MOD SILVA CALLS AMBASSADOR FOR PRE-UNASUR MEETING

S E C R E T BOGOTA 002907

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/09/2019
TAGS: MARR PREL MASS MCAP PGOV KTIA CO
SUBJECT: MOD SILVA CALLS AMBASSADOR FOR PRE-UNASUR MEETING

Classified By: Ambassador William R. Brownfield Reasons 1.4 (b and d)

SUMMARY
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1. (S/NF) Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva called the
Ambassador for a meeting on August 26 in advance of the
August 28 Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) summit.
Silva described Brazilian Defense Minister Jobim's August
25-26 trip to Bogota as useful. Silva said Jobim had made an
offer to Ecuador for Brazil to conduct aerial monitoring of
the Ecuadorian-Colombian border from the Manta airbase.
Silva declined Jobim's request that all intelligence
collected under Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA)
operations be shared with UNASUR countries, but told Jobim
that information could be shared on a case-by-case basis.
Silva agreed with the U.S. suggestion that the DCA be signed
at lower levels, but stressed that President Uribe wished to
conclude the agreement quickly. Silva urged the Ambassador
to move forward with the "Track II" issues related to the
DCA. End summary.


2. (C/NF) Defense Minister Gabriel Silva called Ambassador
Brownfield to a meeting at the Defense Ministry on August 26,
in advance of the August 28 UNASUR summit in Bariloche,
Argentina. Silva was accompanied by Vice Defense Ministers
Sergio Jaramillo and Alejandro Arbelaez, as well Armed Forces
Commander General Freddy Padilla and the Colombian Armed
Forces Service Chiefs.

BRAZILIAN MOD VISIT TO BOGOTA
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3. (S/NF) Silva characterized Brazilian Defense Minister
Nelson Jobim's August 25-26 visit to Bogota as useful. Jobim
told Silva that the Government of Brazil (GOB) planned to
show the texts of all its security agreements at Bariloche,
including its agreements with the French government. He
urged the GOC to release the DCA text in Bariloche. Silva
responded that the DCA was not yet signed, and that the GOC
was comfortable sharing some details of the DCA text with the
UNASUR countries, but not the entire text. Silva said Jobim
also inquired whether intelligence collected under DCA
operations could be shared with UNASUR countries. Silva
responded that the GOC would not make any blanket commitments
and did not intend to share intelligence with countries like
Venezuela and Bolivia. Still, he noted that the GOC might be
willing to share information with specific governments on a
case-by-case basis.


4. (S/NF) Jobim also told Silva that on August 25, Jobim had
made an offer to Ecuador for Brazilian aerial monitoring
missions near the Colombian-Ecuadorian border. Jobim said
the operations would be based out of Manta, Ecuador. Silva
noted that the GOC was comfortable with this proposal.


5. (S/NF) The Ambassador told Silva that the GOB had
requested three assurances from the United States related to
the DCA: 1) that there are no cross-border operations; 2)
that Brazil receive advance notice of flights near its
border; and 3) that the United States provide clarity on the
numbers of U.S. military and civilian contractors in
Colombia. Ambassador Brownfield said the USG had given
Brazil reassuring responses, but had not provided official,
written responses to these concerns. General Padilla voiced
concern about the precedent of giving the Brazilians details
on the number of U.S. personnel in Colombia, but was
overruled in the meeting by Silva, who stressed that he
wanted to be forthcoming with the GOB.

TIME TO ENGAGE ECUADOR
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6. (S/NF) Silva said that President Uribe, Foreign Minister
Jaime Bermudez and he had decided to reciprocate recent
positive signals from the Government of Ecuador (GOE). He
noted the GOC would go out of its way in the coming weeks to
give positive, public commentary to the GOE. Silva noted
that in Bariloche, the GOC planned to offer the Ecuadorians a
bilateral, ministerial-level meeting. Silva said this might
help drive a wedge between Ecuador and Venezuela. The
Ambassador noted we agree the timing is right to explore a
more positive agenda with Ecuador.

DCA SIGNING AT LOWER LEVELS
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7. (S/NF) Silva agreed with the U.S. suggestion to keep the
DCA signing at lower levels. He suggested the DCA could be
signed in a "non-ceremony" by Ambassador Brownfield and
Foreign Minister Bermudez--or perhaps even Vice Foreign
Minister Clemencia Forero. Silva stressed that the important
thing to President Uribe was to sign the agreement as soon as
possible.

GOC WANTS TO START TRACK II
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8. (S/NF) Silva acknowledged his earlier request to delay
delivery of the three Track II letters: one from SouthCom
Commander on operational arrangements related to the DCA; a
second from 12th Air Force Commander on an air defense study;
and a third from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense on
stockpile discussions. Silva said President Uribe now wanted
to move expeditiously on Track II, since the DCA was working
its way through Colombia's internal clearance processes. The
Ambassador noted he would send the Track II letters on August
27, but that it was important to manage expectations--the
letters were the start of a process, not the end. Silva said
he understood, but that the GOC wanted to start the process
now. The signed Track II letters were delivered to the GOC
on August 27.
Brownfield