COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE 2008 COLOMBIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000227 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER MARR MOPS SNAR KCRM EC CO SUBJECT: COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE 2008 COLOMBIAN INCURSION, FARC TIES REF: A. QUITO 107 ¶B. QUITO 103... id: 200146 date: 4/1/2009 14:52 refid: 09QUITO227 origin: Embassy Quito classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: 09QUITO103|09QUITO107 header: VZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHQT #0227/01 0911452 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 011452Z APR 09 FM AMEMBASSY QUITO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0222 INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8078 RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 4133 RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3486 RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ APR LIMA 3137 RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4237 RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL -------------- header ends -------------- C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000227 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: TWENTY YEARS TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER MARR MOPS SNAR KCRM EC CO SUBJECT: COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE 2008 COLOMBIAN INCURSION, FARC TIES REF: A. QUITO 107 ¶B. QUITO 103 Classified By: Ambassador Heather M. Hodges for Reasons 1.4 (b&d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Correa government established a new commission to investigate the events surrounding the March 1, 2008 Colombian bombing of a FARC camp in northern Ecuador, as well as allegations of GOE ties to the FARC. The commission, whose members were chosen by Correa, will receive its funding from the GOE and likely guidance from Correa on its work, which will undoubtedly shape the result of its ultimate report. The GOE will likely use the new commission to divert attention away from the accusations of FARC ties. END SUMMARY. CORREA ESTABLISHES A COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE BOMBING ¶2. (C) Correa signed a decree the week of March 11 authorizing the formation of a Transparency and Truth Commission to investigate the Colombian bombing in Angostura (10 km south of Ecuador's northern border) on March 1, 2008, as well as the case of former Under Secretary of the Ministry of Government and Police, Ignacio Chauvin, and his alleged ties to narcotraffickers (Ref A). The five members of the Commission were hand-selected by President Correa from a list of 35 proposed candidates, and include a representative each from the Council of Higher Education (CONESUP),the media, the Roman Catholic Church, indigenous organizations, and retired military. ¶3. (U) The Commission will begin its work on March 30, and will receive its funding from the GOE. In its first meetings, the Commission will define its work plan and a budget. The Commission is tasked with producing a report in five months that is to be delivered to President Correa on August 31 and shared with the public. Initial results may be shared prior to releasing the report, but no earlier than April 26 so as not to influence the upcoming elections. ¶4. (C) Commission members already have begun to reveal their political bent. One member, Francisco Huerta, questioned the term "narcopolitics," used by some reporters to refer to the Chauvin case and allegations of broader GOE ties to the FARC. "We have some in the press who have enjoyed linking Ecuador with narcopolitics, and we've begun to lose prestige and this is serious... With a topic of this magnitude and at a moment of international crisis in which we are living, we cannot play with such qualitative terms." COMMISSION ALREADY UNDER CRITICISM ¶5. (C) The announcement and formation of the Commission has drawn criticism, specifically that the members were selected by the President, that it will be financed by the Correa government, and that it will deliver its report directly to the President. Former Minister of Government Mauricio Gandara said that such a commission that crosses into the responsibility of the judicial power was not appropriate, adding that the commission "could declare all those involved as innocent while the judges condemn them, and vice versa." The Democratic Agreement movement (which originally proposed such a commission) reportedly sent a letter on March 19 to Correa claiming that because of ties of the participants to the Correa government, the commission "does not meet the requirements of what would be a Truth Commission." ¶6. (C) During his March 21 weekly radio/TV address, President Correa defended the neutrality of the Commission, saying that he had asked NGOs and other social organizations that are not aligned with his government to propose candidates. Correa asked the Commission to reveal the truth about three issues: 1) "If we (the GOE) knew something about the bombing, if this government has had any relation with the FARC, other than humanitarian actions for the liberation of Ingrid Betancourt, and if we knew about the (existence of) Angostura (FARC) camp;" 2) "analyze the Chauvin case; if it was manipulated politically;" and 3) "analyze the behavior of certain irresponsible press, because Ecuadorians cannot continue to be victims of corrupt, antipatriotic, (and) mediocre journalism that does not mind hurting the country if it can hurt President Correa and the government of the citizen revolution." Correa did not mention that the Commission would investigate the Latin American Association of Human Rights (ALDHU),as had previously been discussed. ALDHU is an NGO where Chauvin had worked that is accused of acting in support of the FARC in northern Ecuador (Ref B). Correa added the task of analyzing the behavior of the press. AND YET ANOTHER COMMISSION? ¶7. (C) Retired Colonel and military analyst Patricio Haro, one of the harshest critics of the commission Correa appointed, is leading the formation of a separate commission, also with the purpose of investigating the events surrounding the bombing in Angostura. On March 23, he said that, "this alternative commission will give the country the truth about Angostura, in an independent and technical manner. It will have a moral solvency, as it will not have political ties to the (Correa) government." Haro claims to have spoken with potential contributors, although it remains unclear as to how this commission will be financed. CONTROVERSIAL DEATH OF PROSECUTOR KEY TO INVESTIGATION OF ANGOSTURA ¶8. (C) While the GOE pursues investigation of the bombing through the commission created by Correa, the Prosecuting Attorney's investigation of the case has suffered a setback. The Chief Prosecutor for the provinces of Sucumbios and Orellana, Wilmer Gonzabay, who was in charge of the investigation of the Angostura bombing, died on February 23, reportedly from a heart attack. Gonzabay had ordered the detention of Mexican Lucia Morett and two other Colombian survivors of the March 2008 attack, but only after the three quietly had left Ecuador. Gonzabay claimed to have proof that the Ecuadorian military arrived at the site of the bombing only a few hours after it occurred and conferred with its Colombian counterparts. In an order to the Superintendent of Banks, Gonzabay requested financial information on several military personnel and deceased Ecuadorian FARC member Franklin Aisalla. Prosecutor General Washington Pesantez ordered an investigation into Gonzabay's death after the press questioned how he could have died in a bordello during hours that it should have been closed to the public. At this point, it is unclear how the Prosecutor General's investigation of the bombing will proceed. COMMENT ¶9. (C) The Truth and Transparency Commission, with its GOE funding and direct influence by President Correa in its formation and definition, is a political maneuver to influence the political debate over the GOE's alleged ties to the FARC and the events surrounding Angostura. The Commission could blame the U.S. for Angostura and repeat previous accusations of infiltration and inference in Ecuadorian sovereign affairs. The Commission's findings could also conflict with those of the Prosecutor General's office, which would complicate further any existing investigations or legal action in an already challenged legal system. HODGES =======================CABLE ENDS============================