Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BOGOTA4722
2007-06-29 13:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bogota
Cable title:  

SOUTHCOM DEPUTY COMMANDER SPEARS VISITS COLMIL

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER MARR CO 
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FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6691
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 9121
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUL LIMA 5192
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 0421
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 5791
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP ADMIN/CHAIRS//
C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 004722 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER MARR CO
SUBJECT: SOUTHCOM DEPUTY COMMANDER SPEARS VISITS COLMIL
LEADERS

Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

-------
Summary
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C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 004722

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER MARR CO
SUBJECT: SOUTHCOM DEPUTY COMMANDER SPEARS VISITS COLMIL
LEADERS

Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (C) On a June 25-27 visit, U.S. Southern Command Deputy
Commander General Spears met Vice Minister of Defense Pinzon
and Colombian Armed Forces Commander General Padilla. Pinzon
said the GOC wanted to review counterdrug programs, with a
possible shift from spraying to manual eradication and cost
cutting through use of Colombians in lieu of U.S.
contractors. Pinzon urged the U.S. to allow broader use of
helicopters involved in pipeline protection. He said the GOC
planned to use wealth tax revenues to fight drugs and
terrorists, but he defended some big ticket weapons
purchases. Pinzon reiterated the GOC's interest in hosting a
Cooperative Security Location (CLS). End Summary.

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Plan Colombia: A Counterdrug Overhaul
--------------


2. (C) In response to possible shifts in future Plan
Colombia funding, Vice Minister Pinzon said Defense Minister
Santos wanted a full review of counterdrug strategy. Data
showed fumigation was no longer as useful as it once was. He
suggested spraying be reduced in favor of more manual
eradication. Helicopters used for spray security could be
shifted to transport manual eradicators. Budget cuts could
be absorbed by replacing more costly foreign contractors (at
$10,000 per month) with local labor ($1,500 per month). He
said U.S. contractors might not all be replaced in two years,
but the GOC would work toward that goal.

--------------
Nationalization of Pipeline Helicopters
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3. (C) Pinzon urged continued U.S. support for maintenance
as well as legislative changes to allow greater flexibility
in the use of ten helicopters scheduled for handover to the
GOC this year for protection of the Cano-Limon pipeline.
Colombia wanted to fight its own war, he said, but it had
limited resources for helicopter maintenance. Without proper
upkeep, there was a risk of decreased operational readiness.
This would adversely impact U.S. commercial interests and
energy security. He also asked the U.S. to broaden the
legislation limiting the helicopters' use to infrastructure
protection to include other missions, e.g. to include troop
airlift in counterterrorist operations.

--------------
Wealth Tax Workshops
--------------


4. (C) Pinzon said Santos was pressing the service chiefs
for a counterdrug/counterterror focus in spending the new
"wealth tax" resources, but he conceded some big-ticket
expenditures were being considered to "enhance" those
efforts. "The Minister," he said, "is pushing them to the
limit -- what they need for this war, not the next." Still,
Pinzon defended aquisitions aimed at maintaining a "minimum
level of strategic capabilities." He said the focus will be
refurbishment of major hardware now, with replacement in
10-15 years. Pinzon pitched such expenses in
counter-narcoterrorism terms -- Navy ships for interdiction,
Air Force jets to bomb terrorist targets.

-------------- --------------
Prospects for Cooperative Security Location (CSL)
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Pinzon asked about the possibility of a U.S. air base
in Colombia to replace Manta in Ecuador. General Spears
confirmed there was interest in a Cooperative Support
Location (CSL) in Colombia, along with other possible CSL
locations in the region. The Bogota Military Group Commander
said the GOC had authorized a U.S. survey team to visit
prospective sites including Palanquero and Barranquilla.

--------------
Infrastructure Security in Iraq
--------------


6. (C) General Spears voiced U.S. interest in learning from
Colombian success in infrastructure protection, especially
pipelines. Pinzon and Padilla said they were eager to help,
noting that GOC experience was due to U.S. support. They
would forward to US CENTCOM briefings given the prior week by
the Colombian Army and Navy to the Commander of U.S.
Transportation Command. Pinzon said GOC assistance to Iraq
and Afghanistan was a follow-up area from recent Bilateral
Working Group meetings; this would fit with those
initiatives. Pinzon said there was growing GOC interest in
sharing its experience in Latin America.

Drucker