STAFFDEL MEACHAM: U.S. ASSISTANCE AND DOMINICAN

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 003321

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

CARACAS/SANTIAGO/BUENOS AIRES PASS STAFFDEL; STATE FOR H,
WHA, WHA/CAR, INR/IAA; USSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD; TREASURY
FOR OASIA-JLEVINE; DEPT PASS USDA FOR FAS;
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION; USDOC
FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: DR PGOV PREL OVIP
SUBJECT: STAFFDEL MEACHAM: U.S. ASSISTANCE AND DOMINICAN
COMMITMENT TO OPERATION ENDURING FRIENDSHIP


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Carl Meacham and Bernard Toon, Senior
Professional Staff Members of the Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations, traveled to the Dominican Republic October 13-14.
The visit's primary focus was Operation Enduring Friendship,
a U.S. assistance program funded by Section 1206 resources
and other monies. Enduring Friendship is intended to build
maritime security capabilities for partner nations that sit
along high illicit trafficking lanes. Staffdel Meacham met
with senior Dominican military officials, who voiced strong
support for the program. The Chief of Naval Operations
requested additional U.S. support for fuel expenses
associated with Enduring Friendship, and also discussed the
prevalence of clandestine air traffic originating in
Venezuela. In a series of internal briefings for the
Staffdel, Embassy officers emphasized how structural
deficiencies currently plague Dominican land, sea, and air
border control efforts and how these vulnerabilities are
exploited by traffickers. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) The Staffdel's Embassy briefings included
presentations from the Economic-Political Section, Military
Affairs Advisory Group (MAAG),Office of the Defense Attache
(DAO),Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),and others.
MAAG briefed on SOUTHCOM and Embassy plans for implementing
Operation Enduring Friendship -- a Caribbean-wide assistance
project for which the Dominican Republic and Panama are the
first partners -- which is designed to:

-- Neutralize terrorists and their support networks;
-- Reduce the counter-narco-terrorism task to a law
enforcement issue;
-- Assist partner nations to control ungoverned areas;
-- Achieve effective detection, interdiction, and consequence
management for weapons of mass destruction; and
-- Aid partner nations in conducting military operations
independently and with coalition nations.

The specific U.S. assistance to be provided to the Dominican
Republic is four interceptor boats with trailers, a
comprehensive training program, communications devices, and
other support equipment.


3. (SBU) Briefing also cited the vulnerability of Dominican
entry points and how illegal traffickers exploit them. Both
the Dominican Army and Navy suffer from major structural
deficiencies that impede their ability to guarding the land
border with Haiti and patrol coastal waters. They spend an
estimated 75-85 percent of their budget on salaries (fewer
than half their employees perform traditional military
functions),leaving little for operating expenses such as
modern equipment and fuel. While corruption is a serious
problem, the recent appointment of Vice Adminiral Ivan Pena
Castillo as Chief of Naval Operations is encouraging.


4. (SBU) Finally, Embassy Officers commented that the
vulnerability of Dominican entry points to clandestine
traffic has been exploited by a variety of groups including
undocumented Haitian immigrants, human smugglers, narcotics
traffickers, and others. Of particular interest to Staffdel
Meacham was the documented increase of clandestine flights
originating in Venezuela, which are assumed to be carrying
illegal drugs. Such flights normally drop their cargo to
small boats at points between 15 and 50 miles off the
Dominican southern coast.


5. (SBU) In the Staffdel's meeting with Vice Admiral Pena

Castillo at the Navy chief's headquarters, the Dominican
Government expressed strong support for Operation Enduring
Friendship. Pena Castillo expressed his concern over the
"intelligence gap" created by the Navy's current lack of
command and control and by the "rustic" manner in which it
operates. The problem of clandestine flights originating
from Venezuela was a "very serious and very continuing" one;
however, due to its structural limitations the Dominican Navy
is currently unable to adequately respond. Although
terrorism is not currently a significant issue facing the
Dominican Republic, Pena Castillo said, he has no doubt that
trafficking lanes and Dominican vulnerabilities currently
exploited by the narcotics gangs and human smugglers could
also be used by terrorists. He asserted that the country
must take steps to ensure they are ready to combat this
weakness.


6. (SBU) Pena Castillo said that while Enduring Friendship
was an important first step in addressing these problems,
purchasing the fuel the vessels would require could prove
difficult for the Navy since the gasoline budget had just
been cut by 40 percent. This being the case, he requested
that the U.S. Government add ongoing assistance for fuel
expenses to Enduring Friendship's operating budget. After
some discussion of the fuel issue, the Staffdel asked whether
the Dominicans would be able to use the Enduring Friendship
vessels effectively without the additional fuel assistance
being requested. Pena Castillo responded that, while the
lack of fuel would present a challenge, the Navy would find a
way to get the job done.


7. (SBU) At the following meeting, the Dominican J-3
(Director of Operations),Brigadier General Luis Ramon Payan
Areche, demonstrated a strong understanding of Enduring
Friendship. Payan Areche engaged with the Staffdel on the
timeline for the program's realization, played down his
country's relationship with Venezuela. The J-3 contrasted
Dominican military cooperation with Venezuela, which he
termed "traditional," with the military's engagement with the
United States, which he described as his country's "closest
relationship; one that is permanent."


8. (U) The Staffdel's final event was a dinner hosted by the
Charge d'Affaires -- attended by a former Ambassador to the
U.S., a Vice-Presidential candidate, and other opinion-makers
-- in which key non-defense-related issues in the
U.S.-Dominican bilateral relationship were discussed.


9. (U) COMMENT: The Dominican military clearly appreciated
the visit of Staffdel Meacham and the opportunity it provided
to engage with the United States Senate. The Embassy was
pleased that the Navy chief avowed his commitment to Enduring
Friendship and to overcoming obstacles such as the shortage
of fuel. Embassy Santo Domingo would welcome a follow up
visit from Mr. Meacham and Mr. Toon as the Enduring
Friendship project reaches its middle and latter stages.


10. (U) Staffdel Meachem cleared this report.


11. (U) This report and extensive other material can be
consulted on our SIPIRNET site,
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/
HERTELL