VISIT HIGHLIGHTS US ASSISTANCE TO SANTA MARTA

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000721

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ECON ENRG EPET PGOV CO
SUBJECT: VISIT HIGHLIGHTS US ASSISTANCE TO SANTA MARTA


1. (U) SUMMARY: The DCM traveled on February 18 and 19 to the Port
of Santa Marta (in the Caribbean coast department of Magdalena) to
meet with local political, social, and business leaders and to visit
the Santa Marta Port, La Remonta Antinarcotics Police Base, a
USAID-funded clinic and school, and Drummond's coal shipping port.
The visit highlighted U.S. assistance efforts to counter the trade
in narcotics and improve the quality of life for vulnerable groups,
and the improving business and infrastructure environment for the
local economy. END SUMMARY.

PROFAMILIA CLINIC VISIT HIGHLIGHTS HELP TO VULNERABLE GROUPS
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2. (U) The Deputy Chief of Mission, accompanied by the Economic
Counselor, as well as NAS and CONS officers visited the port city of
Santa Marta, Magdalena on February 18-19. Profamilia Director Maria
Isabel Plata led DCM on a tour of the clinic's waiting rooms and
consultation and medical offices. Plata said the clinic sees 20-25
patients a day, typically youth, displaced persons, and the
elderly.


3. (U) Teenage pregnancies are a problem in Colombia, Plata said.
Their pregnancy rate climbed from 10 percent in 1990 to 21 percent
today - largely due to earlier sex, looser norms, violence, and less
emphasis on protection. In a subsequent discussion with 25 local
community beneficiaries and Profamilia management, teenagers said
Profamilia prepares them for the future by providing planning and
orientation sessions. Training to avoid early pregnancies is
particularly helpful, as child parents find it particularly hard to
continue their education. Displaced beneficiaries said Profamilia
provides training on sexual education, how to identify and avoid
mistreatment, and the use of condoms. This training has positively
impacted the quality of life of 135 displaced persons and 250
families, they added.


4. (U) All participants thanked Embassy officers for U.S. support to
Profamilia's programs, which they hoped would continue. To date,
USAID has provided USD 22.2 million from 2000-2009, which has
supported over 600,000 beneficiaries in 23 Departments and 169
municipalities. Community members said additional funding for a new
cultural center would be helpful to provide a meeting place and to
keep youth off the streets.

SANTA MARTA PORT SECURITY PROGRAM SHOWS SUCCESS
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5. (SBU) At the Santa Marta Port, Major Alexander Sanchez, DIRAN
Port Commander, led the DCM on a security program tour. The
Antinarcotics Police, Sanchez explained, have 42 officers and six
dogs stationed at the port. They inspect loaded and empty
containers for drugs, certifying and tagging those that pass the
visual, canine and equipment inspection process. The police also
use boats to patrol the loading area to ensure narcotics are not
manually loaded onto ships from the water, Sanchez added.


6. (U) The Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS),DHS, and DEA provide
equipment, canine support, and training to the Antinarcotics Police,
who continually have to improve procedures to keep pace with
changing tactics employed by drug traffickers. In 2008, the
Antinarcotics police based in Santa Marta Port seized over 1,000
kilos of cocaine.

SANTA MARTA ANTINARCOTICS SEIZURES UP 100 PERCENT OVER 2007
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7. (SBU) Lieutenant Colonel Hector Montenegro Montenegro, Zone
Commander, Antinarcotics Northern Zone, provided Embassy officers
with a tour and briefing at the Colombian National Police's La
Remonta base. His 142-person counternarcotics special forces
(Jungla) company and ten Bell helicopters cover 33 percent of the
country, Montenegro said, and seizures have risen 100 percent over

2007. Montenegro provided a visual demonstration of the Jungla
company's men and equipment; the elite force has less than 700
members in the country and is a model for other countries
implementing antinarcotics operations. DCM Nichols visited
demonstration marijuana and cocaine processing facilities to gain an
understanding of the growing, processing, and refining methods of
drug traffickers. Montenegro demonstrated the approaches and risks
undertaken by the Junglas in their efforts to seize, destroy, and
interdict drug operations. He said the company uses human
intelligence to identify cocaine processing labs, and has to operate
quickly to destroy them before guerilla or drug organizations mount
counter-attacks from nearby bases. Even without a drug seizure, the
destruction of a lab can mean a loss of more than USD 500,000 to
these organizations, Montenegro added.

8. (U) The DCM also toured barracks donated the U.S., the helicopter
hangar and maintenance shop, and saw policemen constructing a
laundry and gym using materials donated by NAS. To date, NAS has
donated USD 7.6 million for facilities and perimeter security
measures at La Remonta.

