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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0297/01 1171209
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 271209Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0301
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8112
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 4158
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3517
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ APR LIMA 3169
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4284

UNCLAS QUITO 000297 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MASS SNAR PTER EAID OVIP MOPS EC
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR PRESIDENT CARTER: U.S. ENGAGEMENT 
IN ECUADOR 
 
¶1.  Embassy Quito warmly welcomes former President Carter to 
Ecuador on April 27-29.  Your visit comes at a time of 
change, as Ecuador prepares to install new national and local 
officials elected on April 26 and restructures its government 
institutions under the 2008 constitution.  The Embassy,s 
objective is to continue a partnership with Ecuador in areas 
where we have shared interests.  The information in this 
cable on USG engagement in Ecuador is designed to complement 
the background paper you received from the Department of 
State, which summarized political and economic developments. 
 
¶2.  The United States and Ecuador cooperate closely in many 
areas to address common priorities, such as poverty 
reduction, job creation, counternarcotics efforts, 
agricultural development, emergency preparedness, 
environmental protection, and strengthening democracy.  In 
2008, the USG spent more than $42 million on development, 
security, and other programs in Ecuador. 
 
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 
 
¶3.  The U.S. government has supported Ecuador,s development 
since 1962, working especially through USAID in education, 
health and family planning, environment, agriculture, 
micro-enterprise, alternative development, and economic 
growth.  USAID,s current programs focus on strengthening 
democracy at the central and municipal levels, creating jobs 
and increasing incomes for poor people, and helping 
Ecuadorians improve their management of their rich 
biologically diverse heritage. 
 
¶4.  USAID,s broader poverty reduction program promotes trade 
and competitiveness and encourages civil society and the 
private sector to participate in economic reforms.  The 
policy work is linked to support productive clusters that 
bring together small and medium enterprises to improve their 
product quality and access to new markets.  In FY 2008, the 
23 value chain clusters co-founded by USAID created 3,000 new 
jobs. 
 
¶5.  Ecuador is one of the most biologically diverse countries 
in the world, so USAID,s environmental programs focus on 
management of the National System of Protected Areas, 
indigenous territories, watersheds, and coastal lowlands and 
mangroves.  The program seeks to create economic benefits for 
communities in and around protected areas, providing the 
means and motivation for better conservation.  It also seeks 
to improve the infrastructure of protected areas and create 
job opportunities in flood-prone areas.  In FY 2008, USAID 
assistance helped improve management of 65,974 hectares of 
critical ecosystems. 
 
¶6.  In addition to USAID activities, the United States 
Military Group has been constructing a number of Emergency 
Operation Centers strategically located throughout Ecuador 
for GOE use, and provides other humanitarian aid as well. 
The Department of Agriculture is continuing to implement 31 
agricultural aid programs that benefit more than 42,000 small 
farmers in 18 of Ecuador,s provinces.  Additionally it 
provides a short-term, practical training program for 
Ecuadorian agricultural professionals. 
 
SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY 
 
¶7.  Supporting Ecuadorian efforts to strengthen democratic 
institutions and respect for democratic norms is one of our 
highest priorities in Ecuador.  The United States is 
continuing long-term efforts to help build the technical 
capacity of central and local government institutions, 
support civil society oversight efforts and the rule of law, 
and enhance anti-corruption efforts.  Specifically, USAID 
supports local governments to implement participatory 
planning processes and to improve their municipal management 
practices.  It has provided more than 10,000 persons from 
vulnerable groups access to legal defense services and legal 
assistance in nine cities.  Additionally the Embassy,s 
Narcotics Affairs Section is strengthening the capacity of 
justice sector institutions by providing programs and 
workshops that reinforce criminal justice professionals, 
knowledge and skills regarding the accusatorial trial system. 
 
¶8.  USAID supports civil society efforts to carry out 
oversight of local and national elections and of 
institutional restructuring under the new constitution.   It 
also assists in the participation of people with disabilities 
in democratic processes, promoting people with disabilities 
 
in the workforce, and combating trafficking in persons 
through trafficking prevention and victim protection 
activities. 
 
