MAPP/OAS RESTRUCTURING, CLOSING OFFICES IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 004323 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/02/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV KJUS CO AORC SUBJECT: MAPP/OAS RESTRUCTURING, CLOSING OFFICES IN COLOMBIA Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer. Reason: 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: OAS Mission in Support of the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS) Director Sergio Caramagna briefed the international community on MAPP'S plans to restructure its operations, including dismissing 20 officials, naming a new director, and combining several regional offices. MAPP will continue to do verification work, including monitoring the reintegration process, but will not track purely narcotrafficking or criminal groups. Vice Foreign Minister Adriana Mejia told us Caramagna had not consulted the GOC on the restructuring plan, and the GOC continues to discuss the issue with OAS officials in Washington. The GOC believes a continued, high-profile MAPP presence should continue through the end of the MAPP's mandate in March, 2010. End Summary. -------------- Change of Focus, Closing Regional Offices -------------- ¶2. (U) On November 26, OAS Mission in Support of the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS) Director Sergio Caramagna briefed the international community on MAPP's restructuring plans for ¶2009. Caramagna will resign his post at the end of January and will head the OAS office in Lima. His deputy, Claudia Perez, will depart for Washington in mid-December. Twenty other officials will also leave MAPP. He said that Marcelo Alvarez, who previously served in the OAS Secretary General's Office and has experience in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, will officially take over as director on January 1. ¶3. (U) Alvarez told us Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez fully supports MAPP's mandate and its continued presence in Colombia. MAPP will continue to do verification work, focusing on the impact of the conflict on demobilized paramilitaries, but will not monitor purely narcotrafficking or other criminal groups. He said MAPP will focus on four key areas: 1) disarmament of illegal armed groups, demobilization, and monitoring of public order; 2) reintegration of demobilized as well as recruitment by new criminal groups; 3) Justice and Peace Law implementation; and 4) GOC attention to victims. ¶4. (U) Alvarez said that MAPP offices were originally established in "paramilitary hotbeds" where there were large paramilitary demobilizations. With demobilization now complete, MAPP plans to restructure its regional offices to broaden coverage on a wider range of issues. He said MAPP will maintain its offices in Bogota, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Medellin, Cali, Valledupar, and Pasto, while closing its doors in Monteria, Cucuta, and Apartado. Caramagna insisted that no community will be "left behind" as a result of these closures, noting that the Medellin and Valledupar offices would cover the areas now monitored by the closed offices. -------------- GOC Not On Board -------------- ¶5. (C) Vice Foreign Minister Adriana Mejia told us December 2 that Caramagna had not fully consulted with the GOC on the restructuring plan before announcing it to the international community on November 26. She met with OAS official Victor Rico to convey GOC concerns that the planned cuts in staff and regional coverage would be seen as a reduction in MAPP'S profile in the country. The GOC believes a continued, high-profile MAPP presence should continue through the end of MAPP's mandate in March, 2010. Rico told her the restructuring is an effort to rationalize the use of MAPP resources and does not signal a loss of OAS interest in MAPP's role. Mejia said Rico agreed to continue to discuss the issue with the GOC. NICHOLS