URIBE WARNS AGAINST FARC AND ELN PEACE "TRAP"

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 004371

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PTER PHUM CO
SUBJECT: URIBE WARNS AGAINST FARC AND ELN PEACE "TRAP"

REF: BOGOTA 4338

Classified By: Political Counselor John Creamer
Reasons 1.4 (b and d)

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) President Uribe publicly warned on December 6 that
talk of new hostage releases and a humanitarian accord is a
"trap" laid by the FARC with the support of an unnamed
Colombian political leader. The latter is a reference to
Senator Piedad Cordoba, who is leading a group of
"intellectuals" in an open exchange of letters with the FARC.
Uribe also decried recent attacks by the ELN and the FARC in
Arauca, Caqueta and Guaviare departments, noting that their
violent actions belied their peaceful words. Some local
commentators criticized Uribe for supposedly closing the door
on peace talks and a humanitarian accord, but Uribe told FBI
Director Mueller that the Cordoba initiative simply aims to
give "political oxygen" to the FARC and to relieve GOC
military pressure on the group. End Summary

URIBE WARNS OF PEACE "TRAP"
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2. (U) During a town-hall meeting in Bogota on December 6,
President Uribe warned that talk of new FARC hostage releases
and a humanitarian accord are "illusions," adding that the
FARC and the ELN are laying a "trap" with the support of an
unnamed political leader. The latter is a reference to
Senator Piedad Cordoba, who is heading the group of Colombian
"intellectuals" that has been publicly exchanging letters
with the FARC (see reftel). The latest intellectuals' letter
on November 28 asked that the FARC end the "inhuman" practice
of kidnapping. The FARC continues to hold hundreds of
hostages, including 28 military, police and politicians whom
it considers "political" hostages. Uribe stressed that GOC
security forces are "committed to finding" all of the
remaining hostages.


3. (C) Some local commentators were critical of Uribe's
words. In a December 9 editorial, leading daily "El Tiempo"
argued that the GOC should support all peace efforts, however
tenuous, and reiterated that there is no military solution to
Colombia's conflict. Carlos Lozano, director of the
communist weekly "Voz," accused Uribe of "closing the door"
on a possible humanitarian accord, and said the GOC should
support peace efforts rather than criticize them. Uribe
explained to FBI Director Robert Mueller on December 10 that
he fears the latest Cordoba initiative is simply an effort to
give "political oxygen" to the FARC and to relieve GOC
military pressure on the group.

FARC AND ELN LAUNCH FRESH ATTACKS
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4. (C) During the December 6 town-hall meeting, Uribe also
lashed out at the ELN for ambushing a police convoy the same
day in Arauca province, killing nine policemen. Uribe
referred to the ELN as "cowards," accused them of violating
Venezuela's sovereignty by crossing the border for refuge,
and contrasted their peaceful words with their actions of
ambushing and assassinating police officers. Colombian
National Police Commander Oscar Naranjo told us the ELN
executed some of the policemen after the attack's initial
explosion. He praised a recent U.S. request to extradite ELN
commander Carlos Marin Guarin for kidnapping, and urged the
U.S. to indict and request extradition of other ELN leaders.
Naranjo said such requests would remove the group's remaining
claim to political legitimacy, making it "irrelevant."


5. (U) On December 7, the FARC's Teofilo Forero Column
attacked a humanitarian caravan led by the Colombian Family
Welfare Institute (ICBF) in Caqueta Department with a
roadside bomb, killing two health workers. President Uribe
decried this attack as a violation of "everything
humanitarian" and vowed to denounce the attack before the
United Nations and the Organization of American States. On
December 8, the FARC dynamited a bridge in Guaviare, cutting
off road access between two neighboring municipalities.

FRANCE TO ACCEPT DEMOBILIZED FARC
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6. (SBU) Hoping to spur more high-profile demobilizations,
the GOC worked with the French government and the Colombian
Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia) to allow demobilized
FARC member Wilson Bueno Largo (alias Isaza),who deserted in
October with hostage Congressman Mauricio Lizcano, to be
relocated to France. The GOF has announced its readiness to
accept demobilized FARC members on a "case-by-case basis,"
provided that they have given up the armed struggle and do
not face prosecution in Colombia. After complicated
negotiations, the Fiscalia ruled that Bueno did not
participate in Lizcano's kidnapping and thus would not be
charged with a crime. Bueno and his companion left Bogota
for France with Ingrid Betancourt on December 10.
NICHOLS