectrum. Liberal Party Secretary
General Jose Noe told us he expected some Liberal Party
politicians to be linked to the paras; Polo Senator Jaime
Dussan said he would not be surprised to hear at least one
Polo name surface. Still, President Uribe's coalition and
the U Party have been the most seriously damaged to date.
Merlano's arrest generated an bitter debate within the U
Party as to whether he should be suspended. The Party finally
suspended him on November 14. At least six additional
senators from the Uribe coalition--the U Party, Cambio
Radical, Alas Equipo, and Colombia Democratica--were named by
leading daily "El Tiempo" as suspect. Numerous contacts told
us it was likely Senator Alvaro Araujo (Foreign Minister
Maria Araujo's brother) would be indicted for paramilitary
ties in Cesar. An arrest warrant has already been issued for
another brother, Sergio, for suspicion of being a para money
man. FM Araujo offered her resignation to President Uribe on
November 17; the President did not accept it and expressed
his full support for the FM.

==================================
Uribe Coalition Troubles Intensify
==================================

4. (C) On November 14, "El Tiempo" quoted U Party Senators
Martha Lucia Ramirez, Armando Benedetti and Gina Parody as
threatening to resign from the party over the indictments.
The scandal follows weeks of infighting and drift within the
party which lacks internal cohesion as well as strong
leadership. U Party founder and presidential advisor Oscar
Ivan Zuluaga told us the Party faces an existential crisis
and could fall apart. Junior coalition party Colombia
Democratica--led by Presidential cousin Mario Uribe--elected
five members to Congress in March; two are now in jail. The
party was created by Garcia and Morris, and will likely
disappear.

==================================
U Party Focused on New Leadership
==================================

5. (C) Senator Ramirez and U Party House spokesman Luis
Serrano said the U Party came out of its raucous November 14
Merlano meeting with a new sense of unity. Party congressmen
hope November 26 elections for party leadership posts will
revive its flagging fortunes, but there is no leading
candidate. The party will pick a single leader with a six

member leadership committee (3 each from House and Senate).
Ramirez, Zuluaga, "dinosaur" Senator Carlos Garcia, and
Mauricio Pimiento--one of those mentioned as having possible
paramilitary ties--are leading candidates. Coalition
partners complain that the U Party's crisis over the Merlano
case and leadership race is preventing Uribe's congressional
allies from focusing on holding together the larger Uribe
coalition.

==========================
Damage to Executive Branch
==========================

6. (C) President Uribe voiced his strong support for the
justice system's investigation of corrupt congressmen and
said politicians with para ties must go to jail. He
committed the GOC to work with the Supreme Court in combating
legislative and executive branch ties with the paramilitaries
or other illegal armed groups. Senator Ramirez said that
despite the political costs, the scandal offers an
opportunity to clean up Colombia's political class as well as
the U Party. Still, Zuluaga and presidential advisor Fabio
Valencia Cossio said the scandal further complicates Uribe's
efforts to obtain passage of its legislative agenda and will
substantially weaken his public image.
WOOD