US embassy cable - 05ASUNCION596

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASUNCION 000596 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA, S/CT, INL 
STATE PASS TO USAID LAC/AA 
NSC FOR KIM BREIER 
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD DAN JOHNSON 
JOINT STAFF FOR J5 LTC SCOTT DAVIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINR, PTER, MARR, SNAR, KCRM, CO, PA 
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY-COLOMBIA SECURITY COOPERATION AND 
ASSISTANCE ACTION PLAN 
 
REF: A. ASUNCION 00403 
 
     B. IIR 6 875 0005 05 (29 OCT 04) 
 
Classified By: PolOff Mark Stamilio, reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1. (U) In furtherance of the Joint Declaration on security 
cooperation and assistance that Presidents Duarte and Uribe 
signed in Bogota on March 7 (ref A), Vice-Presidents 
Castiglioni and Santos signed an Action Plan on security, in 
Bogota, on April 19.  In the Action Plan, the GOP and GOC 
agree to do the following: 
 
-- Establish an Executive Committee comprising the 
Vice-Presidents, Attorneys General, Ministers of Interior and 
Defense, Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), and National 
Security organizations of the two countries, with 
responsibility for oversight, strategic planning, monitoring, 
and evaluation of activities realized under the Action Plan. 
 
-- Form a bilateral Working Group, within 30 days, to be 
responsible for identifying respective points of contact and 
creating a directory of contact information in the areas of 
kidnapping, narcotics trafficking, terrorism, cyber crimes, 
money laundering, arms trafficking, trafficking in persons, 
and other transnational crimes, as well as security-related 
training. 
 
-- Arrange for Paraguayan prosecutors and police officers to 
attend kidnap crime scene management training provided by the 
FBI in Bogota.  (Note: Two Paraguayan prosecutors and two 
Paraguayan National Police officers that Post vetted are 
attending an ongoing two-week FBI course on crime scene 
management in Bogota.  The Action Plan indicates that 
additional personnel will attend a future course in Bogota. 
End Note.) 
 
-- Select a Paraguayan delegation to attend an FIU "open 
house" in Bogota May 16-18. 
 
-- Organize training on kidnap investigation techniques, 
prevention, intelligence gathering, operations, and rescue 
for Paraguayan prosecutors and police officers, to be 
conducted in Asuncion in May. 
 
-- Dispatch a group of Colombian experts to Paraguay to 
assist with the assessment and development of recommendations 
for the structural reform of the Paraguayan National Police. 
 
-- Organize a visit by Paraguayan officials to Colombia to 
learn about Colombia's Judicial Police and "GAULA" 
anti-kidnapping units. 
 
-- Exchange information regarding terrorist activities, 
criminal organizations, and the operational methods and 
funding of such organizations. 
 
-- Share the experiences of Colombia's Inter-institutional 
Anti-terrorism Group ("GIAT") with respect to procedures used 
to combat the trafficking of illicit arms, munitions, and 
explosives. 
 
-- Designate experts to exchange information on the 
experiences and organizational structures of the countries' 
respective counter-narcotics organizations. 
 
-- Establish measures for preventing the diversion of 
precursor chemicals. 
 
-- Create a bilateral intelligence and operations mechanism 
that will facilitate the rapid, timely exchange of 
information to neutralize threats. 
 
-- Dispatch a group of Colombian experts to Paraguay to 
identify ways in which Colombia can help Paraguay realize its 
potential to produce war materiel at its existing munitions 
factory.  (Note: See comment in paragraph 3, below.  End 
Note.) 
 
-- Invite the Paraguayan National Police intelligence agency 
to join the Latin American and Caribbean Police Intelligence 
Community. 
 
-- Convene the Executive Committee, during the second half of 
2005, to follow up and evaluate the commitments entered into, 
and to plan future actions. 
 
2. (C) Comment: Following the visit, Colombian PolCouns Raul 
Sanchez was skeptical of the prospects for implementing the 
Action Plan.  He told PolOff that the Paraguayan police and 
military representatives who accompanied Castiglioni to 
Bogota did not arrive prepared to contribute to the 
discussions.  He also commented that the GOP "is good at 
signing documents, but not big on action or follow-up."  On 
the other hand, Sanchez said the GOC is pleased with the 
constructive working relationship that has developed between 
Paraguayan AG Oscar Latorre and Colombian AG Luis Osorio, in 
large part because of a strong personal bond between the two 
men.  Sanchez said the GOC would view Latorre's possible 
departure from the AG job this summer as a set-back for the 
bilateral security project. 
 
3. (C) Comment Continued: Paraguay's munitions factory 
currently is not in use, but has been kept in good condition 
(ref B).  In October 2004, a South Korean technical 
delegation visited the factory to see if it could help get it 
up and running (ref B), but the factory remains idle.  Senior 
military officers told EmbOffs this week that, other than the 
experts who will assist with the assessment of the munitions 
factory, the only assistance the Paraguayan military will 
receive pursuant to the GOP-GOC Action Plan is the return of 
a small number of weapons that were stolen from the 
Paraguayan military and resurfaced in Colombia.  The rest of 
the assistance is directed at prosecutors and the police. 
KEANE