GOC WANTS QUICK AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPAL ON DEFENSE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 003028 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/13/2018 TAGS: MARR PREL SNAR MCAP PGOV CO SUBJECT: GOC WANTS QUICK AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPAL ON DEFENSE COOPERATION AGREEMENT REF: SECSTATE 85514 Classified By: Ambassador William R. Brownfield Reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The Ambassador delivered draft text of the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) to the Acting Foreign Minister, Minister of Defense, and Armed Forces Commander on September 13-14. All agreed that a formal agreement was necessary, hoped to announce agreement in principle soon, and hoped it could be portrayed to the media as continuation of long-standing cooperation. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador on August 13, met with acting Foreign Minister Camilo Reyes and passed him a diplomatic note in both English and Spanish containing the draft U.S-Colombia Defense Cooperation Agreement (reftel). The Ambassador summarized our full proposal for use of Palanquero, Apiay, and Barranquilla, and other provisions regarding privileges and immunities. He told Reyes that following Ecuador's decision not to renew the agreement covering the Cooperative Security Location (CSL) at Manta, the USG wanted to provide the GOC our draft now. The Ambassador said the USG would not publicly release any information on the agreement; the decision on when and how to make the agreement public rested with the GOC. The Ambassador also met separately with Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos and Armed Forces Commander General Freddy Padilla, and provided them with copies of the draft and similar talking points. ¶3. (C) Reyes told us that the GOC wanted to reach an agreement in principal as quickly as possible, and would also review the U.S. agreement covering Manta. Reyes indicated that once an agreement in principal is reached, our governments would be able to iron out remaining details later. This would allow the GOC to quickly and more easily control the release of news on the agreement. He said the GOC would likely frame the agreement as a "continuation of our historic cooperation." Reyes added that he planned to review the U.S. agreement with Ecuador over the use of Manta as a "point of comparison." ¶4. (C) Defense Minister Santos, after initially questioning whether a formal agreement was needed--and worth the public scrutiny--told the Ambassador he agreed that this new step in the U.S.-Colombia security partnership would require something formal. Like Reyes, he very much hoped the new agreement could be couched publicly in terms of continuation of long-standing bilateral cooperation. He added that President Uribe would likely want to conclude an agreement quickly, noting that Uribe planned to visit Washington September 18. Uribe would probably prefer to finish by November, he added. Santos also indicated that a formal agreement would assure continuity in key elements of the U.S.-Colombia relationship over the long-term. BROWNFIELD =======================CABLE ENDS============================