Cablegate: August Colombia Strategic Development Intiative Update

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FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
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RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 9116
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2870
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 0042
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RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 4310
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002904

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PTER PHUM EAID SNAR CO
SUBJECT: AUGUST COLOMBIA STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT INTIATIVE UPDATE

REF: BOGOTA 2759

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) The Colombian military is moving forward with its security
strategy in support of the National Consolidation Plan (PNC), the
GOC's effort to increase state presence in Colombia. Civilian
participation at a senior level meeting for the Coordination Center
for Integrated Action (CCAI), the PNC's civil-military coordinating
mechanism, was disappointing and underscores the challenge in
asserting civilian control of the initiative. Moreover, President
Uribe still has not named a director for his Agency for Social
Action and International Cooperation (Accion Social). In meetings
with the Embassy, Vice President Francisco Santos stressed the
critical condition of the Pacific Coast while regional coordinators
for Putumayo and Montes de Maria described challenges in their
zones. The Tolima Regional Coordination Center (RCC) has begun
developing its regional security plan, and the Prosecutor General's
office (Fiscalia) is augmenting its personnel in Tumaco. End
Summary.

POSITIVE SIGNALS ON SECURITY STRATEGY FOR PNC
---------------------------------------------

2. (SBU) General Carlos Saavedra, Chief of Army Operations, and
General Freddy Padilla, Chief of Defense, will be holding a series
of meetings with the coordinators of all RCCs (civilian, police and
military) and the respective military and police leadership to
discuss security strategies. Gen. Padilla told Polcouns September 2
that he intends to press hard for greater civilian leadership in the
PNC, including the naming of a new head of Accion Social. These
developments follow an August 24 meeting with the Embassy (see
reftel) in which General Saavedra offered to lead visits to our
Colombia Strategic Development Initiative (CSDI) priority zones to
meet with area commanders, receive their security assessments, and
evaluate current conditions.

ASSISTANCE REQUESTS FOR RCC'S

-----------------------------

3. (SBU) CCAI officials submitted a $1.8 million assistance request
to the Embassy for RCC support. The majority of the request is for
salaries of regional technical advisors, with smaller amounts for
operational expenses (office space, communications equipment, etc.).
The CSDI working group is evaluating the request and preparing a
response. Encouragingly, the salaries requested are for one-year
"bridge" funding for advisors in critical specialties such as
economic activation, land tenure and property rights, community
development, and the justice sector. The CCAI officials told us
their request is not modeled on the level of effort put forth in
Macarena but rather "bare bones."

MINISTRIES DISAPPOINT AT CCAI MEETING
-------------------------------------

4. (SBU) The third CCAI senior coordinating meeting (Comite
Directivo) was held on August 18. Despite a letter from President
Uribe's office to ministries directing them to support the PNC, no
ministers or vice-ministers attended. Key ministries, such as
Agriculture, did not send any delegate, while the Ministry of
Interior and Justice representative said her ministry was too
preoccupied with other business to prepare a report. The majority
of the reports, though appearing to focus on resources already
designated to consolidation zones before the PNC existed, at least
demonstrated better awareness of the PNC than in the previous two
senior staff meetings.

ACCION SOCIAL DIRECTOR POSITION STILL VACANT
--------------------------------------------

5. (SBU) The Uribe Administration has still not named a director for
Accion Social. One potential candidate is Diego Molano, the former
number two at Accion Social and currently a USAID contractor. Some
observers have suggested that President Uribe was awaiting the
outcome of the re-election referendum debate in the Congress before
appointing a new director, whose sizeable social budget is thought
to be a significant political spoil.

GOC GIVING PNC A MAKEOVER
-------------------------

6. (SBU) A senior CCAI official told us that the GOC has internally
discussed and acknowledged its initial mistake in presenting the
PNC. The image has been decidedly military because the MOD has been
responsible for ninety percent of the content of presentations. He
added that the prime example of consolidation has been the La
Macarena zone, which has a distinct military flavor. The official
said the military image needs to be changed so that the PNC is
accurately represented as a civilian endeavor, and the GOC is
attempting to do this zone by zone. They have redesigned their core
presentation to be led by civilians and to stress the civilian side
of consolidation. Polcouns suggested to Gen. Padilla that a new
rollout of the Plan, this time emphasizing civilian leadership,
could take place once a new Accion Social Director is named.

