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DE RUEHBO #0618/01 0511546
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R 201546Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
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INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 9979
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB LIMA 5922
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 1249
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 6563
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4296
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 000618 

SIPDIS 

SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/20/2018 
TAGS: KJUS MARR PGOV PHUM PTER CO
SUBJECT: TRIP TO CURVARADO HIGHLIGHTS SECURITY CONCERNS; 
GOC RESPONSE 

REF: BOGOTA 239 

Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer.
Reasons 1.4 b and d.

-------- 
SUMMARY 
-------- 

¶1. (C) Local members of the Afro-Colombian communities of 
Jiguamiando and Curvarado complained about GOC delays in 
returning their land, lack of security and GOC financial 
support, and perceived military bias in favor of African palm 
companies.  Local leader Enrique Petro told us the palm firms 
continue to develop land claimed by the communities and 
employ demobilized paramilitaries to intimidate local 
residents. The local military commander said his unit 
protects Petro--who participates in the Interior Ministry's 
protection program--and stressed that the unit stays out of 
the land dispute between the communities and the palm firms. 
Still, he conceded the military's use of the palm firms' 
facilities--the only infrastructure available--creates a 
perception of favoritism.  Accion Social has helped 600 
families to return to the region, but said some communities 
refuse to cooperate with it.  END SUMMARY 

¶2. (C) Polcouns and Poloff traveled by helicopter to the 
remote Afro-Colombian communities of Jiguamiando and 
Curvarado in Choco department on February 4 to review local 
security conditions. With the help of the Inter-ecclesiastic 
Commission for Justice and Peace, we met with the 
communities' representatives in a "humanitarian zone" located 
on land owned by local peasant leader Enrique Petro.  The two 
communities are disputing control of the land with thirteen 
African palm firms--some of which have been tied by the 
Prosecutor General's office to former paramilitary leaders 
Vicente Castano and Freddy Rendon.  The firms began 
exploiting the land after local residents fled paramilitary 
violence in 1997.  GOC officials tell us the legal issues in 
the land dispute have largely been resolved in the 
communities' favor (reftel), but security challenges remain. 
Justicia y Paz also has links to the San Jose de Apartado
peace community. 

------------------------------- 
15TH BRIGADE PROVIDING SECURITY 
------------------------------- 

¶3. (C) Lieutenant Colonel Mauricio Moreno Rodriquez of the 
15th Brigade told us 220 soldiers provide security in the 
area of Curvarado and Jiguamiando, meeting up with the 17th 
brigade to the north and east, and the 4th Brigade to the 
south.  He said the military has forced the FARC's 57th Front 
to the south, and claimed that new criminal groups, such as 
theAguilasNegras, have little presence in the area.  The 
military tries to be neutral in the land dispute between 
local peasants and the African palm firms--leaving the issue 
to the courts--but both sides try to manipulate the military 
to support their position.  Control of a local road--built by 
the firms on land claimed by the communities--remains a 
source of tension.  The local commander conceded that the 
military's use of facilities built by the palm firms--the 
only infrastructure in the remote region--creates a 
perception among local residents that the military favors the 
firms. 

¶4. (C) Moreno said there is no police presence in the region, 
with the closest Colombian National Police (CNP) station 
located fifteen miles to the north in Bajira.  He was aware 
of local peasant leader Enrique Petro's participation in the 
Minister of Interior and Justice's protection program due to 
death threats he has received as a community leader.  The 
military maintains daily contact with Petro, but is careful 
not to enter the "humanitarian zone" on his property.  The 
residents of the zone have declared it off limits to all 
armed actors, including the military. 

¶5. (C) CNP Colonel Jorge Hernando Murillo Meza--based in 
Apartado and with jurisdiction over Curvarado and 
Jiguamiando--acknowledged the lack of police presence in the 
region, and confirmed that the military provides protection 
to Petro. He said the GOC is working in Bogota on a security 
plan for the two communities to facilitate  residents' 
return, but added that the local CNP is not yet involved in 
this process.  Murillo emphasized that it will be difficult 

to maintain a police presence in the region given the lack of 
basic infrastructure. 

--------------------------------------------- - 
COMMUNITY AND LOCAL LAND OWNERS RAISE CONCERNS 
--------------------------------------------- - 

¶6. (C) Petro, who owns 150 hectares and has strong ties to 
Justicia y Paz, told us the local military favors the palm 
firms and does not protect him or the road that passes 
through his property.  He alleged that the AguilasNegras
--supported by the palm firms--maintain a presence in the 
area and that the military does nothing to stop them. Petro 
explained that he donated 10 hectares of his land to other 
displaced residents to create a "humanitarian zone," 
believing the additional people would give him added 
protection and political influence. He noted that while he 
returned to the area in 2001, his wife and seven children 
remain in Bajira due to security concerns. Petro claimed that 
the palm firms continue to clear forest, invest in seedlings 
and greenhouses, and to build irrigation ditches--despite 
recent administrative decisions that the land belongs to the 
communities. Petro asked that we push the GOC to resolve 
outstanding land title issues, provide better security, and 
compensate the communities for lost livestock. 

¶7. (C) Curvarado and Jiguamiando community leaders complained 
to us about the delays in resolving land disputes, military 
harassment, and GOC issuance of arrest orders for members 
based on trumped up evidence of FARC membership. They 
reviewed the history of paramilitary violence and 
displacement in the region, and noted that their legal 
representatives have received death threats.  Several members 
called for the granting of collective titles for all 
residents, prompting comments that it is impossible to divide 
the communities along ethnic lines because "we are all mixed 
up."  The community leaders said they do not participate in 
the Justice and Peace Law process, arguing it favors the 
formerparamilitaries.  Justicia y Paz representativessaid
GOC authorities.includingAccion Social, have provided no 
assistance to displaced residents who have returned to the 
area. 

--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
ACCION SOCIAL OPERATING IN REGION DESPITE SECURITY SITUATION 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 

¶8. (C) Accion Social officials in Apartado rejected Justicia
y Paz's claims that they are not willing to work in Curvarado
andJiguamiando.  Regional Accion Social director Luis Mario 
Gaviria, brother of presidential advisor Jose Obdulio
Gaviria,  said they have provided 500 agricultural start-up 
kits and roofing material to over 600 families that returned 
to the region over the last two years.  Gaviria conceded 
Accion Social does not work with the "humanitarian zones," 
but attributed this to ideological resistance from Justicia y 
Paz. Gaviria noted that Accion Social is trying to promote an 
agreement between the communities and the palm firms to 
spread the benefits of African palm cultivation more widely 
and to preserve more than 1500 jobs in the industry. Still, 
he admitted that prospects for a deal are poor, since many 
humanitarian zone residents consider the workers to be 
settlers brought in by the companies from elsewhere. 
Brownfield 

=======================CABLE ENDS============================