A/S SHANNON'S MEETINGS WITH ECUADORIAN OFFICIALS

S E C R E T STATE 035745


E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2019
TAGS: PREL PINR SNAR EC
SUBJECT: A/S SHANNON'S MEETINGS WITH ECUADORIAN OFFICIALS
TO DISCUSS ECUADORIAN ACCUSATIONS OF U.S. INTERFERENCE

REF: A. QUITO 217

B. QUITO 160
C...


id: 201915
date: 4/10/2009 19:05
refid: 09STATE35745
origin: Secretary of State
classification: SECRET
destination: 09QUITO145|09QUITO153|09QUITO160|09QUITO217
header:
O R 101905Z APR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY QUITO IMMEDIATE
INFO AMEMBASSY ASUNCION
AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
AMEMBASSY CARACAS
AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
AMEMBASSY LIMA
AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO
AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
NSC WASHINGTON DC 0000


-------------- header ends --------------

S E C R E T STATE 035745


E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2019
TAGS: PREL PINR SNAR EC
SUBJECT: A/S SHANNON'S MEETINGS WITH ECUADORIAN OFFICIALS
TO DISCUSS ECUADORIAN ACCUSATIONS OF U.S. INTERFERENCE

REF: A. QUITO 217

B. QUITO 160

C. QUITO 153

D. QUITO 145

Classified By: A/S SHANNON, REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. Summary. (S/NF) On April 1, A/S Shannon met Ecuadorian
Justice Minister Jalkh, Vice Foreign Minister Pozo, and other
GOE officials to discuss GOE accusations that an embassy
official had taken actions to destabilize the government of
Ecuador. Making clear the GOE's desire to work with the USG
on security matters, Jalkh alleged inappropriate contacts
between the Embassy officers and Ecuadorian "bad actors"
known to have a criminal history. A/S Shannon responded that
we would investigate the allegations, reaffirmed the U.S.
desire to work constructively with Ecuador, and stressed the
importance of working with Ambassador Hodges on this matter
going forward. At the conclusion of the meeting, Pozo handed
A/S Shannon a printed presentation that summarized the GOE's
allegations.


2. (S/NF) Summary (Continued). On April 3, A/S Shannon and
DAS McMullen had a follow up meeting with Minister Jalkh and
Ambassador Gallegos. A/S Shannon informed Minister Jalkh
that Embassy Quito had conducted a preliminary investigation
of the allegations made by the GOE. He said that the USG had
not found inappropriate behavior on the part of the embassy
offer. He added that the USG was concerned that a third
party might have been involved in this approach to the
embassy, and he requested a cooperative investigation between
the embassy and the GOE to get to the bottom of the matter.
He noted that the United States has no desire to destabilize
Ecuador and seeks cooperation. However, he cautioned that
any further expulsions of embassy staff would be very
problematic. Both Jalkh and A/S Shannon closed by stressing
the need to get beyond current difficulties and reestablish
broad cooperation. End Summary.

April 1 Meeting
--------------


3. (S/NF) A/S Shannon met with Ecuador's Minister of Justice,
Gustavo Jalkh; MFA Vice Minister, Lautaro Pozo; Permanent
Representative to the UN, Maria Espinosa; Permanent
Representative to the OAS, Efren Cocios; Chief of Staff of
for VM Pozo, Efrain Baus; and Ambassador to the United
States, Luis Gallegos, on April 1 to discuss GOE allegations
of an effort by an Embassy Quito officer to destabilize the
government of Ecuador. WHA/DAS, WHA/AND Officer Director,
INL/LP Office Director, and the Ecuador Desk Officer also
participated. Jalkh opened by noting that he had only been
in his current position for six weeks. He reviewed the tough
work involved in reforming Ecuador's national police, and
noted that security on the northern border of Ecuador is a
key priority. He stressed that social development in Ecuador
is crucial to the task of protecting both human rights and
security.


