DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTRY ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 000991 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2018 TAGS: COL VE HR EUR PTER AF SNAR PGOV PREL SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED TO GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTRY ON FARC REF: SECSTATE 77205 Classified By: DEPUTY MINISTER COUNSELOR STAN OTTO FOR REASONS 1.4 (b), (c),AND (d) ¶1. (C) On 22 July 2008, POLOFF delivered reftel demarche to Verana Frick, desk officer responsible for Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia at the German Foreign Office. Frick said that the German Government will continue to support dialogue and a peaceful solution between the Government of Columbia and the FARC. Frick remained hopeful that a diplomatic solution could be achieved where FARC members could be reintegrated into society, although she does not believe complete amnesty should be given to all members. She expressed the view that the FARC is weakened and no longer has a political or ideological agenda, but is now mostly concerned with ensuring its own survival and earning money through drug trafficking. She said that most of the prisoners being held by the FARC were not for political reasons, but rather simple ransom, making the FARC more of a criminal syndicate than international terrorist organization. Frick speculated that the FARC will inevitably collapse internally and branch into small, albeit more dangerous and unpredictable, splinter groups. ¶2. (C) Frick said the German Government took Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at his word when he denounced the FARC's armed struggle, and does not believe he has anything further to gain politically by publicly or privately supporting the group. She believes Chavez knows his political limitations and now realizes his revolutionary message is no longer being accepted in Latin America. She cited the recent tension between Venezuela and Ecuador and Columbia, and the cooling of relations with Brazil and Bolivia, as evidence that Chavez's revolutionary zeal had lost its appeal and that he is becoming increasingly isolated in the region. She added that despite Chavez's alleged past support for the FARC, Germany does not believe there is ample evidence or reason to add Venezuela to the list of states that sponsor terrorism. Frick expressed the view that doing so would empower Chavez and provide him reason to withhold or restrict oil exports to the United States and Europe. KOENIG