VZCZCXYZ0003
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #0721/01 0621805
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031805Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7491
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 8698
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1752
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR LIMA 7070
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 7797
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 3131

UNCLAS BOGOTA 000721 

SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON ENRG EPET PGOV CO
SUBJECT: VISIT HIGHLIGHTS US ASSISTANCE TO SANTA MARTA 

¶1. (U) SUMMARY:  The DCM traveled on February 18 and 19 to the Port 
of Santa Marta (in the Caribbean coast department of Magdalena) to 
meet with local political, social, and business leaders and to visit 
the Santa Marta Port, La Remonta Antinarcotics Police Base, a 
USAID-funded clinic and school, and Drummond's coal shipping port. 
The visit highlighted U.S. assistance efforts to counter the trade 
in narcotics and improve the quality of life for vulnerable groups, 
and the improving business and infrastructure environment for the 
local economy.  END SUMMARY. 

PROFAMILIA CLINIC VISIT HIGHLIGHTS HELP TO VULNERABLE GROUPS 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 

¶2. (U) The Deputy Chief of Mission, accompanied by the Economic 
Counselor, as well as NAS and CONS officers visited the port city of 
Santa Marta, Magdalena onFebruary 18-19.  Profamilia Director Maria 
Isabel Plata led DCM on a tour of the clinic's waiting rooms and 
consultation and medical offices.  Plata said the clinic sees 20-25 
patients a day, typically youth, displaced persons, and the 
elderly. 

¶3. (U) Teenage pregnancies are a problem in Colombia, Plata said. 
Their pregnancy rate climbed from 10 percent in 1990 to 21 percent 
today - largely due to earlier sex, looser norms, violence, and less 
emphasis on protection.  In a subsequent discussion with 25 local 
community beneficiaries and Profamilia management, teenagers said 
Profamilia prepares them for the future by providing planning and 
orientation sessions.  Training to avoid early pregnancies is 
particularly helpful, as child parents find it particularly hard to 
continue their education.  Displaced beneficiaries said Profamilia
provides training on sexual education, how to identify and avoid 
mistreatment, and the use of condoms.  This training has positively 
impacted the quality of life of 135 displaced persons and 250 
families, they added. 

¶4. (U) All participants thanked Embassy officers for U.S. support to 
Profamilia's programs, which they hoped would continue.  To date, 
USAID has provided USD 22.2 million from 2000-2009, which has 
supported over 600,000 beneficiaries in 23 Departments and 169 
municipalities.  Community members said additional funding for a new 
cultural center would be helpful to provide a meeting place and to 
keep youth off the streets. 

SANTA MARTA PORT SECURITY PROGRAM SHOWS SUCCESS 
--------------------------------------------- --- 

¶5. (SBU) At the Santa Marta Port, Major Alexander Sanchez, DIRAN 
Port Commander, led the DCM on a security program tour.  The 
Antinarcotics Police, Sanchez explained, have 42 officers and six 
dogs stationed at the port.  They inspect loaded and empty 
containers for drugs, certifying and tagging those that pass the 
visual, canine and equipment inspection process.  The police also 
use boats to patrol the loading area to ensure narcotics are not 
manually loaded onto ships from the water, Sanchez added. 

¶6. (U) The Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS), DHS, and DEA provide 
equipment, canine support, and training to the Antinarcotics Police, 
who continually have to improve procedures to keep pace with 
changing tactics employed by drug traffickers.  In 2008, the 
Antinarcotics police based in Santa Marta Port seized over 1,000 
kilos of cocaine. 

SANTA MARTA ANTINARCOTICS SEIZURES UP 100 PERCENT OVER 2007 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 

¶7. (SBU) Lieutenant Colonel Hector Montenegro Montenegro, Zone 
Commander, Antinarcotics Northern Zone, provided Embassy officers 
with a tour and briefing at the Colombian National Police's La 
Remonta base.  His 142-person counternarcotics special forces 
(Jungla) company and ten Bell helicopters cover 33 percent of the 
country, Montenegro said, and seizures have risen 100 percent over 
¶2007.  Montenegro provided a visual demonstration of the Jungla
company's men and equipment; the elite force has less than 700 
members in the country and is a model for other countries 
implementing antinarcotics operations.  DCM Nichols visited 
demonstration marijuana and cocaine processing facilities to gain an 
understanding of the growing, processing, and refining methods of 
drug traffickers.  Montenegro demonstrated the approaches and risks 
undertaken by the Junglas in their efforts to seize, destroy, and 
interdict drug operations.   He said the company uses human 
intelligence to identify cocaine processing labs, and has to operate 
quickly to destroy them before guerilla or drug organizations mount 
counter-attacks from nearby bases.  Even without a drug seizure, the 
destruction of a lab can mean a loss of more than USD 500,000 to 
these organizations, Montenegro added. 
¶8. (U) The DCM also toured barracks donated the U.S., the helicopter 
hangar and maintenance shop, and saw policemen constructing a 
laundry and gym using materials donated by NAS.  To date, NAS has 
donated USD 7.6 million for facilities and perimeter security 
measures at La Remonta. 

