COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR ON CUBAN ROLE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000316 SIPDIS SIPDIS ///////////////////////////////////////////// /////// DO NOT, REPEAT DO NOT PROCESS MESSAGE IS WAITING FOR EAO GUDIANCE. ///////////////////////////////////////////// ////// DEPT FOR WHA, WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV CU CO EC VN SUBJECT: COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR ON CUBAN ROLE IN COLOMBIA/ECUADOR DISPUTE REF: HAVANA 0229 (EXDIS) Classified By: COM MICHAEL E. PARMLY FOR REASONS 1.4 B AND D SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR LONDONO TOLD US 15 APRIL THAT CUBA CONTINUES TO PLAY AN UNUSUALLY DISCREET ROLE IN COLOMBIA'S DISPUTE WITH ECUADOR. THE CUBANS HAVE STUCK TO THEIR ALMOST COMPLETE SILENCE ON THE ISSUE. FM PEREZ ROQUE, IN LONDONO'S VIEW ON DIRECT INSTRUCTIONS FROM RAUL CASTRO, TOLD GRULAC AMBASSADORS TO HAVANA LAST WEEK THAT THE GOC VALUES AS MUCH ITS TIES TO THE ONE AS TO THE OTHER. LONDONO REJECTED ANY NOTION THAT HAVANA SOUGHT TO KEEP DISPUTE RESOLUTION OUT OF VENUES WHERE THERE IS A U.S. PRESENCE. HE POSITED THAT IN RECENT WEEKS, HE HAD SEEN SMALL BUT IMPORTANT SIGNS THAT THE GOC WANTS TO LOWER THE TEMPERATURE WITH WASHINGTON. END SUMMARY. CUBA ON COLOMBIA-ECUADOR: STRICT IMPARTIALITY -------------- - ¶2. (C) COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR TO HAVANA JULIO LONDONO, DEAN OF THE DIP CORPS HERE WITH TEN YEARS ON THE GROUND, BRIEFED COM ON THE CUBAN ROLE IN THE COLOMBIA-ECUADOR BORDER DISPUTE. "STRICT HANDS-OFF" AND "TOTAL IMPARTIALITY" WERE TWO TERMS LONDONO USED IN DESCRIBING THE GOC ATTITUDE. BUILDING ON EARLIER COMMENTS TO US ON THE CUBAN ROLE, LONDONO SAID CUBAN OFFICIALS, STARTING WITH PRESIDENT RAUL CASTRO, WENT OUT OF THEIR WAY NOT/NOT TO COMMENT, EITHER PUBLICLY OR PRIVATELY, ABOUT WHO WAS RIGHT AND WHO WAS WRONG IN THE DISPUTE. HOWEVER, LONDONO SAID HE WAS CONVINCED -- THOUGH HE DECLINED TO SAY ON WHAT BASIS -- THAT HAVANA, EITHER THROUGH DISCREET EMISSARIES OR EVEN IN DIRECT PHONE CALLS, HAD TOLD VENEZUELAN LEADER CHAVEZ TO BACK OFF ON HIS INFLAMED RHETORIC. LONDONO HIMSELF HAD CONFINED HIS CONTACTS TO PCC INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY FERNANDO REMIREZ DE ESTENOZ. IN SEVERAL MEETINGS, SIPDIS REMIREZ HAD SOUGHT INFORMATION FROM LONDONO ON WHERE THINGS STOOD. LONDONO HAD OFFERED THE COLOMBIAN PERSPECTIVE, WHICH REMIREZ HAD LARGELY TAKEN ON BOARD WITHOUT COMMENT. AT NO POINT HAD REMIREZ OFFERED A PREFERRED OUTCOME FROM CUBA'S PERSPECTIVE, LONDONO OBSERVED. ¶3. (C) LONDONO SAID THE CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTRY'S EXCEPTIONALLY LOW PROFILE WAS ONLY ALTERED SOMEWHAT THE WEEK OF 7 APRIL. THE GRULAC AMBASSADORS TO HAVANA HAD HOSTED FM FELIPE PEREZ ROQUE TO DINNER AT THE HOTEL NACIONAL. IN HIS REMARKS ON DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HEMISPHERE, THE ONLY SPECIFIC PROBLEM PEREZ ROQUE REFERRED TO WAS THE COLOMBIA-ECUADOR DISPUTE. THE FM LAUDED THE STATE OF CUBA'S RELATIONS WITH ECUADOR, BUT POINTEDLY ADDED THAT HAVANA VALUES ITS CLOSE TIES TO BOGOTA EQUALLY. PEREZ ROQUE CONCLUDED WITH A BLAND EXPRESSION OF CUBA'S DESIRE TO SEE THE TWO