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
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classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination: 09QUITO103|09QUITO107
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RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3486
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ APR LIMA 3137
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4237
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
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RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL


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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

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