4. (S/NF) Jalkh next stated that the GOE had found some
issues that needed to be addressed to strengthen the
bilateral relationship with the United States: "Cooperation
is our goal; we wish to work together on all fronts through
time, government to government." Referring to the recent
expulsions of two U.S. officials (reftels),Jalkh asserted
that the GOE could not have responded any other way. He
added that the GOE hoped that such difficulties would not
happen again and that the GOE needs improved communication
with the United States.


5. (S/NF) Jalkh moved on to the specific point of the
meeting. According to Jalkh, the GOE had evidence of an
inappropriate meeting at Embassy Quito between an Embassy
officer and "bad actors" in Ecuador. Jalkh further asserted
that the emboff offered benefits to these individuals in
exchange for speaking ill of the GOE regarding narcotics
matters. Jalkh underlined that his goal was to address this
matter so broader cooperation could take place. He said, "We
need to talk of this. We want to work with you on this. We
believe in human rights and democratic controls. This is a
new type of government." He added that the GOE had massive
problems on its northern border and would like to cooperate
with the United States on the refugee problem. He also said
that Ecuador does not get the recognition it deserves for its
efforts on its northern border. Summing up, Jalkh said, "We
want to turn the page to our mutual concerns, but we have to
get over this issue (of alleged Embassy meddling)."


6. (S/NF) VM Pozo next spoke. According to Pozo, "We know
this is not the policy of the United States. This is a clear
conspiracy to destabilize the government of Ecuador. There
were phone calls to set up the meeting. This involves a well
known criminal. It is very upsetting." Pozo said the GOE
did not meet with the embassy regarding this matter,
ostensibly in an effort to reduce tensions. Commenting on
the GOE's recent expulsions of Embassy officials from
Ecuador, Pozo said: "We know this (the allegedly nefarious
actions of the expelled emboffs) is not the policy of the
Department of State. These were personal actions by these
individuals." He said the GOE wants this matter
investigated. Pozo said that President Correa told Pozo and
Jalkh to travel to the United States to raise these issues
and claimed that the GOE had a real desire to cooperate with
the United States.


7. (S/NF) A/S Shannon responded by thanking the GOE officials
for the information they had provided. He said the USG would
investigate the situation, and told the officials that the
United States had no interest in interfering in domestic
matters, and was particularly sensitive to such concerns
during an election campaign. Shannon noted the efforts of
the Correa administration to reconfigure the government and
create the possibility of stability. He added that a stable
Ecuador with political and economic development is
important--especially in an integrating and globalizing
world: "We share an interest in improving dialogue,
identifying common interests, and working together." He
noted that problems in bilateral relations between Ecuador
and the United States would cause damage in the region.
Pointing out that both countries are in a political
transition, A/S Shannon said that the Obama administration is
seeking to "reimagine relations in the hemisphere."


8. (S/NF) Jalkh agreed, emphasizing the need to work on
common interests. He said the GOE was serious about
democratic controls; about the fight against illicit
narcotics; and about creating a new ethos and legal framework
for the police. Jalkh highlighted GOE plans to increase its
police presence on the northern border. He said the GOE
would measure its effectiveness along the northern border,
"not by resources added, but if we take down gangs." Pozo
echoed Jalkh's comments. He said that Ecuador had a
significant state presence on the northern border, with
11,000 troops (or one quarter of all Ecuadorian troops). He
added that the GOE is worried about demobilized Colombians
creating additional problems and said, "We are victims."
Ambassador Espinosa briefly mentioned that Ecuador had an
exemplary record with respect to refugees.


9. (S/NF) A/S Shannon replied that the United States
understands the problems Ecuador faces along its northern
border, including the situation regarding refugees and the
need for investment. He pointed out that there are more
Colombian refugees in the region than there are refugees in
Darfur and that the lack of awareness in the hemisphere
regarding the problem was the fault of the inter-American
system, which has failed to capture and articulate the needs
of refugees in the region.