SOUTH AMERICAN NEIGHBORS SETTLE THEIR DIFFERENCE AMICABLY. FAILED ECUADORIAN PRESSURE TO GET CUBA TO SPEAK OUT -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) THE COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR TOLD US THE ECUADORIANS HAD BEEN QUITE EXERCISED AT HAVANA'S CAREFUL ATTITUDE IN THE CRISIS. HIS ECUADORIAN COUNTERPART, UNIVERSEI ZAMBRANO, TOLD LONDONO HE HAD RECEIVED INSTRUCTIONS TO CALL THE CUBANS ON THE POINT AND TO SEEK AN EXPLANATION. LONDONO SAID HE KNOWS THAT ZAMBRANO WAS RECEIVED AT A HIGH LEVEL OF MINREX TO DELIVER QUITO'S MESSAGE OF IMPATIENCE, BUT THE ECUADORIANS HAVE NOT TOLD HIM WHAT MINREX'S RESPONSE WAS. CUBANS NOT SEEKING TO FREEZE OUT THE U.S., IN LONDONO'S VIEW -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) LONDONO ADVISED US NOT TO PLACE TOO MUCH STOCK IN THE VENUE -- SANTO DOMINGO -- WHERE A NUMBER OF THE REGIONAL ACTORS, INCLUDING COLOMBIA AND ECUADOR, VENEZUELA AND NICARAGUA, BUT NOT THE UNITED STATES WERE PRESENT. IN ANY CASE, LONDONO SAID THAT AT NO POINT DID CUBAN OFFICIALS TELL HIM THEY WANTED TO EXCLUDE THE USG FROM DISCUSSION OF AN OUTCOME. LONDONO ACKNOWLEDGED THAT FIDEL, IN HIS REGULAR "REFLECTIONS" IN THE CUBAN PRESS, HAD CROWED THAT THE SANTO DOMINGO OUTCOME HAD BEEN POSSIBLE PRECISELY BECAUSE THE USG HAD BEEN ABSENT, BUT HE DID NOT BELIEVE THAT POINT OF VIEW REPRESENTED RAUL'S VIEWS. RAUL TRYING TO LOWER THE TEMPERATURE -------------- ¶6. (C) LONDONO'S INTERPRETATION IS THAT RAUL ACCEPTS HIS BROTHER'S RANTS NOT BECAUSE HE AGREES WITH THEM, BUT RATHER BECAUSE 1) IT IS NOT WORTH THE EFFORT TO TRY TO STOP THE IRREPRESSIBLE FIDEL; AND 2) LETTING FIDEL RATTLE ON GIVES RAUL COVER WITH THE HARD LINERS IN THE REGIME. THE COLOMBIAN AMBASSADOR, CURRENT DEAN OF THE DIP CORPS HERE AND A TEN-YEAR VETERAN IN HAVANA WHO HAS MET MANY TIMES WITH BOTH FIDEL AND RAUL, SAID RAUL IS NOW FIRMLY IN CHARGE OF EVENTS ON THE ISLAND, AT LEAST INSOFAR AS THE REGIME IS CONCERNED. HE POINTED TO THE REMOVAL OF HATEFUL ANTI-U.S. BILLBOARDS AROUND TOWN AS ANOTHER SIGN OF THE MORE PRAGMATIC, LESS IDEOLOGICAL CHARACTER NOW AT THE HEAD OF THE REGIME. WHEN COM PRESSED, LONDONO SAID HE HAD NO INSIGHTS AS TO WHEN THE REGIME WOULD RELEASE POLITICAL PRISONERS, AND HE AGREED THAT SUCH AN ACT WOULD BE THE MOST CONCRETE SIGN OF THE REGIME WANTING TO GO IN A TRULY NEW DIRECTION. LONDONO EXPRESSED SURPRISE THAT THE REGIME HAD NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE VISITS OF VATICAN STATE SECRETARY BERTONE OR EU COMMISSIONER MICHEL TO RELEASE POL PRISONERS, BUT HE AGREED THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SHOULD KEEP PRESSING THE POINT. "QUIETLY," HE ADDED. COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) LONDONO TOLD US PRESIDENT URIBE HAS ASKED HIM TO TAKE THE LEAD FOR COLOMBIA IN REACHING A FINAL SETTLEMENT WITH ECUADOR IN THE DISPUTE. FOR NOW HE INTENDS TO DO THAT JOB WHILE RETAINING HIS HAVANA POSTING. LONDONO HAS GOOD PROFESSIONAL TIES WITH SENIOR REGIME OFFICIALS HERE, BUT IS NOT AS SYCOPHANTIC AS MANY OF HIS COUNTERPARTS. FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, HIS ANALYSIS OF RAUL'S EFFORTS TO LOWER THE IDEOLOGICAL CONTENT OF CUBAN BEHAVIOR IS WORTH CONSIDERATION. PARMLY