URIBE ORDERS POLICE TO ESCORT PARAMILITARY LEADERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 007495

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2016
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: URIBE ORDERS POLICE TO ESCORT PARAMILITARY LEADERS
TO POLICE STATIONS

REF: BOGOTA 7458

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood.
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) President Uribe ordered the Police to take into
custody 26 paramilitary leaders after his August 14 ultimatum
to para leaders that they should turn themselves in to
authorities. As of mid-day on August 16, the Police had
escorted 10 of the 26 leaders to local police stations. A
GOC official said Uribe's ultimatum was prompted by his
frustration with the paras objections to the Justice and
Peace Law and his determination to start the justice phase of
the process. Paramilitary leader Ernesto Baez publicly
warned that the peace negotiations with the GOC were in a
"grave crisis" and, given the Constitutional Court's July 13
ruling on the Justice and Peace Law, no paramilitary would be
willing to submit themselves to justice. Baez called for a
"constituent assembly" or a new law to address para concerns.
End summary.


2. (C) Following his August 14 statement instructing
paramilitary leaders to turn themselves in, President Uribe
ordered the Police to escort 26 such leaders into custody.
Police Intelligence officials told us that as of mid-day on
August 16, the Police had taken 10 of the 26 AUC leaders they
were ordered to find, including Ernesto Baez, Salvatore
Mancuso, Carlos Mario Jimenez (AKA "Macaco"),Ramon Isaza,
and Julian Bolivar. The Police were taking the para leaders
to the central police commands in the areas where the AUC
leaders where found until further notice from the President.
The COLMIL's Director of Intelligence told us August 15 that
if Uribe gave them the green light, the COLMIL had a
pre-established plan to attack 23 identified paramilitary
locations around the country.


3. (C) A GOC official familiar with the dynamics behind
President Uribe's press statement on August 14 said Uribe was
motivated by his frustration with para objections to the
Justice and Peace Law and his determination to lock the
paramilitaries into the justice phase of the process.
(reftel). Uribe issued his statement after heavy public
criticism of a leaked draft of the Justice and Peace Law
implementing decree, and following information that the para
leaders were unwilling to accept conditions of imprisonment.
Uribe said he was no longer willing to tolerate any
additional conditions from the para leaders. The official
told us Uribe's threat to extradite paras who do not comply
with his statement showed his determination to move the
process forward.


4. (C) The official said the GOC's next step was to issue
the implementing decree, expected within a few days. Once
issued, the Ministry of Interior and Justice will send the
lists of the paramilitary members who have requested to be
processed under Justice and Peace to the Prosecutor General's
Office (Fiscalia). After the Fiscalia receives the lists,
the prosecutors will begin taking the paras' debriefings or
"version libres." Immediately after taking the version
libres, the paras will be placed in prisons selected by the
GOC. The prosecutor must then notify a Justice and Peace
magistrate, who will have 36 hours to set a hearing to notify
the defendant of the charges to be investigated. The
prosecutor then has up to 60 days to investigate the
accusations and to formally charge the defendant. The 60-day
time period can be extended to up to 120 days by court order,
upon joint petition of the parties.


5. (C) In response to Uribe's statement on August 14,
paramilitary spokesperson Ernesto Baez publicly warned that
the peace negotiations with the GOC were in a "grave crisis."
Baez said the paras were willing to submit themselves to the
tribunals as long as the government is able to guarantee

"judicial security." He added that in view of the
Consitutional Court's July 13 ruling on the Justice and Peace
Law, no paramilitary would be willing to submit themselves to
justice. Baez called for a "constituent assembly" or a new
law to address para concerns. Despite the perceived "grave
crisis" among the paramilitaries, the AUC leader Freddy
Rendon, AKA "El Aleman," demobilized on August 15 with the
last faction of the Elmer Cardenas Bloc composed of 745
members.
WOOD