US embassy cable - 05QUITO962

UNCLAS QUITO 000962 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, MARR, MOPS, MASS, EC, CO 
SUBJECT: DEFMIN FOCUSED ON GOVERNANCE AND HEALTH, NOT 
THREATS 
 
REF: QUITO 911 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  The Ambassador paid a courtesy call on new 
Ecuadorian Defense Minister Solon Espinosa April 27. 
Avoiding mention of the security threats facing his nation, 
Espinosa instead trumpeted new President Alfredo Palacio's 
honesty and his administration's intention to raise health 
standards in Ecuador.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  Retired Brigadier General Espinosa, 76, is perhaps best 
known here for establishing SOLCA, a foundation dedicated to 
the fight against cancer in Ecuador (Reftel).  His military 
career long over, Espinosa served as Ecuador's comptroller 
general (1972-1974) and as Pichincha Chamber of Industries 
president (1988-1990).  Embassy pol-mil contacts consider him 
bright and dedicated, but long-removed from the defense 
scene.  Nonetheless, Espinosa was one of Palacio's first 
Cabinet choices. 
 
3.  The Ambassador called on the septuagenarian minister 
April 27 and found him soft-spoken and statesmanlike.  Health 
and governance dominated their conversation.  Palacio was a 
rarity in Ecuador, Espinosa asserted:  an honest politician 
focused on national, not personal interests.  The new 
administration was determined to raise the nation's dismal 
health indicators, and international suggestions and 
assistance were welcome. 
 
4.  The United States was Ecuador's largest foreign donor and 
investor, the Ambassador responded, and numerous Embassy 
entities, including USAID, the Peace Corps, and the Military 
Group, managed recurring or ad hoc health programs.  She 
emphasized the U.S. military's well-received Medical 
Readiness Training Exercises (MEDRETES), which had treated 
hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged Ecuadorians during her 
tenure in-country.  In Ecuador's  most at-risk and 
least-healthy region, the Colombia frontier, the U.S. 
employed a "security plus development" strategy; a key 
component was a USDA-funded feeding program for border 
residents. 
 
5.  Espinosa didn't bite, refusing to engage on the northern 
border and the threats Ecuador faced there from Colombian 
narcoterrorism.  Instead, he claimed the Ecuadorian armed 
forces must regain the confidence of the populace and adhere 
always to constitutional precepts.  It was police, not 
military, who had clashed recently with protesters determined 
to depose peacefully former President Gutierrez. 
Nevertheless, the troops received the same black eye as the 
boys in blue.  Responding to the Ambassador's inquiry, 
Espinosa revealed he did not know new Police Commander 
General Jose Vinueza.  Ecuadorian military and police would 
cooperate, however. 
 
6.  COMMENT:  The Ambassador chose not to push substance hard 
in their first encounter, as Espinosa, long-removed from 
military affairs and management, was clearly still in read-in 
mode (and will remain there awhile).  The Defense Attache and 
Milgroup Commander are preparing correspondence that details 
our the U.S. military assistance program in Ecuador, and will 
brief the Defmin personally in the coming weeks.  END COMMENT. 
 
7.  ADDITIONAL BIO DATA:  Unlike other Palacio Administration 
appointees we have engaged this week, Espinosa chose not to 
bash the Gutierrez team, showing a non-partisan, 
stateman-like bent.  He mentioned he had studied at the 
Inter-American Defense College (we imagine in the 1960s). 
 
KENNEY