NORTHERN BORDER 
 
¶9.  Ecuador shares a 450-mile porous border with Colombia. 
USG efforts in the area aim to prevent spillover of drug 
cultivation and trafficking and illegal armed group activity 
into Ecuador.  They include development assistance to improve 
the quality of life and spur licit economic growth; 
counter-narcotics aid to curb smuggling of precursor 
chemicals, cocaine, and heroin; and military-to-military 
assistance to strengthen Ecuador,s ability to secure its 
Northern Border and control its territorial waters. 
 
¶10.  The Military Group provides counterdrug assistance by 
executing Department of Defense and NAS-funded programs to 
help the Ecuadorian military enhance its operational capacity 
in the northern border region.  The Ecuadorian military,s 
First Joint Task Force (formerly Fourth Army Division) has 
engaged the FARC in a series of operations along the border 
and has increased its presence with additional personnel and 
assets.  The First Joint Task Force has taken the lead in 
efforts to control the Northern Border area and to remove 
incursions of armed insurgents within its territory by 
increasing the intensity of its operations. 
 
¶11.  USAID programs aim to increase the economic and social 
development of both the northern and southern border 
populations, which provides legitimate economic alternatives. 
 It generates job opportunities and licit income, strengthens 
local government capacity, and improves the production and 
marketing of local production chains both nationally and 
internationally.  To date nearly a million inhabitants on the 
southern and northern borders have benefited from new 
bridges, roads, water and sewage, garbage recycling, and 
irrigation systems.  Incomes from most participating farmers 
have more than doubled and approximately 11,000 new jobs have 
been created. 
 
¶12.  The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates 
there are at least 135,000 persons of concern in the northern 
provinces of Ecuador who have fled Colombia due to violence 
or threat of violence.  In FY 2008 and 2009, the State 
Department provided funding for refugees in Ecuador to UNHCR, 
the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World 
Food Program, the International Committee of the Red Cross, 
Catholic Relief Services, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and 
the American Red Cross.  UNHCR carries out direct assistance 
projects to foster development, while IOM focuses on 
emergency assistance and local capacity building. 
 
COUNTER-NARCOTICS COOPERATION 
 
¶13.  Ecuadorian leaders have identified narcotics traffickers 
and other criminal organizations as threats to national 
sovereignty, and are focusing the police, military, 
judiciary, and others on disrupting and dismantling these 
organizations.  Since 2001, the Embassy,s Narcotics Affairs 
Section (NAS) has provided almost $100 million to enhance the 
capacity of the anti-narcotics police throughout Ecuador, 
assist the military in providing security for citizens and 
protecting Ecuador,s sovereignty on the northern and 
maritime border, and improve the criminal justice system. 
 
¶14.  The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is also involved in 
counternarcotics activities in Ecuador.  DEA activities 
provide infrastructure works for the Ecuadorian National 
Police and information sharing on large drug-trafficking 
networks. 
 
¶15.  The U.S. Forward Operating Location (FOL) in Manta, 
Ecuador is an important asset in our regional 
counter-narcotics efforts.  Flights from the FOL conduct 
counter-narcotics surveillance in the eastern Pacific. 
Embassy efforts over the past two years to educate the 
Ecuadorian public about the FOL and its benefits have reduced 
misperceptions and negative views, especially in Manta 
itself, but were complicated by the March 1, 2008, Colombian 
incursion into Ecuador.  On July 29, 2008, the GOE sent a 
diplomatic note notifying the United States that it will not 
extend the agreement when it expires on November 11, 2009. 
The United States is now planning its withdrawal from the 
facility. 
 
PEACE CORPS 
 
¶16.  Ecuador hosts one of our oldest Peace Corps programs in 
the region, which started in 1962.  Approximately 160 
volunteers serve throughout the country.  Program areas 
include natural resource conservation, community health, 
sustainable agriculture, and youth and family development. 
The volunteers also carry out projects and training in youth 
entrepreneurship and leaderships, HIV/AIDS and trafficking in 
persons (TIP) awareness and prevention education, 
micro-enterprise and community banking development, and 
gender equality education. 
HODGES