US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA8292

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 008292 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, CO 
SUBJECT: ATTORNEY GENERAL MEETS WITH PRESIDENT URIBE 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood. Reasons: 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
1. (U) August 23, 2005, 5:00-6:00 PM, Casa de Narino, Bogota 
 
2. (U) Participants: 
 
U.S. 
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Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney General 
Ambassador William B. Wood 
Jeffrey Taylor, Counselor to the Attorney General 
Mary Lee Warren, Deputy Assistant Attorney General 
Thomas Monheim, Associate Deputy Attorney General 
Tasia Scolinos, Director, Public Affairs, DOJ 
Paul Vaky, DOJ Justice Reform Program Manager 
Carmen Colon, JUDATT 
Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Polcouns (notetaker) 
 
Colombia 
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Alvaro Uribe Velez, President 
Carolina Barco, Foreign Minister 
Camilo Ospina, Minister of Defense 
Luis Alberto Moreno, Ambassador to the U.S. 
Mario Iguaran, Prosecutor General 
Mauricio Gonzalez, Presidential Legal Adviser 
Jaime Bermudez, Presidential Communications Director 
Francisco Gonzalez, MFA (notetaker) 
 
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Summary 
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3. (C)  During a positive and candid discussion, President 
Uribe thanked the Attorney General (AG) for U.S. support, 
expressed concern that his goal to eradicate drugs in 
Colombia would not be met by the end of his administration, 
hoped to achieve better results against drug cultivation by 
increased spraying and expanded manual eradication, and 
requested additional U.S. support to arrest the country's 
principal narco-traffickers.  The AG thanked Uribe for being 
a good friend to the U.S., applauded the U.S.-Colombian 
extradition relationship, and said the U.S. would continue 
its close cooperation and assistance to Colombia.  Uribe said 
there were safeguards in the Justice and Peace law which 
prevented the principal narco-traffickers from receiving 
benefits.  The AG reiterated U.S. commitment to help bring 
narco-traffickers to justice but stressed that the U.S. would 
continue to press for extradition of all those who violated 
U.S. laws.  Uribe expressed concerns about the willingness of 
the U.S. to honor assurances required under the Colombian 
constitution in extradition cases and the proposed amendments 
to the Foreign Assistance Act dealing with extradition that 
would negatively impact Colombia.  The AG said the U.S. would 
meet its extradition obligations and commitments, and agreed 
to work with the State Department to address the amendments. 
Uribe reviewed GOC efforts on justice reform, in particular 
the implementation of the oral accusatory system, and 
requested additional U.S. assistance.  Uribe said he wanted a 
rigorous implementation of the Justice and Peace law and 
planned to create an international commission to monitor the 
process.  Ambassador Moreno had approached former President 
Clinton to lead it in an effort to persuade Senate Democrats 
the process was credible.  The AG responded positively noting 
that he had wanted to encourage the GOC to do more work with 
the Congress.  On demobilization, Uribe said he needed 
international support and assistance.  The AG responded that 
the U.S. was already providing some assistance and would see 
what additional assistance could be provided.  Moreno also 
requested DOJ assistance to help the GOC investigate the 
killings of labor leaders and relief from a DOJ appeal in a 
California court case that prevented the Colombian's tuna 
industry from breaking into the U.S. market. End Summary. 
 
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Counter-Drug Efforts 
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4. (C) Uribe opened by expressing his gratitude to the 
Attorney General for U.S. assistance to Colombia in the fight 
against drugs and terrorism.  Progress to date had been the 
result of the determination of the Colombian people and the 
"permanent strategic help from the United States."  But more 
help was needed, he said.  Uribe raised concerns that he 
would not be able to meet his goal of eradicating drugs from 
Colombia in the one year left in his administration.  There 
were still many hectares of drugs to be destroyed, and many 
drug traffickers to be captured and brought to justice.  He 
said the GOC was proceeding with extraditions "with 
determination" but more had to be done. 
 
5. (C) The Attorney General thanked Uribe for being a good 
friend and ally to the U.S.  He expressed appreciation for 
the extraordinary U.S.-Colombian extradition relationship, 
underscoring its importance to DOJ.  The Colombian example 
was a model to be replicated elsewhere.  The AG stressed that 
the Bush Administration was committed to continuing its close 
cooperation with and assistance to Colombia. 
6. (C) Uribe said he wanted better results in his fight 
against drugs.  Spraying had increased by 30 percent in 2005. 
 Manual eradication would expand to 30,000 hectares by the 
end of the year.  He hoped to see a significant drop in 
cocaine production as a result.  Uribe reiterated his 
determination to arrest the country's principal drug 
traffickers.  He stressed that, although some paramilitaries 
involved in the peace process have been involved in drug 
trafficking, those whose principal activities were 
narco-trafficking vice paramilitary would not be accepted 
into the process.  He underscored that all illegal armed 
groups -- paras and guerrillas -- were contaminated by drugs 
and it would be difficult to draw the line.   Despite this, 
the GOC had already determined which cartels would not be 
allowed to participate in the peace process, and those were 
the ones who needed to be brought to justice.  The risk of 
not taking immediate action, he said, was that some 
demobilized paramilitaries could be swayed to join the 
cartels, swelling the ranks of the illegal armed groups once 
again. 
 
