EMBASSY CONFIRMS REPORT OF AMERICAN KIDNAPPED BY FARC IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 007873 SIPDIS FOR CA/OCS/ACS, WHA/AND, S/CT SIPDIS E.O. 12958; DECL:Q11/1/2017 TAGS: CASC PTER PREL PGOV CO SUBJECT: EMBASSY CONFIRMS REPORT OF AMERICAN KIDNAPPED BY FARC IN APRIL 2003 Classified By: Ambassador William R. Brownfield Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On October 25, FBI and consular representatives interviewed Colombian citizen Nestor Mora. Mora said that the FARC had kidnapped his brother, U.S. citizen Daniel Mora, in April 2003. Post verified DanielQs citizenship, and Colombian authorities have confirmed NestorQs account of his brotherQs kidnapping. FBI Miami, in coordination with PostQs legal attache, has opened a case file and may send personnel to assist in the investigation. Nestor said he contacted Post because he wanted his brother included in Venezuelan-led negotiations for proof of life and a humanitarian exchange. End Summary. ¶2. (C) In late September 2007, Colombian citizen Nestor Mora wrote to the Embassy concerning his brother, U.S. citizen Daniel Ignacio Mora Ortiz (DOB 31 OCT 1950). The letter said that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had kidnapped Daniel in April 2003. PostQs ACS chief and acting legal attache interviewed Nestor in person on October 25. ¶3. (C) Nestor described the circumstances surrounding his brotherQs kidnapping. He said Daniel, a farmer and rancher living in the town of Pandi, in Tolima Department, had been extorted by the FARC and refused to pay. On the morning of April 21, 2003, Daniel drove with a friend in Pandi when three heavily armed FARC guerillas blocked the road. They tied Daniel up, blindfolded him, and took him away in his car. Nestor said he believed the guerillas came from the FARCQs 25th or 55th fronts. DanielQs friend, released at the scene, provided details of the kidnapping. ¶4. (C) Nestor said the kidnappers contacted him two months later, and he agreed to meet with them. At the meeting, two men requested a ransom of 200 million Colombian pesos, and rejected NestorQs counter-offer of 50 million pesos and some land. The kidnappers later called and lowered their demand to 180 million pesos, an amount Nestor could not raise. ¶5. (C) Some time later, Nestor said, two other men claimed that Daniel had died and offered to reveal the location of the remains in exchange for money. Nestor paid five million pesos but never received the information, and concluded that the men had lied to him. Nestor said he has never received proof of life, but has heard rumors that some released FARC hostages saw Daniel alive in captivity. ¶6. (C) Nestor described his brother as someone who lived well but did not have a lot of money. He said Daniel has seven children: three from his deceased first wife, all now adult U.S. citizens residing in Boston; and four young children from his second wife, all born and living in Colombia. Post is not aware of attempts by these or other family members, aside from Nestor, to contact the USG about the kidnapping. ¶7. (C) According to Nestor, he first notified the Embassy of the kidnapping in 2005 and met with an Embassy officer at that time, but did not hear back from him. Nestor did not recall the officerQs name or affiliation, and neither FBI nor the Consular Section had a file on the case. Nestor said he re-initiated contact with the Embassy now because he had seen reports of Venezuelan-led negotiations with the FARC for proof of life and a humanitarian exchange, and he wanted his brother included. ¶8. (C) PostQs ACS chief and acting legal attache both found Nestor credible. Colombian authorities confirm that they are investigating the case under the assumption that it is a FARC kidnapping, but consider it a cold case. FBI Miami, in coordination with PostQs legal attache, has opened its own case file and may send personnel to assist the GOC in its investigation. ¶9. (C) Nestor said Daniel was born in Colombia and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1979. PostQs ICE attache confirmed DanielQs naturalization. Colombian law as it existed in 1979 did not permit dual nationality, and so would have stripped Daniel of his Colombian citizenship when he naturalized. Thus, Daniel Mora may no longer have Colombian citizenship, although Colombian authorities do not appear to realize that. ¶10. (C) Comment: Absent any proof of life since the 2003 kidnapping nor direct contact from the FARC to request ransom, we cannot know with any certainty if Daniel Mora remains alive. The Embassy Intelligence Fusion Center (EFIC),which collects on the three SRS hostages, will seek out information on Mora. LegAtt will continue to work with Colombian law enforcement on the case. The FARC may not know that Daniel is an American. Any mention of that to the FARC would raise his value as a hostage, assuming he is still alive. BROWNFIELD