EL SALVADOR AGREES TO SOFA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000394 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR L/PM THOMAS HERALD, L/T DAPHNE COOK, AND DOD FOR ISA/WHA WALTER EARLE AND COL. FERNANDO GONZALEZ E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2017 TAGS: KTIA MARR MASS MOPS PGOV PREL ES SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR AGREES TO SOFA REF: A. STATE 16561 ¶B. SAN SALVADOR 49 ¶C. 06 STATE 163912 Classified By: DCM Michael A. Butler for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (SBU) The Saca administration communicated to the Embassy late February 28 that the GOES would agree to the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) text without further changes. On March 1, the administration presented the Agreement in the Legislative Assembly, where it passed by a vote of 49 in favor and 26 against. ARENA's 34 deputies were joined by their center-right PCN allies' 10 seats, plus the 5 deputies of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC),while 26 FMLN members voted nay. Prior to the vote, the FMLN stridently complained that the Agreement represented a possible threat to Salvadoran sovereignty, and should first be studied carefully by the Assembly's International Relations Committee. The PCN replied that the humanitarian benefits of U.S. military exercises were too important to put at risk, and that the Assembly should stop wasting time passing temporary agreements every two years. Post expects receipt of the MFA's final dipnote, accepting the terms of the SOFA, no later than COB March 2. Post will immediately forward this dipnote, along with a certified copy of post's original note proposing the compromise text in reftel A to L/T in the Department. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: This SOFA is only the second such agreement in the Western Hemisphere (the other being Trinidad and Tobago). Our military-to-military relations remain excellent, and the passage of the SOFA will greatly facilitate the continuation of bilateral exercises for the foreseeable future. The larger DOD exercises in El Salvador, most of which are humanitarian in nature (such as the MEDRETE and New Horizons exercises),are tremendously popular here, and have become an important facet in our bilateral relationship. Negotiation of the SOFA and its final passage required extensive Embassy intervention at all levels, including the direct efforts by the Ambassador with President Saca. Throughout the process, the Saca administration privately expressed concerns regarding sovereignty issues and the duty-free status of contractors under the Agreement. In the end, the grassroots enthusiasm for bilateral humanitarian military exercises and the overall predominance of El Salvador's bilateral relationship with the U.S. (the latter of which is a significant source of ARENA's popularity) tipped the scales in our favor. Glazer