DRAFT MAPP/OAS TENTH QUARTERLY REPORT ON PEACE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 007695 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2017 TAGS: CO PHUM PGOV KJUS PREL SUBJECT: DRAFT MAPP/OAS TENTH QUARTERLY REPORT ON PEACE PROCESS Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer. Reason: 1.4(b,d) -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The MAPP/OAS draft Tenth Quarterly Report on the peace process recognizes GOC progress in the reintegration of demobilized paramilitaries, as well as in combating new criminal groups, but urges it to do more to prevent narcotraffickers, the FARC, and other criminal groups from exploiting the vacuum left by the paramilitary demobilization in some regions. The MAPP/OAS identifies challenges to implementing the Justice and Peace Law (JPL),and recommends strengthening the institutional capacity of the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia),Human Rights Ombudsman (Defensoria) and Inspector General's Office (Procuraduria). It also calls for expanded protection and rights for victims. The draft report will likely be made public in November. End Summary. -------------- What the GOC is doing right -------------- ¶2. (C) The draft MAPP/OAS (OAS Mission in Support of the Peace Process) Tenth Quarterly Report outlines positive developments as well as continuing challenges. The report praises the High Commissioner for Reintegration (ACR) for developing a cohesive, national strategy to provide social, health and psychological assistance to demobilized paramilitaries. It notes that the ACR's decentralized approach through its 37 regional service centers and its focus on community outreach has improved the reintegration process. The OAS also highlights the transition from simply paying monthly stipends to demobilized to conditioning receipt of benefits to their participation in ACR programs. These include regular meetings with ACR staff as well as their participation in educational and job search programs. ¶3. (C) The report praises Medellin's mayor for his active role in reintegration projects. Strong demobilization and reintegration programs in the city helped reduce the murder rate per 100,000 inhabitants from 98 in 2004 to 29.6 in 2006. Illegal criminal bands exist in the Medellin area, but the local Fiscalia and police are ramping up efforts to combat them. The OAS underscores the importance of soliciting regional and municipal cooperation in any reintegration effort. ¶4. (C) The report recognizes that GOC security forces, including the army, navy and police, are boosting their presence in areas that were vacated by the paramilitaries but remain vulnerable to penetration by the FARC and narcotraffickers. It highlights the GOC's capture of five leaders of new criminal groups, as well as GOC operations against the Organizacion Nueva Generacion in Narino and other bands operating in southern Cesar. The GOC has also responded to OAS concerns regarding the military's use of ex-combatants as informants ("red de cooperantes"),a practice which was explicitly prohibited in a directive issued in June. ¶5. (C) The High Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation (CNRR) is also praised for expanding its regional offices from five to eight, including new offices in Bolivar, Valle del Cauca and Cesar. CNRR also organized meetings with victims and publicized a series of public announcements on victims' rights. -------------- -------------- Drug traffickers, FARC and Criminal Bands Spread Fear -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Despite positive steps, the OAS notes the growing presence and capacity of narcotraffickers who are taking over coca cultivation and drug corridors in regions formerly controlled by paramilitary groups. Affected areas include the Sierra Nevada, Bajo Cauca, Alto Sinu and San Jorge in Cordoba, Sur de Bolivar, Uraba golf, Vichada, Meta, Caqueta and Putumayo. The FARC has also increased its presence in drug corridors, sometimes allying with narcotraffickers. Turf battles among criminal groups are causing displacement and spreading fear among communities, particularly in Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Turbaco, Turbana and Sincelejo. Criminal bands are also responsible for at least 180 killings of demobilized in 2007. ¶7. (C) The report notes these criminal groups lack the social legitimacy previously enjoyed by paramilitary groups in many regions. They also do not pretend to have a political or counterinsurgency mission. Still, the report voices concern over the role of some ex paramilitary leaders and mid-level commanders in creating these bands. Some demobilized paramilitaries also are being "recycled" as "private contractors" for narcotraffickers, creating a new generation of mafia. Former members of the Bloque Central Bolivar in Antioquia, for example, continue committing crimes. The report praises the GOC's recent transfer of former para leader Carlos Mario Jimenez (aka Macaco) from Itagui to Combita maximum security prison--and then to a frigate off the coast--due to his continued involvement in criminal activity from prison. -------------- Justice and Peace Law at Critical Juncture -------------- ¶8. (C) The OAS report warns that the cost of a breakdown in the JPL process could be high. It urges the GOC to clarify the legal status of demobilized paramilitaries and to increase the resources of key agencies--such as the Fiscalia and Defensoria--involved in the process. It says the GOC needs to resolve the legal status of the 18,000 demobilized paramilitaries affected by the Supreme Court's July 11 ruling that paramilitaries could not commit "political crimes." The MAPP/OAS also calls for the GOC to improve the institutional capacity to: 1) investigate and prosecute crimes, 2) protect victims and officials, and 3) provide more legal and psycho-social aid to victims. It says the Fiscalia's Justice and Peace unit has 23 prosecutors (fiscales) and 150 investigators but needs up to 1235 investigators to do its job. The Defensoria also lacks the resources to represent victims; the Procuraduria needs 20 additional posts to help prosecutors take voluntary confessions (versiones libres) and do research. ¶9. (C) The OAS notes that the 63 versiones libres of paramilitary leaders conducted so far have led to the exhumation of 836 bodies in 698 graves. The Fiscalia has fully identified 57 of the victims, with 298 more in the preliminary identification stage. Still, the OAS says many paramilitaries are not confessing the complete truth about their crimes and, in some cases, are threatening victims participating in the process. It suggests that limited television transmission of the versiones libres would allow more access to victims who cannot travel to the three major cities where the versiones libres are being held. Brownfield