URIBE SUPPORTS SUPREME COURT ACTIONS ON PARA

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 010958 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2016 TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO SUBJECT: URIBE SUPPORTS SUPREME COURT ACTIONS ON PARA SCANDAL, INSISTS INSTITUTIONS MUST BE ALLOWED TO WORK REF: A. BOGOTA 10596 ¶B. BOGOTA 8623 ¶C. BOGOTA 10826 Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The Supreme Court continues its investigation of paramilitary ties to the Colombian legislators; nine legislators from the Atlantic Coast have now been implicated. Two executive and judicial branch officials have also resigned. President Uribe has publicly urged the Court to pursue all leads and to punish public officials who are guilty. Uribe said the accusations related to the conduct of individuals, not institutions, and urged Congress to continue working on his legislative agenda. Some legislators said Colombia's institutions are working, but voiced concern that the on-going investigations could eventually paralyze Congress or undercut the credibility of other public institutions. End summary. -------------- Court Continues to Act, More Revelations -------------- ¶2. (C) On November 28, the Supreme Court ordered six members of Congress to appear for questioning to answer accusations they were associated with ex-paramilitary criminal activities. The Court will question Senators Alvaro Araujo, Dieb Maloof, Luis Eduardo Vives, and Mauricio Pimiento, as well as representatives Jorge Caballero and Alfonso Campo, beginning the week of December 4. The Court's action follows its November 9 order to arrest three members of Congress, Senator Alvaro Garcia, Senator Jairo Merlano, and Representative Erik Morris, all of whom are in custody (ref A). The crux of the allegations is that the legislators organized or facilitated criminal acts, including murder and fraud, to further the aims of paramilitary organizations, primarily on the Atlantic Coast, between 1997 and 2001. All legislators sought by the Court to date are members of the governing coalition. ¶3. (C) The Prosecutor General's Office is seeking to question former DAS head Jorge Noguera on accusations related to the scandal. In addition, High Council of the Judiciary President Jose Alfredo Escobar and his wife--a Prosecutor General's Office employee--are accused of association with criminal interests, including Salvatore Mancuso. ¶4. (C) On November 29, Luis Carlos Ordosgoitia, Director of the National Institute of Concessions under the Ministry of Transportation and former congressman for the Conservative Party, resigned after admitting he participated in a 2001 meeting between paramilitary chiefs and approximately 40 legislators, as well as mayors and governors, from the Atlantic Coast. Senator Miguel de La Espriella, who first revealed the meeting to El Tiempo on November 26, insisted the meeting was supposed to support the start of a peace process with the armed group. Espriella claimed the legislators felt "pressured" to sign a document at the meeting. Neither the document nor the list of signatories has yet been revealed. Only ONE other attendee, former Representative Eleonora Pineda, has admitted to being present. -------------- Uribe: Congress Must Continue to Work -------------- ¶5. (C) President Uribe urged the Court to follow the evidence to where it leads. He said his administration was the first to try to clean up a paramilitary phenomenon that flourished under previous presidents. Uribe emphasized that criminal responsibility is personal, not institutional, and said the Congress must continue to work normally. He rejected a proposal that Congress be closed, and said any legislators who are jailed should be replaced in accordance with existing procedures. Uribe also called on legislators to reveal their ties with leftist guerrilla groups and narcotraffickers. El Tiempo's Editorial on November 27 agreed, saying "the revelations are welcome and--despite their traumatic political effect--are necessary and healthy for the well-being of the institutions." ¶6. (C) Former Liberal Party presidential candidate Horacio Serpa asked the House of Representatives to investigate whether Uribe may be held criminally and politically responsible for ties to the paramilitaries. A 15-member multiparty House commission must decide whether to dismiss the allegations or present them to the full Congress, which could recommend censure. Serpa presented no evidence to support his request, and few observers expect it will advance. -------------- ...And Foreign Minister Stays -------------- ¶7. (C) The revelations about Congressional involvement with paramilitaries, including allegations against Foreign Minister Araujo's brother, Senator Alvaro Araujo, led the opposition to demand the Foreign Minister's resignation (septel). Still, the President has emphatically supported her. A Senate hearing on November 29 to question the Minister about her family's ties to paramilitaries instead became a forum for new revelations by Prosecutor General Iguaran (septel). During the hearing, FM Araujo admitted she had used an official meeting with Iguaran to ask if he was investigating her family. -------------- What's Next? -------------- ¶8. (C) The "para-politician" scandals have primarily focused on the Atlantic Coast, but some suggest other regions are also involved. Political analyst and columnist Claudia Lopez noted "para-politician pacts" were also evident in Antioquia, the Santanders, Meta, and Casanare. Polo Democratico leader Gustavo Petro warned Congress on November 29 he planned to reveal information in March on "para-politicians" in Antioquia. To date, the media has linked 19 serving legislators and ten former congressmen to the paramilitaries. In addition, the government is braced for allegations against officials in the Executive and other branches. -------------- Governability at Risk? -------------- ¶9. (C) All political observers, government officials, and opposition members have expressed support for the institutions of justice--the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General's Office, and the Attorney General's Office--and agree that an institutional crisis is not looming. Semana Magazine's editorial on November 26 said the notion that there is an institutional crisis is "an exaggeration...what we have is quite the contrary: the institutions of justice are taking action." Cambio Radical Senator German Vargas Lleras said Congress continues to work on key legislation and dismissed calls that Congress be closed. ¶11. (C) Still, several political figures voiced concern that the scandals could eventually paralyze Congress an undermine the credibility of Colombia's fragile political institutions. Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo told us November 22 he is urging President Uribe to try to agree with the opposition parties on a unified approach to manage the institutional damage resulting from the investigations (ref C). Senator Marta Lucia Ramirez told us November 29 she had discussed with President Uribe the idea of a national pact with the Opposition (Liberal and Polo Democratico parties) that would try to insulate key legislation from the political turmoil. It could also involve commitments to avoid partisan political sniping that would damage the Colombia's public institutions. She thinks key opposition figures would be disposed to participate. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) Allegations about legislators' links to paramilitaries are the direct result of Colombian government policy on the peace process with the AUC, and U.S. Government support for that approach. Colombia's democratic institutions are exposing long-suspected links between part of the country's political elite and the paramilitaries in what will be a painful, yet necessary process. In the present environment, there is a sense of "guilty until proven innocent," although in many cases the facts reveal a proximity to or association with paramilitary figures, but no actual collusion. We are monitoring developments closely and insisting, with President Uribe, that the truth be told. President Uribe remains strong, and Congress continues to function. WOOD