Currently released so far... 5420 / 251,287
Articles
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Amsterdam
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lagos
Mission USNATO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Browse by tag
AF
AE
AJ
ASEC
AMGT
AR
AU
AG
AS
AM
AORC
AFIN
APER
ABUD
ATRN
AL
AEMR
ACOA
AO
AX
AMED
ADCO
AODE
AFFAIRS
AC
ASIG
ABLD
AA
AFU
ASUP
AROC
ATFN
AVERY
APCS
AER
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
AEC
APECO
AGMT
CH
CASC
CA
CD
CV
CVIS
CMGT
CO
CI
CU
CBW
CLINTON
CE
CJAN
CIA
CG
CF
CN
CS
CAN
COUNTER
CDG
CIS
CM
CONDOLEEZZA
COE
CR
CY
CTM
COUNTRY
CLEARANCE
CPAS
CWC
CT
CKGR
CB
CACS
COM
CJUS
CARSON
CL
COUNTERTERRORISM
CACM
CDB
EPET
EINV
ECON
ENRG
EAID
ETRD
EG
ETTC
EFIN
EU
EAGR
ELAB
EIND
EUN
EAIR
ER
ECIN
ECPS
EFIS
EI
EINT
EZ
EMIN
ET
EC
ECONEFIN
ENVR
ES
ECA
ELN
EN
EFTA
EWWT
ELTN
EXTERNAL
EINVETC
ENIV
EINN
ENGR
EUR
ESA
ENERG
EK
ENGY
ETRO
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ESENV
ENVI
ELECTIONS
ECUN
EINVEFIN
ECIP
EINDETRD
EUC
EREL
IR
IZ
IS
IT
INTERPOL
IPR
IN
INRB
IAEA
IRAJ
INRA
INRO
IO
IC
ID
IIP
ITPHUM
IV
IWC
IQ
ICTY
ISRAELI
IRAQI
ICRC
ICAO
IMO
IF
ILC
IEFIN
INTELSAT
IL
IA
IBRD
IMF
INR
IRC
ITALY
ITALIAN
KCOR
KZ
KDEM
KN
KNNP
KPAL
KU
KWBG
KCRM
KE
KISL
KAWK
KSCA
KS
KSPR
KJUS
KFRD
KTIP
KPAO
KTFN
KIPR
KPKO
KNUC
KMDR
KGHG
KPLS
KOLY
KUNR
KDRG
KIRF
KIRC
KBIO
KHLS
KG
KACT
KGIC
KRAD
KCOM
KMCA
KV
KHDP
KVPR
KDEV
KWMN
KMPI
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KOMC
KTLA
KCFC
KTIA
KHIV
KPRP
KAWC
KCIP
KCFE
KOCI
KTDB
KMRS
KLIG
KBCT
KICC
KGIT
KSTC
KPAK
KNEI
KSEP
KPOA
KFLU
KNUP
KNNPMNUC
KO
KTER
KSUM
KHUM
KRFD
KBTR
KDDG
KWWMN
KFLO
KSAF
KBTS
KPRV
KNPP
KNAR
KWMM
KERG
KFIN
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KTBT
KCRS
KRVC
KSTH
KREL
KNSD
KTEX
KPAI
KHSA
KR
KPWR
KWAC
KMIG
KSEC
KIFR
KDEMAF
KGCC
KPIN
MOPS
MARR
MASS
MTCRE
MX
MCAP
MO
MNUC
ML
MR
MZ
MPOS
MOPPS
MTCR
MAPP
MU
MY
MA
MG
MASC
MCC
MEPP
MK
MTRE
MP
MIL
MDC
MAR
MEPI
MRCRE
MI
MT
MQADHAFI
MD
MAPS
MUCN
MASSMNUC
MERCOSUR
MC
ODIP
OIIP
OREP
OVIP
OEXC
OPRC
OFDP
OPDC
OTRA
OSCE
OAS
OPIC
OECD
OPCW
OSCI
OIE
OIC
OTR
OVP
OFFICIALS
OSAC
PGOV
PINR
PREL
PTER
PK
PHUM
PE
PARM
PBIO
PINS
PREF
PSOE
PBTS
PL
PHSA
PKFK
PO
PGOF
PROP
PA
PARMS
PORG
PM
PMIL
PTERE
POL
PF
PALESTINIAN
PY
PGGV
PNR
POV
PAK
PAO
PFOR
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PRGOV
PNAT
PROV
PEL
PINF
PGOVE
POLINT
PRL
PRAM
PMAR
PGOVLO
PHUMBA
PHUS
PHUMPREL
PG
POLITICS
PEPR
PSI
PINT
PU
POLITICAL
PARTIES
PECON
POGOV
PINL
SCUL
SA
SY
SP
SNAR
SENV
SU
SW
SOCI
SL
SG
SMIG
SO
SF
SR
SN
SHUM
SZ
SYR
ST
SANC
SC
SAN
SIPRS
SK
SH
SI
SNARCS
STEINBERG
TX
TW
TU
TSPA
TH
TIP
TI
TS
TBIO
TRGY
TC
TR
TT
TERRORISM
TO
TFIN
TD
TSPL
TZ
TPHY
TK
TNGD
TINT
TRSY
TP
UK
UG
UP
UV
US
UN
UNSC
UNGA
USEU
USUN
UY
UZ
UNO
UNMIK
UNESCO
UE
UAE
UNEP
USTR
UNHCR
UNDP
UNHRC
USAID
UNCHS
UNAUS
UNCHC
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 10BOGOTA201, DEPUTY SECRETARY STEINBERG'S JANUARY 12, 2010 MEETING WITH
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #10BOGOTA201.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
10BOGOTA201 | 2010-02-09 19:07 | 2010-12-18 21:09 | SECRET//NOFORN | Embassy Bogota |
