SENATOR BOND AND ACTING FM VALENCIA ON COLOMBIA,

S E C R E T QUITO 000851 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2018 TAGS: PREL SNAR PTER MARR PINR ETRD ECON ENRG EC CO, BR SUBJECT: SENATOR BOND AND ACTING FM VALENCIA ON COLOMBIA, COUNTERNARCOTICS, TRADE Classified By: Ambassador Heather Hodges for reasons 1.4 (b&d). ¶1. (S/NF) Summary: In a meeting with Ecuador,s acting Foreign Minister, Senator Bond (R-MO) urged that a mechanism be found to continue counternarcotics flights by USG civilian agencies after the U.S. Forward Operating Location in Manta closes in 2009. He stressed the USG interest in military, intelligence, and development cooperation. Acting FM Valencia assured him that the GOE is committed to combating the FARC. Valencia also said that the Ecuadorian and Colombian Foreign Ministers agreed to re-start a vice-ministerial level dialogue. Valencia defended the draft constitution as providing for greater regulation, not a centrally planned economy. Other topics were the Andean Trade Preference Act and petroleum contracts. (End summary) BOND URGES MODUS VIVENDI ¶2. (C) In an August 18 meeting, Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-MO) expressed regret over misunderstandings and miscommunication between the Ecuadorian and Colombian governments and asked about the meeting between their Foreign Ministers on August 15. He highlighted serious concerns about Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) presence on Colombia's southern border and the entry of Colombian guerrillas into northern Ecuador, where they obtain weapons and other supplies. He spoke positively of his August 16 meeting with Ecuadorian military leaders in the northern border area. ¶3. (C) Senator Bond expressed the USG's desire to support both the GOE and GOC in their fight against narcotics trafficking. He said he understood the U.S. Forward Operating Location in Manta was an issue during President Correa's campaign and that it would be closed when the agreement expires in 2009. However, he hoped a place could be found so that the Coast Guard, DHS, and DEA could continue to operate in this strategic location. Bond emphasized that our governments need to find a modus vivendi to allow the United States to assist the Ecuadorian military and intelligence services. VALENCIA OPTIMISTIC ON COLOMBIA TALKS ¶4. (C) Acting Foreign Minister Jose Valencia said the timing was right for the meeting between Ecuadorian FM Maria Isabel Salvador and Colombian FM Jaime Bermudez, which took place under OAS auspices in Paraguay. The meeting allowed the two ministers to begin to establish a relationship. Salvador and Bermudez decided at that meeting to resume consultations between their Vice Ministers. ¶5. (C) Valencia said Ecuador felt its sovereignty had been seriously violated by the Colombian incursion on March 1, when Colombia chose not to use existing channels for military and intelligence coordination and deceived Ecuador by providing partial and unclear information. He complained that the GOC selectively leaked documents from the laptops to give the impression the GOE was tolerating the FARC, which was never the case. Valencia said GOE contacts were only for humanitarian purposes (meaning release of FARC-held hostages). He pointed out that information on the laptops about senior officials of a third country (Brazil) was not similarly leaked. Valencia said Colombian government statements about Ecuador had not helped in re-establishing relations. ¶6. (C) Valencia said the GOE and GOC had made progress during recent talks. One issue was reparations that Colombia should provide for border incidents that affect Ecuadorians. In one case, according to Valencia, the Colombian Army had recognized that it erred and killed Ecuadorian civilians, but no payment was made. Resolving these issues would allow the two countries to turn a new page. He expressed optimism that the two governments could move toward normalization of relations based on mutual respect. VALENCIA DEFENDS GOE EFFORTS IN NORTH ¶7. (C) Valencia expressed Ecuador's appreciation for U.S. cooperation, which he hoped would continue. He emphasized the GOE's commitment to continue efforts against irregular groups, narcotics traffickers, and Colombian criminal groups (noting that these groups overlapped). Valencia highlighted the difficulty of the terrain in the northern border region and the impossibility of 100% control, but said the GOE was doing everything it could. Valencia cited Ecuadorian achievements, including seizing camps, cocaine laboratories, precursor chemicals, arms caches, and people linked to these activities. Thanks to Ecuadorian efforts, there was almost no cultivation in the country. Valencia criticized the limited Colombian presence near it southern border, saying the GOC needed more forces and outposts in the area. ¶8. (C) Valencia highlighted the important benefits Ecuador accrues under the Andean Trade Preferences Act (ATPA), including employment generation and attracting U.S. investors. While the FOL agreement would