VZCZCXYZ0924
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0216 0632328
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 032328Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8581
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 7397
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 3851
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2925
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR LIMA 2444
RUEHMU/AMEMBASSY MANAGUA 0491
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 0909
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 3364

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000216 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2028 
TAGS: PREL PTER MOPS EC CO PE BR VE NU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH PRESIDENT CORREA ON 
COLOMBIAN MILITARY OPERATION 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Linda Jewell for reason 1.4 (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Meeting with the Ambassador on March 3, 
President Correa expressed outrage at President Uribe for 
bombing his country, saying he expected the international 
community to condemn unprovoked aggression.  He said the GOE 
had no relationship with the FARC, and accepted the 
Ambassador's statement that the Manta FOL had not supported 
the Colombian military operation.  Correa plans to visit all 
countries bordering Colombia in the coming days to seek 
solidarity for its position.  The Foreign Minister departs 
March 3 to attend OAS sessions on the incident scheduled for 
March 4.  End Summary 
 
¶2.  (C) The Ambassador met with President Correa at his 
request late in the afternoon of March 3.  Foreign Minister 
Salvador also participated.  Correa expressed anger that 
Uribe had "stabbed me in the back."  He recalled their 
conversation just last week when they discussed the 
possibility of Correa visiting a bioethanol facility in 
Colombia, saying that Uribe had to have known at that time 
what was planned and did not say a word to Correa about it, 
deliberately deceiving him. Correa feels that this deception 
continued in Uribe,s first phone call about the incident, 
when he indicated that the attack happened when in hot 
pursuit of FARC targets.  Correa believes evidence now 
demonstrates that the action was a premeditated bombing of 
Ecuadorian territory against targets that were sleeping. 
 
¶3.  (C) Correa expressed unhappiness with the Department 
deputy press spokesman's remarks, calling them "tepid."  He 
said he expected the United Stated, and the international 
community, to support international law and condemn 
"unprovoked aggression." 
 
¶4.  (C) Correa considered it unfair to say that the GOE had 
not supported efforts against terrorism.  He cited the arrest 
of Simon Trinidad in 2004 and recent Ecuadorian military 
operations against FARC camps in northern Ecuador.  Correa 
assured the Ambassador that the GOE has no relationship with 
the FARC.  He repeated this several times and specifically 
asked that it be conveyed to Washington.  He said he had 
authorized Minister Larrea to try to obtain release of ten 
hostages held by the FARC, including the three Americans, as 
a humanitarian effort, but that he was in no way supporting 
the FARC's cause. 
 
¶5.  (C) Countering what had been the subject of some local 
speculation, the Ambassador assured Correa that the U.S. 
Forward Operating Location (FOL) in Manta, Ecuador, had not 
provided intelligence nor had any role in the Colombian 
military,s operation.  Correa thanked her and said he 
believed her.  He asked that she also believe him that the 
GOE has no relationship with the FARC. He thought that the 
issue of Larrea,s contacts with the FARC was being used to 
distract from the issue of the incursion. 
 
¶6.  (C) Correa informed the Ambassador that he would be 
visiting all countries bordering Colombia, starting with Peru 
on March 4.  He also mentioned Brazil, Venezuela, and 
Nicaragua.  (Panama will presumably be included, although it 
was not mentioned.)  Meanwhile, FM Salvador departs the 
evening of March 3 to attend OAS meetings on the situation in 
Washington on March 4. 
 
JEWELL