SOUTHCOM DEPUTY COMMANDER SPEARS VISITS COLMIL

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. -------------- 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 -------------- ¶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