US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA11817

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 011817 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/16/2014 
TAGS: SNAR, PREL, PINR, CO, PGOV 
SUBJECT: DEFENSE MINISTER DENIES CONJUGAL VISIT WITH 
INCARCERATED DRUG TRAFFICKER 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) On November 16, Defense Minister Jorge Uribe requested 
a meeting with the Ambassador to explain an article in El 
Nuevo Herald that claimed he had made a conjugal visit to a 
woman imprisoned in Medellin.  The woman, Dora Adriana Alzate 
Restrepo, was arrested and sentenced to nine years in jail 
when authorities found heroin in her suitcase bound for Miami 
in the Medellin airport in February 2003.  Uribe told the 
Ambassador that he had had a ten-year, personal relationship 
with Alzate, whom he met while he was president of Delima 
Marsh and she worked for an associate company.  On the day of 
her arrest, Uribe and Alzate were traveling separately to the 
U.S. from Medellin and were chatting in the airport. Alzate 
was detained by security and Uribe boarded the plane unaware 
of her fate.  After her arrest, Uribe said that he visited 
her in prison once and spoke with her on the telephone once. 
He emphasized he had no prior knowledge of her drug 
trafficking activities and has not had any contact with her 
since becoming Minister.  Uribe subsequently called the 
Ambassador back to tell him that he had talked to President 
Uribe, who had given him full support. 
 
2. (C) Uribe said that he wanted to present the facts 
directly to the Ambassador so there would be no questions 
between them.  The MOD is one of our strongest allies in 
combating drug trafficking.  The Ambassador told Uribe that 
his private life was none of the Embassy's business, that his 
record on drugs, as far as the U.S. was concerned, was 
perfect, and that the Embassy continued to have the highest 
confidence in him. 
WOOD