7. (C) The AG reiterated the U.S. commitment to help bring 
the narco-traffickers to justice.  We want to help in any way 
we can and look forward to working with you to achieve that 
objective, he said.  At the same time, the AG stressed that 
the U.S. would continue to press for the extradition of all 
those who have violated U.S. laws and caused harm to U.S. 
citizens. 
 
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Justice Reform 
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8. (C) The AG applauded Colombia's justice reform efforts, 
especially the implementation of the new accusatorial 
criminal system.  He said DOJ was committed to continuing law 
enforcement and justice sector training and development 
support.  Uribe acknowledged some problems in one of the 
trial cities and reviewed GOC efforts to evaluate it and make 
the necessary modifications.  The AG emphasized that Uribe 
had to push forward and not be discouraged with minor 
setbacks.  Ambassador Wood noted that the prosecutor general 
had recently requested additional support for training, which 
was under consideration. 
 
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GOC Concerns on Extradition 
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9. (C) Uribe said he wanted to avoid extradition becoming a 
political issue.  He expressed concerns about both the U.S. 
honoring assurances required under the Colombian constitution 
in extradition cases, and the proposed amendments to the 
Foreign Assistance Act which could negatively impact Colombia 
and the U.S.-Colombian extradition relationship.   On the 
former, he hoped an agreement could be reached between the 
DOJ and the judges on the Colombian Supreme Court.  The AG 
responded that the U.S. would assure members of the court 
that it fully recognized and intended to meet its extradition 
obligations and commitments.  On the amendments, the AG said 
DOJ was as concerned as the Department of State and would 
work to address the problem.  He was confident that the 
potential consequences for Colombia were in fact not what the 
drafters had intended. 
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International Commission to Monitor Justice and Peace Law 
Implementation 
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10. (C) Uribe reviewed the basic elements of the Justice and 
Peace law, a legal framework for the demobilization of 
thousands of paramilitaries.  He stressed that past Colombian 
peace processes and the laws governing them had never 
included a justice component.  While the law was 
controversial, it was a significant step forward over 
previous efforts.  He insisted that the GOC wanted a rigorous 
implementation.  To that end, Uribe planned to create an 
international commission to monitor the law's implementation. 
 He wanted U.S. endorsement of the plan.  Ambassador Moreno 
said Senate Democrats had raised the most concerns about the 
law.  Therefore, he had contacted former President Clinton to 
head such a commission.  Clinton, in turn, had talked to 
former Senators Graham and Thompson about their 
participation.  Moreno stressed that the GOC needed an 
oversight group of this stature to permit a credible 
implementation of the law.  He reported that Clinton was 
already making calls to Senate Democrats in support of the 
law. 
 
11. (C) The AG responded positively, noting that he had 
intended to leave the message that the GOC needed to do more 
work with the Congress.  This sounded like a good approach. 
 
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Demobilization 
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12. (C) Uribe said the number of demobilized paramilitaries 
would exceed 20,000 in the next few days.  It was an 
expensive process and the GOC needed international support. 
Attention to the internally displaced was also important. 
Uribe insisted that demobilization of the paramilitaries was 
an effective way to neutralize the "ring leaders" and cut 
them off from their troops.  What can Don Berna do now that 
he is "one half in jail," away from his men, and surrounded 
by the police, he asked rhetorically.  His wings have been 
cut.  At the same time, Uribe acknowledged that the GOC had 
to pay close attention to all aspects of the process to 
ensure dismantlement of the paramilitary blocs.  The AG 
responded that the U.S. was already providing some assistance 
for the demobilization process.  I know you need more, he 
said, and we will see what additional assistance we can 
provide. 
 
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Two Additional Requests 
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13. (C) At the direction of Uribe, Moreno presented two 
additional requests: (1) Under the rubric of FTA/TLC 
negotiations, the problem for Colombia on labor issues was 
not labor standards but the security of labor leaders.  Some 
labor leaders had been killed; others continue to receive 
threats.  Could DOJ provide specific assistance to assist the 
GOC investigate these assassinations?  Moreno said this would 
be a win/win issue for Colombia and the U.S.; (2) DOJ had 
appealed a recent ruling of a California court that affected 
the Colombian tuna industry's ability to break into the U.S. 
market.  Could the AG help in some way? 
WOOD