VZCZCXYZ0009
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBO #0201/01 0401910
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O R 091910Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2679
INFO RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0042
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
S E C R E T BOGOTA 000201
NOFORN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/09
TAGS: PREL OVIP EAID KJUS PGOV PTER SNAR ETRD SENV CO VE
EC
SUBJECT: DEPUTY SECRETARY STEINBERG'S JANUARY 12, 2010 MEETING WITH
COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT URIBE
REF: 09 BOGOTA 2714
CLASSIFIED BY: William R. Brownfield, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B), (D)
¶1. (U) January 12, 2010; 10:00 AM; Monteria, Colombia.
¶2. (U) Participants:
U.S.
Deputy Secretary Steinberg
Ambassador William Brownfield
DAS Christopher McMullen, WHA
DCM Brian Nichols
USAID Mission Director Ken Yamashita
Political Counselor Mark Wells (notetaker)
NAS Director Dan Foote
Economic Counselor Tim Stater
D(S) Special Assistant Lourdes Cue
Control Officer Marcos Mandojana
COLOMBIA
President Alvaro Uribe
Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez
Minister of Defense Gabriel Silva
Minister of Commerce, Industry & Tourism Luis Guillermo Plata
Ambassador to the United States Carolina Barco
Accion Social (GOC development agency) Director Diego Molano
High Commissioner for Peace and Reintegration Frank Pearl
Vice Minister of Defense Jorge Mario Eastman
MFA North America Desk Adriana Maldonado (notetaker)
¶3. (C) SUMMARY: Deputy Secretary Steinberg met with President
Uribe and his key ministers for nearly three hours, discussing a
range of bilateral and regional issues. Uribe detailed the
advances in security, education, economic and social indicators,
and trade during his administration but said that Colombia could
not finish the job without continued strong U.S. support. He hoped
to bring an end to the armed conflict in Colombia through
demobilization and social programs, but judged that the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) would never negotiate
as long as it enjoyed a safe haven in Venezuela coupled with a
steady income from drug trafficking. Deputy Steinberg reassured
Uribe that U.S. counter-narcotics efforts would remain a core
element of assistance, noting that it was essential to address
Colombia's broader problems. Uribe agreed on the need for prudence
in dealing with the bellicose statements of President Hugo Chavez
but asked for intelligence-sharing on Colombian terrorist groups
hiding-out in Venezuela. Uribe said that coca cultivation results
in the destruction of Colombian rainforests and thus climate
change, and sought support for his Forest Ranger Family program to
protect rainforests. The Deputy noted concerns about impunity and
human rights. He reiterated U.S. support for moving forward with
the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at an appropriate
time, and urged continued work on sensitive labor issues for when
the U.S. Congress is ready to vote. END SUMMARY.