DCM INAUGURATES THE KEARSARGE SCHOOL 
------------------------------------ 

¶9. (U) The original Los Alpesschool was destroyed by fire in 
December 2007, leaving 100 children without classrooms.  In 
September 2008, the US Navy ship USS Kearsarge arrived in Santa 
Marta on a Humanitarian Civic Assistance mission.  This included 
rebuilding the school, which was finished by USAID through PADF at a 
cost of approximately USD 74,000. 

¶10. (U) At the Kearsarge School in Los Alpes, the DCM offered 
remarks regarding the importance of education to Santa Marta's First 
Lady Mara Teresa Espinosa de Daz Granados, School Director Alfonso 
Polo, Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) Deputy Director 
William Greenwood and school children, staff, and community members.
 The DCM then inaugurated the newly rebuilt school with a ribbon 
cutting ceremony and plaque unveiling, after which Polo presented a 
four minute video on how the school was rebuilt with U.S. Navy and 
USAID assistance.  Polo also provided a tour of the school and its 
four 25-student classrooms and kitchen. 

DRUMMOND COAL GROWS EXPORTS 
--------------------------- 

¶11. (SBU) Drummond Vice President Gary Norman highlighted Drummond's 
environmental and coal-field restoration programs and discussed 
Drummond operations and plans, during a luncheon and tour of the 
facility.  Since 1996, Drummond has invested USD 1 billion and 
increased production from 8 million tons to 22 million tons in 2008, 
expecting production to reach 25 million tons in 2009.  Norman noted 
Drummond transportation -- responsible for moving coal 192km from 
the mine to the port -- has 1,000 direct and 4,500 indirect 
employees and 35 locomotives and 1,500 gondolas, while Drummond 
mining has 3,000 direct and 5,000 indirect employees.  Norman said 
that at upon his arrival in 2003, Drummond coal transport trains 
were attacked weekly; however, cooperation with the military, 
President's office, and the improving security situation has 
resulted in no attacks since 2004. 

¶12. (SBU) Norman said Drummond's port occupies 310 hectares on land 
and 5,000 acres on water, and recent port investments had increased 
capacity from 28 million tons to 30 million tons per year.  The GOC 
has issued a resolution requiring Drummond to direct load coal onto 
ships (as opposed to their current practice of barge loading), but 
that Drummond would counter by offering to direct load 75 percent 
and barge load 25 percent.  Norman explained that the cost and 
environmental consequences of dredging to allow full direct loading 
would be significant, and that it would take three years to phase 
out the barge loading cranes in any case. 

¶13. (SBU) The port expansion and increased production would require 
Drummond to add a rail line from its mine to the port, Norman said. 
This project was delayed for 16 months, as Drummond found residences 
on the right of way and was also negotiating with the GOC for parts 
of the line that were outside its permit.  Drummond has partially 
solved this issue by dividing the line into three parts, operating 
the second line in the northern and southern sections pending 
resolution of the middle line.  Norman said he expected the sections 
to be finished at the end of 2009, when rail capacity would grow 
from 45,000 to 60,000 tons per day. 

¶14. (U) Drummond plans to expand production significantly with the 
opening of its new El Descanso field, targeted to start production 
in 2009.  This field would enable Drummond to eventually increase 
annual production to 40 million tons per year.  The expansion, 
Norman added, should increase employment by 2.3 percent in mining 
and 1.8 percent in transportation this year alone.  Norman said 
price fluctuations should not be a factor in their expansion plans, 
as Drummond is profitable with world prices at USD 35 per ton (the 
current price is USD 65).  Drummond also has premium coal, with a 
sulfur content of 0.37 percent vs. the 0.57 percent average, leading 
to high demand from its EU and U.S. customers. 

¶15. (U) Colombia is already the world's fifth largest coal exporter, 
exporting a total of 67.2 million tons in 2008.  Alabama-based 
Drummond sources all of its non-U.S. coal in Colombia, and accounts 
for one-third of Colombian coal exports.  In large part due to 
Drummond's expansion plans, Colombia could become the third largest 
exporter by 2012. 
POSITIVE PRESS COVERAGE AND RESULTS 
----------------------------------- 

¶16. (U) Local and national press interviewed the DCM at both the 
Profamilia Health Clinic and Kearsarge School, including El 
Informador, El Tiempo Caribe, Diario del Magdalena, Radio 
Universidad del Magdalena, Radio Galeon, Caracol Radio, and 
NoticieroTelevisa.  DCM Nichols highlighted these events as good 
examples of bilateral cooperation, and how the USG is helping 
Colombia's vulnerable groups and poor live better lives.  Positive 
placement included the following print articles:  February 20 
article in El Informador  (Circulation:  7,500) entitled "Children 
from Los Alpes school fulfilled their dream of having a school", 
February 20 article in Diariodel Magdalena (Circulation: 55,900); 
February 20 article in el Informador (Circulation:   7,500) 
entitled: "Education is the path to a better world: Brian Nichols"; 
and February 19 brief in El Tiempo Caribe  (Circulation: 9,900) 
entitled:  "US Embassy supports programs for vulnerable population". 
 At Drummond, VP Norman agreed to DCM Nichols' request to use their 
construction equipment to improve the access road to the Los Alpes
community and its Kearsarge School. 

BROWNFIELD 

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