National Assembly President Cordero's Meeting with

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000949 DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS USTR BENNETT HARMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/12 TAGS: PREL EINV MARR PHUM EAID EC SUBJECT: National Assembly President Cordero's Meeting with Ambassador CLASSIFIED BY: H... id: 234454 date: 11/12/2009 23:43 refid: 09QUITO949 origin: Embassy Quito classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: header: INFO LOG-00 EEB-00 AID-00 ACQ-00 CIAE-00 INL-00 WHA-00 PERC-00 DS-00 EAP-00 VCI-00 H-00 TEDE-00 INR-00 LAB-01 L-00 MOFM-00 MOF-00 VCIE-00 NSAE-00 ISN-00 NIMA-00 PA-00 PM-00 ISNE-00 FMPC-00 SP-00 SSO-00 SS-00 NCTC-00 SCRS-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-00 NFAT-00 SAS-00 FA-00 SWCI-00 /001W O R 122343Z NOV 09 FM AMEMBASSY QUITO TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0322 INFO CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC AMEMBASSY BOGOTA AMEMBASSY CARACAS AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL AMEMBASSY LA PAZ AMEMBASSY LIMA AMEMBASSY QUITO SECDEF WASHINGTON DC -------------- header ends -------------- C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000949 DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS USTR BENNETT HARMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/12 TAGS: PREL EINV MARR PHUM EAID EC SUBJECT: National Assembly President Cordero's Meeting with Ambassador CLASSIFIED BY: Heather Hodges, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(D) ¶1. (C) Summary: National Assembly President Cordero indicated he shared some of the Ambassador's concern about the GOE's decision to terminate the BIT and promised to discuss it with President Correa. He disowned the report by the former head of the International Relations Commission alleging thousands of deaths caused by the FOL, and said that the Assembly would responsibly manage the issue. He blamed the executive branch for the delay in approving 14 laws the Constitution said must be passed by October 14, and promised a response to USAID's assistance proposal. End Summary. Bilateral Investment Treaty Termination -------------- ¶2. (C) In a November 6 meeting, the Ambassador raised USG concern over the GOE decision to cancel the U.S.-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) (Ref A). National Assembly President Fernando Cordero responded that termination of 13 such agreements is now being debated by the International Relations Commission headed by Fernando Bustamante, based on the constitutional requirement. He argued that the terminations would have no immediate effect. The Ambassador countered that in fact the effect on potential new investors would be immediate. Cordero expressed concern about this possibility, calling the GOE's decision inappropriate and highlighting the need for renegotiation before termination. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador pointed out that the MFA had told her that under a new investment agreement, the U.S. would be expected to direct investment to areas targeted under the GOE's National Development Plan. Cordero termed this a strange idea. He promised he would discuss concerns over termination of the BIT with President Correa the following week. Cordero noted that the Assembly had ten business days starting on November 9 to consider the GOE's intention to terminate the agreements. He indicated that he thought a solution would be possible. FOL Report -------------- ¶4. (C) The Ambassador then turned to the allegations by the International Relations Commission of the Legislative Commission that the U.S. Forward Operating Location (FOL) in Manta had caused the sinking of many boats and thousands of deaths (Ref B). She emphasized that there was no basis for such allegations. (Note: The Legislative Commission was the interim legislative body, now replaced by the National Assembly.) Cordero replied that the Legislative Commission had not made any pronouncement on this issue, that instead the then head of the International Relations Commission issued a report on a personal basis. He said the report had been submitted to the Prosecutor General's office and that the legislature's role had ended there. ¶5. (C) The Ambassador noted that there may had been boardings of fishing boats based on suspicion of their carrying illicit drugs, and that boardings were done in coordination with Ecuadorian authorities. She stressed that the incidents were too complicated to treat politically and were best handled by the Prosecutor General's office. She pointed out that International Relations Commission president Fernando Bustamante had told her that he planned to continue the investigation of the FOL. Cordero said the disadvantage of the International Relations Commission was that it handled primarily treaties and had little role in formulating laws (the implication being that the Commission had nothing else to do, so was attracted to investigating the FOL). He assured the Ambassador that any investigation would be responsibly managed. Timeline for Key Laws; USAID Assistance Proposal -------------- --- ¶6. (C) Seeking to explain the National Assembly's failure to pass 11 of 14 laws that the Constitution required be approved by October 14, Cordero placed the blame on the Executive, saying that four of the draft laws did not reach the Assembly until a month after it convened on July 31, which did not leave the Assembly enough time. He said eight of the laws were now already under consideration by the plenary, and two of those were now undergoing the second plenary debate. Cordero explained that the Assembly had carefully planned to have adequate time to pass all required laws by the new deadline it had set of February 2010. ¶7. (SBU) USAID's Sergio Guzman thanked Cordero for his assistance in appointing a point of contact for USAID and explained that his office had sent over a proposal for possible areas of assistance. USAID is now waiting for the Assembly's comments. Cordero seemed aware of the proposal and promised that the Assembly would get back to USAID the following week. 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