DCM INAUGURATES THE KEARSARGE SCHOOL
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9. (U) The original Los Alpes school was destroyed by fire in
December 2007, leaving 100 children without classrooms. In
September 2008, the US Navy ship USS Kearsarge arrived in Santa
Marta on a Humanitarian Civic Assistance mission. This included
rebuilding the school, which was finished by USAID through PADF at a
cost of approximately USD 74,000.


10. (U) At the Kearsarge School in Los Alpes, the DCM offered
remarks regarding the importance of education to Santa Marta's First
Lady Mara Teresa Espinosa de Daz Granados, School Director Alfonso
Polo, Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) Deputy Director
William Greenwood and school children, staff, and community members.
The DCM then inaugurated the newly rebuilt school with a ribbon
cutting ceremony and plaque unveiling, after which Polo presented a
four minute video on how the school was rebuilt with U.S. Navy and
USAID assistance. Polo also provided a tour of the school and its
four 25-student classrooms and kitchen.

DRUMMOND COAL GROWS EXPORTS
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11. (SBU) Drummond Vice President Gary Norman highlighted Drummond's
environmental and coal-field restoration programs and discussed
Drummond operations and plans, during a luncheon and tour of the
facility. Since 1996, Drummond has invested USD 1 billion and
increased production from 8 million tons to 22 million tons in 2008,
expecting production to reach 25 million tons in 2009. Norman noted
Drummond transportation -- responsible for moving coal 192km from
the mine to the port -- has 1,000 direct and 4,500 indirect
employees and 35 locomotives and 1,500 gondolas, while Drummond
mining has 3,000 direct and 5,000 indirect employees. Norman said
that at upon his arrival in 2003, Drummond coal transport trains
were attacked weekly; however, cooperation with the military,
President's office, and the improving security situation has
resulted in no attacks since 2004.


12. (SBU) Norman said Drummond's port occupies 310 hectares on land
and 5,000 acres on water, and recent port investments had increased
capacity from 28 million tons to 30 million tons per year. The GOC
has issued a resolution requiring Drummond to direct load coal onto
ships (as opposed to their current practice of barge loading),but
that Drummond would counter by offering to direct load 75 percent
and barge load 25 percent. Norman explained that the cost and
environmental consequences of dredging to allow full direct loading
would be significant, and that it would take three years to phase
out the barge loading cranes in any case.


13. (SBU) The port expansion and increased production would require
Drummond to add a rail line from its mine to the port, Norman said.
This project was delayed for 16 months, as Drummond found residences
on the right of way and was also negotiating with the GOC for parts
of the line that were outside its permit. Drummond has partially
solved this issue by dividing the line into three parts, operating
the second line in the northern and southern sections pending
resolution of the middle line. Norman said he expected the sections
to be finished at the end of 2009, when rail capacity would grow
from 45,000 to 60,000 tons per day.


14. (U) Drummond plans to expand production significantly with the
opening of its new El Descanso field, targeted to start production
in 2009. This field would enable Drummond to eventually increase
annual production to 40 million tons per year. The expansion,
Norman added, should increase employment by 2.3 percent in mining
and 1.8 percent in transportation this year alone. Norman said
price fluctuations should not be a factor in their expansion plans,
as Drummond is profitable with world prices at USD 35 per ton (the
current price is USD 65). Drummond also has premium coal, with a
sulfur content of 0.37 percent vs. the 0.57 percent average, leading
to high demand from its EU and U.S. customers.


15. (U) Colombia is already the world's fifth largest coal exporter,
exporting a total of 67.2 million tons in 2008. Alabama-based
Drummond sources all of its non-U.S. coal in Colombia, and accounts
for one-third of Colombian coal exports. In large part due to
Drummond's expansion plans, Colombia could become the third largest
exporter by 2012.
POSITIVE PRESS COVERAGE AND RESULTS
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16. (U) Local and national press interviewed the DCM at both the
Profamilia Health Clinic and Kearsarge School, including El
Informador, El Tiempo Caribe, Diario del Magdalena, Radio
Universidad del Magdalena, Radio Galeon, Caracol Radio, and
Noticiero Televisa. DCM Nichols highlighted these events as good
examples of bilateral cooperation, and how the USG is helping
Colombia's vulnerable groups and poor live better lives. Positive
placement included the following print articles: February 20
article in El Informador (Circulation: 7,500) entitled "Children
from Los Alpes school fulfilled their dream of having a school",
February 20 article in Diario del Magdalena (Circulation: 55,900);
February 20 article in el Informador (Circulation: 7,500)
entitled: "Education is the path to a better world: Brian Nichols";
and February 19 brief in El Tiempo Caribe (Circulation: 9,900)
entitled: "US Embassy supports programs for vulnerable population".
At Drummond, VP Norman agreed to DCM Nichols' request to use their
construction equipment to improve the access road to the Los Alpes
community and its Kearsarge School.

BROWNFIELD