O R 101905Z APR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY QUITO IMMEDIATE 
INFO AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 
AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 
AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 
AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 
AMEMBASSY CARACAS 
AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 
AMEMBASSY LIMA 
AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 
AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 
AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 
NSC WASHINGTON DC 0000

S E C R E T STATE 035745 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2019 
TAGS: PREL PINR SNAR EC
SUBJECT: A/S SHANNON'S MEETINGS WITH ECUADORIAN OFFICIALS 
TO DISCUSS ECUADORIAN ACCUSATIONS OF U.S. INTERFERENCE 
 
REF: A. QUITO 217 
     ¶B. QUITO 160 
     C...


id: 201915
date: 4/10/2009 19:05
refid: 09STATE35745
origin: Secretary of State
classification: SECRET
destination: 09QUITO145|09QUITO153|09QUITO160|09QUITO217
header:
O R 101905Z APR 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY QUITO IMMEDIATE 
INFO AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 
AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 
AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 
AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 
AMEMBASSY CARACAS 
AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 
AMEMBASSY LIMA 
AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 
AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 
AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 
NSC WASHINGTON DC 0000


----------------- header ends ----------------

S E C R E T STATE 035745 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2019 
TAGS: PREL PINR SNAR EC
SUBJECT: A/S SHANNON'S MEETINGS WITH ECUADORIAN OFFICIALS 
TO DISCUSS ECUADORIAN ACCUSATIONS OF U.S. INTERFERENCE 
 
REF: A. QUITO 217 
     ¶B. QUITO 160 
     ¶C. QUITO 153 
     ¶D. QUITO 145 
 
Classified By: A/S SHANNON, REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
¶1. Summary.  (S/NF) On April 1, A/S Shannon met Ecuadorian 
Justice Minister Jalkh, Vice Foreign Minister Pozo, and other 
GOE officials to discuss GOE accusations that an embassy 
official had taken actions to destabilize the government of 
Ecuador.  Making clear the GOE's desire to work with the USG 
on security matters, Jalkh alleged inappropriate contacts 
between the Embassy officers and Ecuadorian "bad actors" 
known to have a criminal history.  A/S Shannon responded that 
we would investigate the allegations, reaffirmed the U.S. 
desire to work constructively with Ecuador, and stressed the 
importance of working with Ambassador Hodges on this matter 
going forward.  At the conclusion of the meeting, Pozo handed 
A/S Shannon a printed presentation that summarized the GOE's 
allegations. 
 
¶2. (S/NF) Summary (Continued).  On April 3, A/S Shannon and 
DAS McMullen had a follow up meeting with Minister Jalkh and 
Ambassador Gallegos.  A/S Shannon informed Minister Jalkh 
that Embassy Quito had conducted a preliminary investigation 
of the allegations made by the GOE.  He said that the USG had 
not found inappropriate behavior on the part of the embassy 
offer.  He added that the USG was concerned that a third 
party might have been involved in this approach to the 
embassy, and he requested a cooperative investigation between 
the embassy and the GOE to get to the bottom of the matter. 
He noted that the United States has no desire to destabilize 
Ecuador and seeks cooperation.  However, he cautioned that 
any further expulsions of embassy staff would be very 
problematic.  Both Jalkh and A/S Shannon closed by stressing 
the need to get beyond current difficulties and reestablish 
broad cooperation.  End Summary. 
 
April 1 Meeting 
--------------- 
 
¶3. (S/NF) A/S Shannon met with Ecuador's Minister of Justice, 
Gustavo Jalkh; MFA Vice Minister, Lautaro Pozo; Permanent 
Representative to the UN, Maria Espinosa; Permanent 
Representative to the OAS, Efren Cocios; Chief of Staff of 
for VM Pozo, Efrain Baus; and Ambassador to the United 
States, Luis Gallegos, on April 1 to discuss GOE allegations 
of an effort by an Embassy Quito officer to destabilize the 
government of Ecuador.  WHA/DAS, WHA/AND Officer Director, 
INL/LP Office Director, and the Ecuador Desk Officer also 
participated.  Jalkh opened by noting that he had only been 
in his current position for six weeks.  He reviewed the tough 
work involved in reforming Ecuador's national police, and 
noted that security on the northern border of Ecuador is a 
key priority.  He stressed that social development in Ecuador 
is crucial to the task of protecting both human rights and 
security. 
 