not be extended, he said, the GOE wants to continue other counternarcotics cooperation with the U.S. and other countries in the region. Valencia said the GOE was open to discussing new forms of cooperation based on shared interests. BOND ADVOCATES COUNTER-DRUG, INTEL COOPERATION ¶9. (C) Senator Bond said both Ecuador and Colombia were good friends of the United States and expressed hope that the two governments could work out their differences. He described Colombian President Uribe as having done more than anyone to get the FARC under control. Bond said he was impressed by USAID programs that he had visited in Ecuador's northern border region and wanted them to continue. He believed deeply that the only long term solution to illegal activity was to provide licit employment opportunities so people could support their families. He said he would seek funding to continue USAID programs. ¶10. (S/NF) Senator Bond stressed the importance of continued dialogue on U.S. military, technical, and other assistance. He emphasized the need to reach an understanding on how we can best assist Ecuadorian military operations in the future. Bond emphasized that he and others in Congress want to see how counternarcotics operations could be continued without the FOL, noting that 60% of seizures in the Western Pacific were thanks to information provided by FOL flights. He noted the U.S. couldn't help Ecuador flying out of Miami. ¶11. (S/NF) Senator Bond said U.S. intelligence agencies collect information where we have grave concerns, and that he hoped the GOE would remain open to receiving that intelligence. That way it could better fight narcotics traffickers. If there were information about Ecuadorian ties with illegal groups, it would be better for the GOE to act before the word got out to others. Bond said that the Ambassador could arrange a briefing with the proper people so that the GOE would know what we can share. ¶12. (S/NF) Senator Bond said the USG could provide useful current intelligence to the Ecuadorian military if the GOE were willing to receive it. He noted that we make the same offer to other friendly governments. Bond said we would work to comply with Ecuador's own standards in doing so. He assured Valencia that the USG was not behind Colombia's selective leaking of information from the laptops, and that we share intelligence in a confidential manner. Valencia responded that the GOE was open to intelligence cooperation on the basis of bilateral agreements between our governments. ECONOMIC POLICY THREATENS FREE MARKET? ¶13. (C) Senator Bond said the American Chamber of Commerce members he met were happy in Ecuador, but nervous about its future. He described different articles of the draft constitution as sending conflicting signals about the country's direction. Energy companies were particularly concerned about whether their operations could continue. Investors were waiting to see the direction of GOE policies. Bond urged that Ecuador continue a market economy without excessive government control so that businesses could operate. He said his view is that well-regulated American investment is helpful to the host country. Bond noted as an example the employment benefits of the flower industry. ¶14. (C) Describing himself as a free trader, Bond explained that he was fighting protectionists in the Senate. He knew the Andean trade preferences were near expiration, lamenting that the Senate majority did not share its plans with the minority. ¶15. (C) Valencia replied that the GOE shares Bond's interest in business ties. He said the new constitution is clear in requiring regulation of the economy, but does not provide for a planned central economy. Greater regulation could co-exist with a free market and contribute to social progress. The GOE sought to allow the market to work, such as reducing tariffs on imports of capital goods, which helped make Ecuadorian businesses more competitive. It was also focused on reducing utility rates and providing access to credit. None of its actions were intended to do away with the private sector, according to Valencia. ¶16. (C) Valencia recognized concerns about re-negotiation of petroleum contracts, but said other countries had taken similar actions when the basic parameters of earlier contracts had changed. He said the GOE was trying to use petroleum resources to promote development, but knew the resource would only last a couple of decades. Then the Ecuadorian economy would have to be able to walk on its own. Bond cited Missouri's "Show Me" slogan -- beyond discussion of economic policy, what counted would be what actually happened. BILATERAL DIALOGUE AND FUTURE COOPERATION ¶17. (C) Valencia highlighted plans for a wide-ranging bilateral dialogue, including topics like trade barriers, counter-narcotics cooperation, and extraditions. Bond promised that he would do what he could to ensure that U.S. cooperation continued and to assist the GOE in its existential battle to protect its own sovereignty. ¶18. (U) Senator Bond's chief of staff cleared this cable. Hodges