VZCZCXYZ0036
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0472/01 0532315
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 222315Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3698
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 5368
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1581
RUEHGT/AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA PRIORITY 0793
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB 9670
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 0349
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR PRIORITY 2042
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 9962
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS QUITO 000472 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SMIG SNAR EC
SUBJECT: GOE INTERCEPTS MIGRANT SHIP, RETAINS JURISDICTION 
OVER ECUADORIANS 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  There have been several significant 
recent developments relating to maritime law enforcement. 
The Ecuadorian Navy interdicted an overloaded fishing boat 
off its coast on February 18 carrying more than 100 migrants 
destined for Guatemala and the U.S.  In another case, the GOE 
has approved the use of an Ecuadorian Air Force plane to 
retrieve 77 Ecuadorian intending migrants rescued on February 
15 off the coast of El Salvador and currently in Guatemala. 
However, the GOE continues to refuse to allow the U.S. 
prosecution of Ecuadorian crew members of the 
narcotrafficking vessel DIVI, intercepted by the U.S. Coast 
Guard on February 7.  The first two developments are 
positive; the last reflects the political and legal 
constraints that still remain despite generally excellent GOE 
cooperation on counternarcotics.  End Summary. 
 
Ecuadorian Navy Intercepts Migrant Ship 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) On February 18, the Ecuadorian Navy intercepted a 
fishing vessel, "LALO I", believed to have originated in 
Peru, off the coast of Manabi province with close to 140 
intending migrants on board.  The migrants, of which there 
were 98 Ecuadorians, 24 Peruvians, a Dominican, and three 
Bangladeshis, intended to enter the United States via Central 
America and Mexico.  Two Ecuadorians and five Peruvians were 
identified, by authorities as alleged crew members of the 
ship.  The Ecuadorian Navy responded to the migrant vessel 
upon receipt of information provided by the USG. 
 
Ecuadorians in Guatemala to Be Repatriated 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U) A boat carrying 77 Ecuadorian migrants, which had 
been stranded for several days, was found off the coast of El 
Salvador on February 15 and the migrants rescued by the 
British-flagged vessel "GREENWICH MAERSK."  The migrants 
claimed to have departed from Palta, Peru 15 days earlier 
with an eventual destination of the United States.  The 
migrants were subsequently transferred to Guatemala.  On 
February 19, GOE DefMin Oswaldo Jarrin, with President 
Palacio's approval, offered to send an Ecuadorian C-130 to 
Guatemala to retrieve the migrants.  Ecuadorian diplomats are 
currently working out the logistical issues for the 
repatriation and we await MFA confirmation of their return. 
 
GOE Insists Ecuadorians be Tried Under EC Law 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On February 7, the "USS GETTYSBURG" approached the 
F/V "DIVI" approximately 1,000 nautical miles west of the 
Galapagos.  Two of the DIVI's crew members set off an 
explosion which led to the sinking of the ship and the 
majority of the cocaine the ship was carrying.  Approximately 
220 pounds of cocaine and all eight crew members of 
Ecuadorian nationality were taken into custody by the U.S. 
forces.  In response to a February 9 U.S. diplomatic note 
requesting U.S. jurisdiction over the prosecution of 
Ecuadorian narcotraffickers, the GOE delivered a diplomatic 
note on February 10 stating that under articles 4 and 17 of 
the U.N. Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotics 
Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, the GOE affirmed its right 
and obligation to prosecute the eight Ecuadorian crew members 
in Ecuador. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) At the request of the Interagency Maritime 
Operational Threat Response Committee in Washington, on 
February 20 the DCM again requested a GOE waiver of 
jurisdiction.  The MFA Director General for National 
Sovereignty Jaime Barberis reiterated the GOE response, 
cleared by FM Francisco Carrion, regretting the MFA's 
inability to change the earlier decision on the Ecuadorians 
in the DIVI case.  Barberis explained that under the 
Ecuadorian constitution, Ecuador cannot surrender one of its 
citizens for prosecution in a third country.  (Note:  Section 
3, Chapter 2, Article 25 of the Constitution states:  "Under 
no circumstances will the extradition of an Ecuadorian 
citizen be granted.  The individual's trial is subject to 
Ecuadorian law.") 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶6.  (SBU) The interception of the "LALO I" vessel is the 
second instance in which the GOE has intercepted migrant flow 
on the high seas in the past three months.  It reflects GOE 
resolve to deploy its limited naval forces against migrant 
smugglers, and comes in the wake of the tragic loss of over 
100 lives in August 2005 when an overloaded Ecuadorian vessel 
sank 300 nautical miles west of Colombia.  We are also 
encouraged the GOE took responsibility for the repatriation 
of its nationals rescued off the "GREENWICH MAERSK" from 
Guatemala.  To ensure continued GOE cooperation, we must 
recognize the political and legal constraints that preclude a 
GOE waiver of jurisdiction.  Short of that step, cooperation 
continues to be very positive.  They are willing to provide 
U.S. investigative access to defendants in Ecuador, and 
parole them to the U.S. to testify as witnesses.  We will 
continue to press for effective domestic prosecution of 
Ecuadorian criminals. 
BROWN