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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #1284/01 1442107
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O 242107Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4404
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA IMMEDIATE 5633
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA IMMEDIATE 0602
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAY 9837
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA IMMEDIATE 3604
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS IMMEDIATE 1753
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA IMMEDIATE 0611
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL IMMEDIATE 0511

UNCLAS QUITO 001284 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MARR MASS MOPS SNAR PTER EC CO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR PROMOTES SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT ON 
NORTHERN BORDER 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The Ambassador visited the remote Carchi 
province on May 18 to highlight USG investment in security 
and development on Ecuador's northern border with Colombia. 
While there, the Ambassador met with military and police 
officials, toured a customs and immigration post, hosted a 
luncheon with USG and GOE stakeholders in regional 
development, inaugurated a USAID-supported clean water 
project, and met with the local press.  The visit was well 
received, advancing USG efforts to increase awareness of USG 
social and security investments in the region.  End Summary. 
 
Ambassador Discusses Security with the 39th Army Battalion 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Ambassador began with a visit to the 39th Army 
Battalion headquarters in Tulcan, Carchi province.  The 39th 
Battalion Commander, Colonel Galo Cruz, told the Ambassador 
that there are more than 24 known illegal crossing points in 
his sector, giving Colombian illegal armed groups easy access 
to Ecuadorian territory.  He explained the logistical and 
resource challenges his unit faces in securing the porous 
border, and lamented the lack of a greater Colombian military 
presence along the shared border.  Cruz reiterated the GOE 
position that Ecuador will not get involved in Colombia's 
internal conflict, but said that the GOE is committed to 
controlling and protecting Ecuadorian territory.  The 
Ambassador commended COL Cruz for GOE efforts, and expressed 
USG commitment to help Ecuador address these regional 
security threats. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The 39th Army Battalion is the main unit in the 
13th Brigade and is responsible for the largest sector within 
the Carchi province, which includes 90 miles of the 400-mile 
border with Colombia.  The 39th is operating at 90% its 
personnel capacity, making it one of the strongest Ecuadorian 
Army units.  Illicit cross-border activity is fluid, with 
drugs and other contraband exiting Colombia through numerous 
illegal crossing points, trails, and dirt roads.  FARC and 
ELN rebels are able to enter/exit the two countries with 
relative ease when not in uniform.  The Colombian military 
has a permanent presence at the Rumichaca border crossing 
point, with a second small detachment opposite Tufino, 
Ecuador.  Communication between Ecuadorian and Colombian 
forces in the sector is good, with regular intelligence 
sharing for force protection needs. 
 
Ambassador Visits Checkpoint 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The Ambassador met with Anti-Narcotics Police 
Commander for Carchi Lt. Colonel Claudio Guerra at the 
region's only legal crossing point, the Rumichaca Bridge 
Customs and Immigration Complex.  Guerra said that the 
Rumichaca facility is inundated with traffic, but 
unfortunately lacks the space necessary to more thoroughly 
search vehicles.  Guerra,s team showed off USG-provided gear 
such as fiber optic tools and ion scanners, used to detect 
drugs in vehicles.  He thanked the Ambassador for the $1.7 
million NAS will spend to construct a new police checkpoint 
in Tulcan, saying that it would help alleviate the burden 
placed on the Rumichaca facility.  The Ambassador commended 
police efforts and expressed the continuing U.S. commitment 
to helping the anti-narcotics unit improve facilities and 
drug detection capabilities. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Anti-narcotics police efforts in Carchi are 
complicated by the extensive network of secondary roads that 
parallel and extend across the Colombian border throughout 
the province.  NAS-funded vehicles and fuel to both the 
police and military in this region have allowed the police to 
expand patrolling and assert more control over Ecuadorian 
territory.  The new police base will also improve GOE ability 
to monitor the growing truck traffic on the Pan American 
Highway between Colombia and Ecuador, and better monitor the 
large warehouse in Tulcan where vehicles and merchandise are 
stored until cleared by customs. 
 
Ambassador Pushes Development Agenda 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Ambassador, USAID Director, Northern Border 
Development Unit Director Maxamiliano Donoso, and several 
local officials inaugurated a USAID funded clean water 
project in the town of Cristobal Colon, Carchi.  Over 200 
 
residents attended the ceremony, profusely thanking the 
Ambassador for the USG investment in their community's public 
health.  The Ambassador noted the importance of such projects 
to improve public health, and voiced firm USG commitment to 
assist with development efforts in the northern border region. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Ambassador also hosted a luncheon to highlight 
USG and GOE development and security efforts in the region. 
The meeting was attended by Acting Carchi Prefect Manuel 
Revelo, Carchi Governor Bolivar Chamarro, Acting Tulcan Mayor 
Llia Castilo, Espejo Mayor Lenin Carrera, Montufar Mayor 
Homero Cadena, and Mira Mayor Fausto Ruiz.  Colonel Galo Cruz 
and Lt. Colonel Claudio Guerra also attended.  The Ambassador 
told the group that the U.S. had invested over $6 million in 
Carchi since 2001 to fund potable water, sanitation, 
infrastructure, and civil society development programs.  She 
noted that these efforts aim to improve the quality of life 
of northern border residents, and reflect USG commitment to 
continue to work with Ecuador to provide a better future in a 
region beset by illicit trade.  Local and regional officials 
thanked the Ambassador for USG support, with several saying 
that additional funds for development and security projects 
were desperately needed. 
 
Press Coverage 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) The Ambassador's visit received extensive national 
and local media coverage, underscoring her message of U.S. 
support for both northern border development and security, 
and countering the impression that the GOE's decision to 
confiscate Occidental Petroleum could undermine broader 
bilateral relations.  Coverage included a lengthy piece on a 
nationally viewed evening news broadcast and articles in both 
Quito and Guayaquil,s major dailies, as well as more 
populist nationally circulating dailies.  Coverage 
highlighted plans for the construction of a NAS-financed 
counter drug control post, as well as the Ambassador's 
statement of commitment to continue US support for Ecuadorian 
efforts to protect its borders and sovereignty. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Ambassador's visit to Carchi provided an 
excellent opportunity for her to highlight U.S. support to 
the region, while pushing for greater security and 
development investment.  Ecuadorian military and police 
officials in Carchi are well aware of the security threat 
posed by FARC, ELN and other illegal armed groups operating 
at their border.  They are using limited resources, 
equipment, and personnel to safeguard Ecuadorian territory 
and provide licit economic opportunities for their residents, 
and deserve our continued support.  Local police, military, 
and government officials are making considerable ground on 
both the security and development fronts, despite 
nationalistic politics. 
JEWELL