-------------------
Ending the Conflict
-------------------
¶4. (C) After a 20-minute one-on-one meeting with President Uribe,
the Deputy Secretary opened the larger meeting by praising the
"great partnership" between the United States and Colombia. He
cited Plan Colombia's "positive but incomplete" results, calling
for more effort to consolidate Colombia's security gains through
reduced poverty and more equitable income distribution. The Deputy
asked Uribe his views for ending the 45-year-old conflict with the
FARC and National Liberation Army (ELN).
¶5. (C) Uribe recounted his and his predecessors' attempts to
initiate peace processes with both terrorist organizations. He
cited the GOC's success in facilitating the demobilization of more
than 52,000 guerrillas and paramilitaries during his presidency.
He outlined the GOC's poverty-reduction and land restitution
programs aimed at increasing social cohesion and thereby
undermining the terrorists' appeal. Uribe lamented that the
Constitution of 1991 prohibited amnesty for perpetrators of crimes
against humanity, which he claimed greatly restricted the GOC's
ability to negotiate a peace agreement like that reached with M-19
in the late 1980s. He also lamented that the GOC had failed to
prevent the assassination of the Governor of Caqueta by the FARC in
December.
¶6. (C) Uribe concluded that the FARC and ELN's willingness to talk
were hampered by the fountain of wealth from narco-trafficking
(which makes them self-sufficient, unlike the past conflict in El
Salvador) and the prospect of safe haven in Venezuela. Uribe said
Chavez' support of the guerrillas had frustrated further GOC
military progress against them. The President accepted that U.S.
security assistance had decreased in recent years, but urged the
United States not to back down in what was a "winnable battle."
Deputy Steinberg reassured Uribe that U.S. counter-narcotics
efforts would remain a core element of assistance, noting that it
was essential to address Colombia's broader problems.
----------------------------
Paramilitaries & Reparations
----------------------------
¶7. (C) Deputy Steinberg asked how the GOC was addressing the
growing threat of criminal groups whose membership includes former
paramilitaries. Uribe said the state had successfully recovered
the monopolies on justice and security once held by the
paramilitary and guerrilla groups, noting significant reductions in
terrorist attacks, murders and kidnappings. Commissioner Pearl
downplayed the role of paramilitaries in emerging criminal groups,
citing a Colombian National Police (CNP) estimate that former
paramilitaries comprised just 12% of the new groups' memberships.
Pearl explained that this means there is a recidivism rate of only
7.4% among the demobilized paramilitaries.
¶8. (C) Asked about the backlog of reparations for victims, Uribe
declared that the most effective reparation was ending violence.
Molano offered that the GOC budget for administrative reparations
was increasing to $150 million in 2010 and would benefit 15,000 of
the 275,000 victims currently registered under the Justice and
Peace Law (JPL). Uribe reported that the GOC had just made a
decision to confiscate more assets from former paramilitaries for
use in reparations.
