DCM'S MEETING WITH DEFENSE MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 001394

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON SNAR MARR MASS MOPS PHUM BL
SUBJECT: DCM'S MEETING WITH DEFENSE MINISTER

Classified By: DCM Krishna Urs for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) At a ninety minute lunch at the DCM's residence on
May 14, Minister of Defense (MOD) Walker San Miguel expressed
confidence that the GOB would make its 5,000-8,000 hectare
eradication target this year. He suggested that the USG and
GOB negotiate an agreement regarding transport via DEA
aircraft of wanted drug traffickers (we believe we already
have one),and also asked for assistance and training to deal
with terrorist threats to civil aviation in Bolivia.
Regarding milgroup activities, San Miguel asked for U.S.
support in setting up a peacekeeping training center in Santa
Cruz. The DCM asked for San Miguel's assistance in providing
information on pending human rights cases, and the defense
minister promised to provide the information. San Miguel
also told the DCM that a group of GOB cabinet members are
very much aware of Bolivia's obligations under its bilateral
investment treaties (BITs) and will advocate that the country
abide by its international commitments. End summary.

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NARCOTICS
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2. (SBU) At a ninety minute lunch at the DCM's residence
on May 14, Minister of Defense Walker San Miguel expressed
confidence that the GOB would make its 5,000-8,000 hectare
eradication target this year. San Miguel noted that he had
met May 14 with the president, along with the military
command, in their regular Monday meeting. San Miguel said
Morales discussed the status of eradication efforts in the
Yungas (still slow but improving),the fate of the base in
Caranavi that the USG helped to reconstruct (UMOPAR will
keep; GOB would like NAS and milgroup assistance in expanding
facilities for military forces to be used in eradication),
and the GOB's desire to begin eradication (perhaps sometime
this summer) in Madidi National Park.

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COLOMBIAN TRAFFICKER
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3. (SBU) San Miguel suggested to the DCM that the USG and
GOB negotiate an agreement regarding transport via DEA
aircraft of wanted drug traffickers. He characterized the
deportation of Colombian trafficker Eduardo Hormanza Londono
as "positive," saying it will serve as a deterrent to other
major traffickers. He said he had authorized the DEA flight
from Buenos Aires, and noted that negative fallout for the
Embassy could have resulted from the incident, particularly
if the press reaction had been more negative. The DCM
responded that in the future, it would be helpful for the GOB
to publicly say that it had requested U.S. assistance as a
means of providing some political cover.


4. (C) San Miguel also asked for assistance and training
to deal with terrorist threats to civil aviation in Bolivia.
The MOD said that the bomb threat made against the commercial
aircraft on which Hormanza had originally been traveling had
heightened GOB concerns about aviation security. He wondered
if the USG could provide some training to the Bolivian Air
Force, which is charged with aviation security. The DCM
responded that TSA had recently visited Bolivia and had
inspected the airport, and could perhaps reach out to the Air
Force on its next visit to Bolivia. The DCM then noted that
a major justification for the now-defunct counterterrorism
unit (CT) had been to deal with terrorist threats, including
threats to civil aviation. (Note: The GOB disbanded the U.S.
supported and trained CT unit after the Embassy pulled its
financial support due to the unit's questionable leadership.
End note). San Miguel said that there had been problems with
people in the unit who had a political agenda. He said that
the GOB wanted to put together a new unit, based in La Paz
instead of Santa Cruz, and that it would need training.

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MILGROUP ACTIVITIES
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5. (SBU) Regarding milgroup activities, San Miguel asked
for U.S. support in setting up a peacekeeping training center
in Santa Cruz. San Miguel thanked the USG for early
expressions of support for the GOB's new peacekeeping
facility. The DCM suggested that the GOB might enhance its
center by making it a center of excellence focusing on some
aspect of peacekeeping. San Miguel sounded very interested,
saying that the GOB would like to focus on training
engineering battalions, since these would also be useful in
reconstruction within Bolivia after natural disasters. San
Miguel also said he would like to accompany the Ambassador to
the Puerto Suarez Medrete on May 29.

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HUMAN RIGHTS
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6. (SBU) The DCM asked for San Miguel's assistance in
providing information on pending human rights cases, and the
defense minister promised to provide the information. The
MOD promised to task a lawyer in the defense ministry to
prepare an update. He commented, however, that the most
interesting case on the list was the October 2003 violence
which coincided with ex-President Gonzalo "Goni" Sanchez de
Lozada's fall from power. He said that the USG was dragging
its feet on notifying Goni and moving that case forward.

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FOREIGN INVESTMENT
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7. (C) San Miguel also told the DCM that many GOB cabinet
members are very aware of the GOB's international
commitments. "We are working to ensure that we do not
violate the terms of our bilateral investment agreements," he
said. The MOD said the decision to leave ICSID (CIADI in
Spanish) and review the BITs had resulted from GOB
frustration with difficulty of recovering ENTEL. ENTEL had
told the GOB that it was ready to sell; as a result the GOB
issued a decree setting aside a one month negotiation period.
ENTEL then filed a letter notifying ICSID about a potential
dispute, which applied pressure to the GOB. As a result, the
president decided that the GOB would leave ICSID and then,
under the prodding of Trade Advisor Pablo Salon, review the
BITS. San Miguel said, however, that there were a number of
members of the cabinet who are acutely aware of the GOB's
obligations under the BITS. Intimating a gap between Salon
and many cabinet members, San Miguel said that he (and
others) would ensure that the GOB abides by its commitments.
He said they would not denounce the agreement until legally
entitled to do so (2011 in the case of the U.S. BIT) and
would honor grandfather clauses. San Miguel also said that
U.S. companies are not the target of any of this GOB
declaration, which was provoked by frustration with ENTEL.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) A well-established lawyer (and a political survivor
and even something of an opportunist) Walker San Miguel is a
long time member of the Bolivian political establishment. He
comes to the government not from Morales' MAS party but
rather from a middle class coalition partner, the Movement
without Fear led by La Paz Mayor Juan del Granado. San
Miguel's willingness to engage productively with the Embassy
is not typical of GOB ministers but neither as a minister
from a coalition partner is he particularly able to follow up
on his commitments. End comment.
GOLDBERG