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C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 000683 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2018 
TAGS: PREF PREL PTER PHUM OAS BR CU FR PM SP SZ
VZ, CO 
SUBJECT: GOC TO FACILITATE NEW FARC HOSTAGE RELEASE, 
REBUFFS FRENCH EFFORT TO SEEK RENEWED ROLE FOR VENEZUELA 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer. 
Reasons 1.4 b and d. 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (C) President Uribe said the GOC will facilitate the 
possible release of four more political hostages held by the 
FARC, including allowing Venezuelan helicopters to use San 
Jose de Guaviare airport.  Peace Commissioner Restrepo told 
us the February 21 meeting with Uribe and French FM Kouchner 
was "cordial but frank."  Uribe rebuffed three French 
attempts to discuss a renewed Venezuelan role in facilitating 
a humanitarian accord.  Restrepo will meet secretly with the 
French, Spaniards, and Swiss in Panama on February 26.  The 
Spanish are wary of the French and Swiss, and expect little 
to come from the Panama meeting.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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GOC WILL FACILITATE NEW HOSTAGE RELEASE 
--------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) President Alvaro Uribe confirmed on February 23 that 
the GOC has located the four political hostages set to be 
released by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia 
(FARC), but added that the Colombian military would not 
interfere with their release.  Defense Minister Juan Manuel 
Santos had previously announced that the GOC had located the 
four--Gloria Polanco, Luis Eladio Perez, Orlando Beltran, and 
Jorge Eduardo Gechem--south of San Jose de Guaviare, and near 
where Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo were 
released on January 10.  Santos said Gechem was in "grave" 
physical condition, and urged his immediate release. 
Gechem's family announced they will travel to Caracas on 
February 27 with Senator Piedad Cordoba in the expectation 
that the FARC will release the four in the near future. 
 
¶3. (C) Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo told us the 
hostage recovery operation would likely follow the model used 
in the FARC's release of Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez, 
including the use of San Jose de Guaviare airport by 
Venezuelan helicopters.  The GOC would not try to impose new 
conditions due to the intense domestic and international 
interest in the four hostages' release.  Santos told the 
Ambassador he had publicly announced the GOC's knowledge of 
the hostages' location to prevent the FARC from blaming 
Colombian military operations for delaying the release or 
from attributing Gechem's death to GOC obstructionism.  On 
February 25, Venezuelan Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez 
Chacin accused the GOC of carrying out "intense military 
operations" that were complicating the FARC's plans for 
release. 
 
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TENSE GOC MEETING WITH FRENCH OVER VENEZUELA 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶4. (C) Restrepo told us the February 21 meeting between 
President Uribe and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner 
was "cordial but frank."  Kouchner proposed the creation of a 
group of countries, including Venezuela, to facilitate a 
humanitarian exchange. Uribe responded that this was not the 
time to talk about Venezuela. Restrepo said Kouchner tried to 
raise Venezuela two more times during the meeting, only to be 
rebuffed by Uribe. In an interview with weekly news magazine 
"Semana" published February 24, Kouchner said "Chavez is key 
to liberation of the hostages . . . and we think President 
Chavez has played a positive role up to now." 
 
¶5. (C) Restrepo said Uribe pressed Kouchner on what France 
might contribute to a humanitarian accord, as well as his 
proposal to encircle the FARC unit holding the hostages and 
to negotiate their release. Kouchner repeated French 
skepticism about encirclement, but said France would 
contribute economic support and would also accept some FARC 
members as part of a negotiated solution. 
 
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GOC TO MEET FRENCH, SPANISH, SWISS 
---------------------------------- 
¶6. (C) Restrepo told us he will secretly meet with the three 
European facilitators--France, Spain and Switzerland-- in 
Panama on February 26 to discuss the way forward on 
humanitarian negotiations. The GOC has authorized Swiss 
representative Jean Pierre Gontard and French representative 
Noel Saenz to meet the FARC. Uribe told Kouchner that after 
such a FARC-Euro meeting, the GOC could consider a possible 
role for Cuba, as well as Brazilian President Lula da Silva, 
in support of the European effort. 
 
¶7. (C) Separately, Spanish DCM in Bogota Pablo Gomez de Olea 
confirmed the Panama meeting and predicted little would be 
achieved due to lack of consensus among the three European 
countries.  Gomez said the French are increasingly desperate 
to obtain the FARC's release of Ingrid Betancourt, see 
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as key, and are prepared to 
act without GOC authorization or knowledge.   He said the 
French would gladly pay the FARC in exchange for Betancourt's 
freedom and would also agree to seek the FARC's removal from 
the EU terrorism list.  The problem is that the FARC does not 
want money for Betancourt.  Gomez added that the French have 
put Spain in an increasingly difficult position by demanding 
that Spain choose between supporting France or Colombia. 
 
¶8. (C) Gomez told us the Swiss are more moderate than the 
French, but are also capable of acting without GOC 
authorization.  The Swiss are not bound by the EU's terrorist 
list, and allow a FARC representative to operate in 
Switzerland.  Gomez said Spain believes individual Latin 
countries do not have the stature or credibility to play a 
role in a humanitarian process.  Still, Spain believes the 
OAS could assume such a role under the right circumstances, 
making it important to preserve OAS interest and credibility. 
 
Brownfield