VP SANTOS ON THE PACIFIC COAST
------------------------------

7. (SBU) Vice President Francisco Santos met with CSDI working group
members on August 4 to discuss consolidation issues. He said that
while the Embassy is focusing on Tumaco, the situation in the entire
Pacific coast is troubling, especially the northern areas of Choco
and Guapi. Santos said the economic development vision for the
Pacific coast needs to be re-orientated towards the natural markets
of the Pacific Basin rather than the interior.

NAS PROGRAM TO RECRUIT POLICE FROM PACIFIC COAST REGION
--------------------------------------------- ----------

8. (U) NAS is coordinating with the Colombian National Police (CNP)
to provide scholarships for up to 100 police recruits from the
coastal region of Tumaco who will commit to serving in the Pacific
Coast area for two years. The program is part of an effort to
recruit youth who meet academic and physical qualifications, but do
not have the resources to pay for the one-year Police Academy
training. The youth come from communities with little history of
professional or career opportunities, poor perceptions of the
police, and that have previously resisted the presence of the state.
The final selection will take place in November and the course will
begin in January 2010. The applicants will follow the regular CNP
admission process, including physical, medical, psychological, and
security testing. NAS' Pacific Coast advisor is working with local
police recruiting offices on security screening of candidates and
means testing.

CONSOLIDATION IN PUTUMAYO FACES CULTURAL CHALLENGES
--------------------------------------------- ------

9. (SBU) A CCAI civilian coordinator told us on August 13 that the
GOC is prioritizing six municipalities in southern Putumayo, four of
which border Ecuador. They are also considering locating an RCC in
Puerto Asis even though Putumayo is considered a GOC secondary
effort. The coordinator said he has faced cultural resistance to
consolidation because the residents of southern Putumayo identify
strongly with Ecuador --they watch Ecuadorian television, listen to
Ecuadorian radio, follow soccer teams in Quito, and even sing the
Ecuadorian national anthem. The coordinator added that changing
this cultural identification is a long-term challenge and difficult
to measure. The task is complicated in the current PNC context
where the GOC is seeking quick wins, focusing on infrastructure and
other material deliverables, and looking towards a deadline of
August 2010.

STRENGTHENING 'RETURN COMMITTEES' IN MONTES DE MARIA
--------------------------------------------- -------

10. (SBU) In an August 14 meeting with USAID, a CCAI official
identified four GOC priority areas in Montes de Maria: Las Palmas
to Bajogrande; Carmen de Bolivar (El Salado, Macayepo); Ovejas
(Chengue); and San Onofre (La Libertad, Pelona y Cacique). USAID is
focusing twelve small infrastructure projects in health and
education in these areas. The official also described the status of
the "Return Committees" ("Comites de Retorno"), local committees to
coordinate activity programs for the displaced. The interagency
committees exist at the municipal and departmental levels and
consist of working groups assigned to different phases of
displacement: prevention, emergency humanitarian assistance,
reestablishment, and strengthening displaced populations and
organizations. The official told us only two of the four priority
municipalities have a functioning committee --San Jacinto and
Ovejas-- and these do not meet regularly, slowing the iplementation
of each municipality's plan to assist displaced persons. USAID will
be prioritizing strengthening these committees at the municipal
level.

DEVELOPING A TOLIMA SECURITY PLAN
----------------------------------

11. (SBU) USAID's implementing partner is currently working with the
Tolima RCC to develop a security map for Tolima and Valle del Cauca.
This analysis will then serve as a basis for discussions with the
army and the police regarding a security strategy based on
territorial control. The map is based on the same process that was
used for La Macarena, which determined on a case-by-case basis which
districts had the minimal acceptable security level for program
implementation.

FISCALIA AUGMENTING PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES IN TUMACO
--------------------------------------------- -------

12. (SBU) The Prosecutor General's office (Fiscalia) is addressing
judicial branch difficulties in Tumaco with both prosecutors and
judges. The Fiscalia is assigning an additional special prosecutor
for narcotics (currently there is only one) and replacing six of the
seven other local prosecutors due to ineffectiveness or corruption
concerns. New housing and office arrangements will have to be
created for the new prosecutors to avoid the same environment that
led to problems with the current group. A leading possibility is
co-locating them with the police. Of the four municipal judges in
Tumaco, one has already been removed and another is slated for
removal. The Fiscalia has asked for replacements for these judges
and an additional specialized judge to hear narcotics cases.
BROWNFIELD

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