US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA9975

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 009975 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR S, P, WHA, WHA/AND, EUR/UBI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/22/2015 
TAGS: PREL, SNAR, XL, XM, CO, VE, NL 
SUBJECT: DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTER EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR 
COLOMBIAN PEACE PROCESS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasions 1.4 (b) & (d) 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY: Over dinner on October 18, Dutch Foreign 
Minister Bot said Latin America needed strong regional and 
multilateral institutions to navigate its future and fortify 
democratic values.  As a Caribbean neighbor, the Netherlands 
was prepared to help advance this process.  The Netherlands 
has been supportive of the GOC demobilization process and 
contributed bilaterally to the OAS verification mission.   In 
that vein, Bot probed the Ambassador on the utility of 
continued extraditions and whether at some point, they could 
obstruct rather than stimulate progress toward peace.  Bot 
also expressed concern over Venezuelan interference in Dutch 
possessions in the Caribbean and in the region as a whole. 
He worried more about Chavez,s resources and the spread of 
his populist ideology, than the prospect of any military 
action by Venezuela.   END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) Ambassador Wood met with Dutch Foreign Minister Ben 
Bot on October 18 during the latter,s 48-hour visit to 
Bogota.  Bot was accompanied by MFA Director General for 
Political Affairs Hugo Siblesz, MFA Director of the Western 
Hemisphere Department Marion Kappeyne, Spokesperson Herman 
van Gelderen, and Dutch Ambassador to Colombia Frans van 
Haren.  Ambassador Wood was accompanied by polcouns 
(notetaker).   Bot met with President Uribe, Defense Minister 
Ospina and Foreign Minister Barco, among others.  At the end 
of his visit, he released a statement praising Colombia for 
its ongoing efforts to maintain the peace process.  His next 
stop was Aruba. 
 
Comments on Latin America 
------------------------------------- 
 
3. (C) Bot said Latin America needed the kind of regional 
institutions that had saved and developed in Europe over the 
last 30 years.  Bot served in Argentina in the 1970s and 
recalled lengthy discussions about strengthening regional and 
multilateral institutions in the region to develop democratic 
norms, standards and ideals.  Unfortunately, compared to 
Europe, little progress had been made.  Bot said the 
Netherlands, as a Caribbean neighbor, was prepared to work 
with democratic nations in Latin America and the U.S. to help 
advance this process.  Bot acknowledged that most Europeans 
still did not understand the reality of Latin America and of 
Colombia, in particular, and often made decisions based upon 
out-dated thinking.   In that vein, he believed President 
Uribe was a serious interlocutor and leading Colombia in the 
right direction.   Wood noted that Uribe had succeeded in 
conveying to the population that they did not have to 
continue living with a four-front war and that things could 
and would get better. 
 
Extradition 
-------------- 
 
4. (C) Bot said the Netherlands supported the peace process 
in Colombia, including the ongoing paramilitary 
demobilizations.  For this reason, it had stepped ahead of 
its European partners and was supporting the OAS verification 
mission.   He questioned, however, whether the pressure of 
extradition to the United States would at some point begin to 
hinder the process.   He noted that, at the end of various 
conflicts in Africa, the prospect of rebel leaders being 
extradited often discouraged their demobilization.  If we use 
the weapon too much, he wondered, could it not discourage 
future progress.   Wood responded that paramilitaries leaders 
had been doing their best to juxtapose extradition and the 
peace process but had not succeeded.  The Justice and Peace 
Law left the door open for extradition, something the paras 
were beginning to figure out, and they remained terrified of 
being extradited to the U.S.  So far, this had been useful 
leverage for the GOC. 
 
Venezuela 
-------------- 
 
5. (C) With Dutch possessions bordering Venezuelan waters, 
Bot expressed concern about Chavez,s growing interference in 
 
the region.  He stressed that Chavez,s influence was 
military, philosophical and ideological and that his message 
was resonating.   Chavez was using his &fat checkbook8 to 
ingratiate himself in the Netherlands Antilles and in 
Suriname.   Bot noted that Minister of Defense Ospina had 
told him earlier in the day that Chavez had begun funding 
opposition groups in Colombia and members of the illegal 
armed groups were crossing the border into Venezuela daily. 
Bot said he was not concerned about the possibility of GOV 
military action but rather the spread of his populist 
ideology.  He wondered, with many national elections 
scheduled over the next year, how large a segment of the 
population in the region was open to Chavez,s philosophy. 
The Hague wished to work with the U.S. to address this issue. 
 
 
War on Drugs 
------------------ 
 
6. (C) Bot said the key to resolving the internal conflict in 
Colombia was attacking the drug problem head on.   The FARC, 
the paras and the narcos were all financing their operations 
with drugs.  He understood that the U.S. and Colombia had a 
clear philosophy and plan for addressing the issue and hoped 
that it would work in the long term.  He noted that the 
Netherlands was facing similar challenges in Afghanistan. 
Wood agreed and noted that the Afghans had visited to review 
the Colombian program. 
 
Comment 
------------- 
 
7. (C) Over the last month, the Dutch Justice, Defense and 
Foreign Ministers have visited Colombia.  The Hague, in part 
thanks to its activist ambassador here, has made a concerted 
effort to underscore its interest and become pro-active in 
helping Colombia move forward.  From the vantage point of 
Embassy Bogota, the Dutch have become solid partners in the 
search for peace in Colombia and are lobbying European 
partners to be more supportive of the demobilization process. 
 Wood told Bot that the U.S. had agreed to provide funding to 
the demobilization program although several internal steps 
still had to be completed.  Bot responded that Norway and 
Sweden were considering financial contributions to the 
demobilization process and that the Netherlands, along with 
Sweden, was working on encouraging Chile (with OAS Secretary 
General Insulza,s help) and other Latin nations to engage as 
well.   With Caribbean possessions bordering Venezuela and 
growing concern in the Hague over Chavez,s meddling, the 
Dutch can also prove to be useful collaborators in dealing 
with Venezuela and furthering regional stability. 
WOOD