US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA5282

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 005282 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, PTER, ECON, SNAR, VE, CO, FARC 
SUBJECT: PROGRESS IN CESAR DEPARTMENT 
 
REF: BOGOTA 112 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood; Reasons: 1.4 B & D 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Officials and residents of Cesar Department 
praise President Uribe's security improvements.  The cities 
and highways of Cesar's central valley are far safer than 
they were a year ago, and the economy has grown slightly. 
However, guerrillas and paramilitaries find refuge in the 
highlands, and contraband and outlaws still cross an open 
border with Venezuela.  The indigenous occasionally 
accommodate the FARC in the highlands.  End Summary. 
 
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Background 
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2. (U) Cesar and its capital, Valledupar, occupy a valley in 
the North of Colombia.  Cattle and coal mining dominate the 
economy.  Paramilitaries move contraband fuel from Venezuela 
through the Department. 
 
3. (C) Cesar has suffered in recent decades from depredations 
of guerrillas, paramilitaries, and common criminals driving 
people into Valledupar and other cities.  Internally 
displaced persons comprise roughly ten percent of 
Valledupar's population of 400,000. 
 
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The Valley is Secure, but not the Highlands 
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4. (C) President Uribe's Democratic Security Policy has 
brought the lowlands of Cesar under governmental control and 
opened the corridor to neighboring departments.  Highways are 
now relatively free from illegal roadblocks and kidnappings. 
The FARC's 19th Front operates from base camps in the Sierra 
Nevada range.  The 41st Front can regroup and resupply in 
Venezuela, according to military and intelligence officials. 
The Army aims to cut the FARC's and paramilitaries' access to 
the valley by attacking them in the foothills.  Guerrillas 
and paramilitaries are feeling the pinch of these military 
operations, but are still active though at reduced levels. 
 
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Crime Down; Legitimate Activity Up 
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5. (C) Crime in Cesar decreased significantly in the first 
four months of 2004 in comparison with the same period in 
2003.  Kidnappings and murders dropped by 73 and 17 percent, 
respectively.  Marijuana and cocaine seizures more than 
doubled during the same period.  The arrest rate for all 
crimes rose by 19 percent.  The number of guerrillas captured 
rose by 1000 percent, and paramilitaries by 1400 percent. 
National Police (CNP) Commander Orlando Pineda pointed to the 
significant rise in paramilitary arrests as evidence that the 
police do not favor them. 
 
6. (C) Under "Plan Coverage," which assigns police to 
formerly unprotected zones, the CNP has deployed small 
detachments of officers to 25 small towns.  Police encourage 
crime reporting through community organizations.  The CNP's 
Pineda noted that rapid response to crime reports was key to 
winning citizen cooperation.  He said that most of the police 
were from Cesar.  Department of Administrative Security (DAS; 
FBI equivalent) officers agreed that the police program was 
working well in the small towns. 
 
7. (C) Cattlemen are less subject to kidnapping and 
extortion, and landowners can once again visit their 
properties.  With GOC support, some 110,000 new acres of 
cotton will be planted (Cesar was once a major cotton 
producer).  Coal extraction at U.S.-owned Drummond Industries 
is at record levels.  The Army established a training center 
near Drummond, and units protect the company's rail line from 
attacks by the FARC and ELN.  Drummond VP Alfredo Araujo said 
there had been no attacks for a year. 
 
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Uribe Gets the Credit 
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8. (C) Given improvements to security and the economy, 
support for Uribe's Democratic Security Policy is near 
unanimous in Cesar.  Local opinion makers said that these 
improvements have consolidated support for Uribe.  That said, 
Congressmen Alfredo Cuello and Jorge Ramirez both opined that 
the bill to permit reelection would have a tough time in the 
House of Representatives. 
 
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Indigenous Colombians Remain Vulnerable 
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9. (C) Valledupar Mayor Ciro Pupo described the region's 
indigenous population as abandoned.  Col. Juan Carlos 
Figueroa, Commander of the Valledupar Army battalion, said 
that the lack of state presence in the highlands of Santa 
Marta had led the indigenous groups to develop long-standing 
accommodations with the FARC.  Col. Figueroa said that 
paramilitaries murdered 14 indigenous last year, but the GOC 
Vice President's Office put the figure at 43 for the first 
nine months of 2003.  The VP's report also noted recruitment 
of young people as guides for armed groups fighting in the 
highlands. 
 
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Governor's Vision 
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10. (C) Governor Hernando Molina Araujo is seeking to 
encourage the GOC's Solidarity Network to provide assistance 
to small businesses and farms, including for coffee and 
cocoa, to promote resettling the highlands as they become 
more secure.  The goal is to integrate poor and marginal 
populations into the local economy and civil society.  He 
said that resentment toward the failings of the state was a 
major factor in leading disaffected youth to join the illegal 
armed groups.  Col. Figueroa cited the large landholdings in 
the region as a factor in negative attitudes toward the 
state.  A handful of politically powerful families -- notably 
the Araujo clan, from which the governor hails -- control 
these landholdings (reftel). 
WOOD