10. (S/NF) Moving back to the bilateral relationship, A/S
Shannon asserted the need to reconfigure our diplomatic
relations, and emphasized the confidence and respect the
State Department and the White House had for Ambassador
Hodges. He also emphasized that occasional points of
disagreement between the United States and Ecuador did not
represent the totality of relations between the two
countries. Ambassador Gallegos responded to this final point
by stating that "we need to denarcoticize relations" and
focus on other items, such as economic, social, security, and
development matters. He commented that the bilateral
dialogue presented a chance to expand relations and that new
items should be added to the dialogue's agenda. Gallegos
noted that relations between the United States and Ecuador
needed to be transparent and respectful.


11. (S/NF) At different moments during the discussion, both
Jalkh and Pozo raised the matter of vetted units in Ecuador
(reftels). Jalkh stressed that the GOE had three main
requirements for future cooperation: first, any agreements
must be in writing; second, all agreements must be
coordinated through the GOE's MFA; and third, the vetting
process must be collaborative. He said that the GOE
recognized that cooperating on intelligence matters was
different, and that the GOE would try to accommodate the USG
on this. He also mentioned, "It is not good to have only one
good unit" to combat narcotics trafficking in Ecuador. Pozo
stressed that vetted units must be under the control of the
civilian authority.


12. (S/NF) As the meeting ended, Minister Pozo handed A/S
Shannon two documents providing details of illegal armed
groups along Ecuador's northern border and the GOE's military
position along the northern border. He also provided a
printed PowerPoint presentation that outlined the GOE's
specific assertions regarding the March 24 meeting of the
Ecuadorian "bad actors" and embassy officers.

April 3 Follow Up Meeting
--------------


13. (S/NF) A/S Shannon and WHA DAS McMullen met with Minister
Jalkh and Ambassador Gallegos on April 3 for a follow up
discussion. A/S Shannon told Jalkh that Embassy Quito had
completed a preliminary inquiry into the March 24 meeting,
when the allegedly "inappropriate meeting" took place. He
said that what the Embassy had discovered caused us concern,
though our concerns were different from those expressed by
the GOE at the April 1 meeting. A/S Shannon said that the
USG was concerned that a third party might have been involved
in this approach to the Embassy. He said the USG considered
it important for the GOE to work cooperatively with our
embassy to investigate what happened; he asked the GOE to
share any additional information -- such as tapes of
telephone conversations between Munoz and Rodas following the
meeting at the embassy. He emphasized to Jalkh that the
embassy official had done nothing inappropriate by simply
meeting with Ecuadorians who had claimed to have information
on the FARC.


14. (S/NF) A/S Shannon reiterated that the USG had no reason
to try to destabilize the Correa government. He said that,
given Ecuador's recent turbulent history, the USG was hoping
that Correa would bring stability, democracy and development
to Ecuador. He added that the United States would like to
get past this incident as soon as possible and reestablish
close cooperation in areas of mutual interest.


15. (S/NF) Minister Jalkh responded that the GOE appreciated
the quick response and committed the GOE to working with
Embassy Quito to follow up. He pledged to set up a meeting
with Ambassador Hodges on April 6 to discuss next steps.
Jalkh added that the GOE also wanted to turn the page and
move on -- and collaborate closely on a broad set of issues,
not just security. He said the GOE appreciated the U.S.
decision not to retaliate for Ecuador's expulsion of two
Embassy officers. While the GOE believed that those Embassy
officers had acted inappropriately, he acknowledged that the
USG had the sovereign right to retaliate, but had chosen not
to do so. In an implied reference to the Summit of the
Americas, Jalkh mentioned that it would be helpful if both
countries' leaders could meet and get to know one another.


16. (S/NF) A/S Shannon again stated that the United States
wanted to find points of convergence with Ecuador and was not
seeking confrontation. He warned, however, that any further
expulsions by the GOE would be very problematic. He closed
by stressing the importance of both countries moving beyond
this rough patch in relations; he hoped that the April 6
meeting with Ambassador Hodges and her team would be a first
step in that direction.


CLINTON

=======================CABLE ENDS============================