US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA4129

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 004129 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2014 
TAGS: PINR, PINS, PTER, PREL, SNAR, MCAP, MASS, MARR, ASEC 
SUBJECT: COAST GUARD COMMANDANT ADMIRAL COLLINS MEETS WITH 
URIBE 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) Summary: In a meeting with Colombian President Alvaro 
Uribe and other senior officials, Admiral Thomas Collins, 
Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, praised the Colombian 
Navy.  He noted he hopes to improve already close relations 
between the two coast guard services, including the possible 
basing of USCG helicopter assets with sniper platforms for 
co-use.  All agreed on the importance of targeting the large 
shipments originating on Colombia's Pacific coast, which has 
long been controlled by illegal armed groups and lacks a 
significant state presence.  President Uribe emphasized that 
both his government and the USG are under pressure to show 
increasingly better results in order to keep up public 
support for their counterdrug policies.  End Summary. 
 
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A Good News Story 
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2. (C) On April 20, Admiral Thomas Collins, Commandant of the 
U.S. Coast Guard, met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, 
Minister of Defense (MOD) Jorge Alberto Uribe, and Navy 
Commander Admiral Mauricio Soto.  Admiral Collins praised the 
Colombian Navy, noting that the Navy is responsible for 60 
percent of all Colombian drug seizures.  He credited Admiral 
Soto with these successes and other improvements in the Navy, 
and said he hopes to improve already excellent relations 
between our Coast Guards.  Collins noted that the Colombian 
Navy is missing air power, and said the U.S. Coast Guard is 
considering basing USCG helicopter assets close in-shore, 
including use of sniper platforms that can take out the 
engines of illegal go-fast boats.  Presently, the Colombian 
Navy has only one helicopter active on the Pacific Coast and 
is only able to use Air Force resources on a limited basis. 
Other important cooperation projects include intelligence 
sharing, especially out of the 11-country Joint Task Force in 
Key West, Florida, professional exchanges, and training 
opportunities in the U.S.  The soon-to-be-implemented 
international maritime regulation code (ISPS), signed by 108 
countries, including Colombia, will significantly increase 
port controls and be a powerful tool against shipments of 
drugs, arms, and other illegal goods. 
 
3. (C) In the vulnerable Pacific "littoral zone," which has 
little or no state presence, traffickers send the largest 
drug shipments.  Soto said that the Navy already has begun to 
expand its presence in the area with three new projects: a 
Navy base in the port city of Tumaco, Narino department, 
which will open next month and be assisted by the Army's 
Counterdrug Brigade; a joint fusion intelligence center in 
Cali, Valle del Cauca department; and a Coast Guard station 
in the port city of Bahia Solano, Choco department, where 
there is already a Marine detachment.  Collins referred to 
this coast as the "ATM" of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of 
Colombia (FARC) and paramilitary groups because of the easy 
cash these large, hard-to-detect drug shipments bring. 
Collins assured the MOD that he would keep Eastern Pacific 
counter-drug operations a high priority. 
 
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Uribe Focused on Results 
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4. (C) President Uribe expressed concern that unless the 
amount of drugs reaching the United States goes down and the 
price goes up, neither his government nor the U.S. will be 
able to maintain public support.  He commented that his 
administration was running out of time to show results. 
Collins and Ambassador assured Uribe that recent progress has 
clearly hurt drug traffickers and impressed the public.  Soto 
added that the Navy has already seized 12 go-fast boats and 
23 tons of cocaine this year.  Uribe agreed that close 
cooperation was key to increasing pressure on traffickers. 
Turning to the recent discovery of drugs aboard Colombia's 
sail training "tall ship," "La Gloria," in Cartagena, both 
the President and MOD noted that they are taking immediate 
action to find and prosecute those responsible.  Collins 
agreed that the event was unfortunate but congratulated 
Colombia on its decisive response and committment to full 
investigation. 
WOOD