-----------------
Reducing Impunity
-----------------
¶9. (C) Deputy Steinberg expressed concern over the persistently
high rates of impunity, noting especially the release just days
earlier of several soldiers accused of extrajudicial executions
(EJEs, presenting murders by state security forces as deaths in
combat). He also asked about a backlog of human rights cases
waiting to be transferred from military to civilian courts. Uribe
said the GOC had made the decision in 2005 to transfer
automatically all human rights cases involving the military to the
civilian justice system, where prosecutors decide whether to
investigate the case further or refer it back to the military
justice system. Minister of Defense Silva asserted that due to
military reforms, EJE complaints had declined from 143 in 2006 to 2
in 2009, according to a leading Colombian NGO. While Uribe assured
the Deputy Secretary of his commitment to eliminate EJEs, he also
vowed to defend the military against "false allegations" of
wrongdoing. The Deputy Secretary urged Colombia to follow through
on the Universal Performance Review initiated in 2008 at the UN
Human Rights Council as a means of developing international and
domestic confidence in its commitment to human rights.
----------------------
Working with Neighbors
----------------------
¶10. (S/NF) Turning to Ecuador, the Deputy solicited ideas for how
the United States could support further rapprochement between the
two countries. Uribe raised the sensitivities caused by Ecuadorian
legal indictments of former Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos
and Colombian military commanders over the March 1, 2008, bombing
of a FARC camp in Ecuador. Foreign Minister Bermudez said the GOC
was trying to build confidence with Ecuador through social projects
along the border. On Venezuela, Uribe advised "verbal prudence,"
publicly ignoring Chavez to minimize the justification for his
attacks. Uribe cautioned, however, that Chavez was "dangerous" in
that he might seek to distract attention from Venezuela's growing
social and economic problems by fighting with Colombia. Uribe
thanked the United States for sharing intelligence on the
activities of terrorist groups in Venezuela and urged continued
cooperation.
¶11. (C) The Deputy Secretary commended Colombia for building
security partnerships with Mexico and others in the region
(reftel). He viewed this type of cooperation as an alternative to
Venezuela's ALBA agreement and called for more positive
opportunities for working with other like-minded countries in the
region. He cited the Pathways to Prosperity initiative as a more
hopeful model for cooperation.
---------------------------------
Coca Cultivation & Climate Change
---------------------------------
¶12. (SBU) Echoing his statements at the UN General Assembly and the
Copenhagen climate change summit, President Uribe linked cocaine
production and drug trafficking with deforestation. Replacing
rainforest with coca crops harms the environment, and
narco-trafficking is not only a problem for Colombia but for its
neighbors as well. Uribe highlighted Colombia's "Family Forest
Warden" program, which pays approximately 90,000 families not to
cultivate coca and to supervise the recuperation of destroyed
forest. The President suggested that a variation of the program
could be launched with U.S. cooperation and become an essential
tool for protecting Colombia's jungles and forests.
--------------------
Free Trade Agreement
--------------------
¶13. (C) Trade Minister Plata pressed the Deputy Secretary on
passage of the FTA. He noted that several of Colombia's neighbors
that produce the same types of products now enjoy FTAs (NAFTA,
Chile, Peru) with the United States, placing Colombia at a
disadvantage. Furthermore, he said non-passage of the
U.S.-Colombia FTA had blocked completion of FTAs with Canada and
the European Union because others were waiting to see how the
sensitive labor and human rights issues would be resolved. Plata
argued that the embargo imposed by Venezuela had already caused a
30% drop in Colombian exports in 2009 and would probably deepen to
50% in 2010. He concluded that Colombia cannot win with soldiers
alone; Colombia needs economic opportunities to advance. Uribe
added that many investors are awaiting FTA approval before
committing to Colombia. He said in past years Colombia could
afford to wait on the additional economic activity that the FTA
would generate given the GOC budget surplus. He lamented that
Colombia would have "much narrower fiscal room" in 2010.
¶14. (C) Deputy Steinberg responded that President Obama and the
Secretary were aware of the need to pass the FTA, and further
explained the problems posed by the U.S. Congress' legislative
calendar and elections cycle. He noted that health care reform has
taken longer than expected. He urged the GOC to continue working
with the USG on labor violence issues and working conditions to
"have everything lined up" when Congress is prepared to take up the
FTA. He acknowledged that the goal should not be unanimous
support, but that both governments must present the best case
possible to maximize the chance for success.
¶15. (U) Deputy Secretary Steinberg cleared this cable.
BROWNFIELD