¶4. (S/NF) Jalkh next stated that the GOE had found some 
issues that needed to be addressed to strengthen the 
bilateral relationship with the United States: "Cooperation 
is our goal; we wish to work together on all fronts through 
time, government to government."  Referring to the recent 
expulsions of two U.S. officials (reftels), Jalkh asserted 
that the GOE could not have responded any other way.  He 
added that the GOE hoped that such difficulties would not 
happen again and that the GOE needs improved communication 
with the United States. 
 
¶5. (S/NF) Jalkh moved on to the specific point of the 
meeting.  According to Jalkh, the GOE had evidence of an 
inappropriate meeting at Embassy Quito between an Embassy 
officer and "bad actors" in Ecuador.  Jalkh further asserted 
that the emboff offered benefits to these individuals in 
exchange for speaking ill of the GOE regarding narcotics 
matters.  Jalkh underlined that his goal was to address this 
matter so broader cooperation could take place.  He said, "We 
need to talk of this.  We want to work with you on this.  We 
believe in human rights and democratic controls.  This is a 
new type of government."  He added that the GOE had massive 
problems on its northern border and would like to cooperate 
with the United States on the refugee problem.  He also said 
that Ecuador does not get the recognition it deserves for its 
efforts on its northern border.  Summing up, Jalkh said, "We 
want to turn the page to our mutual concerns, but we have to 
get over this issue (of alleged Embassy meddling)." 
 
¶6. (S/NF) VM Pozo next spoke.  According to Pozo, "We know 
this is not the policy of the United States.  This is a clear 
conspiracy to destabilize the government of Ecuador.  There 
were phone calls to set up the meeting.  This involves a well 
known criminal.  It is very upsetting."  Pozo said the GOE 
did not meet with the embassy regarding this matter, 
ostensibly in an effort to reduce tensions.  Commenting on 
the GOE's recent expulsions of Embassy officials from 
Ecuador, Pozo said: "We know this (the allegedly nefarious 
actions of the expelled emboffs) is not the policy of the 
Department of State.  These were personal actions by these 
individuals."  He said the GOE wants this matter 
investigated.  Pozo said that President Correa told Pozo and 
Jalkh to travel to the United States to raise these issues 
and claimed that the GOE had a real desire to cooperate with 
the United States. 
 
¶7. (S/NF) A/S Shannon responded by thanking the GOE officials 
for the information they had provided.  He said the USG would 
investigate the situation, and told the officials that the 
United States had no interest in interfering in domestic 
matters, and was particularly sensitive to such concerns 
during an election campaign.  Shannon noted the efforts of 
the Correa administration to reconfigure the government and 
create the possibility of stability.  He added that a stable 
Ecuador with political and economic development is 
important--especially in an integrating and globalizing 
world: "We share an interest in improving dialogue, 
identifying common interests, and working together."  He 
noted that problems in bilateral relations between Ecuador 
and the United States would cause damage in the region. 
Pointing out that both countries are in a political 
transition, A/S Shannon said that the Obama administration is 
seeking to "reimagine relations in the hemisphere." 
 
¶8. (S/NF) Jalkh agreed, emphasizing the need to work on 
common interests.  He said the GOE was serious about 
democratic controls; about the fight against illicit 
narcotics; and about creating a new ethos and legal framework 
for the police.  Jalkh highlighted GOE plans to increase its 
police presence on the northern border.  He said the GOE 
would measure its effectiveness along the northern border, 
"not by resources added, but if we take down gangs."  Pozo 
echoed Jalkh's comments.  He said that Ecuador had a 
significant state presence on the northern border, with 
11,000 troops (or one quarter of all Ecuadorian troops).  He 
added that the GOE is worried about demobilized Colombians 
creating additional problems and said, "We are victims." 
Ambassador Espinosa briefly mentioned that Ecuador had an 
exemplary record with respect to refugees. 
 
¶9. (S/NF) A/S Shannon replied that the United States 
understands the problems Ecuador faces along its northern 
border, including the situation regarding refugees and the 
need for investment.  He pointed out that there are more 
Colombian refugees in the region than there are refugees in 
Darfur and that the lack of awareness in the hemisphere 
regarding the problem was the fault of the inter-American 
system, which has failed to capture and articulate the needs 
of refugees in the region. 
 
¶10. (S/NF) Moving back to the bilateral relationship, A/S 
Shannon asserted the need to reconfigure our diplomatic 
relations, and emphasized the confidence and respect the 
State Department and the White House had for Ambassador 
Hodges.  He also emphasized that occasional points of 
disagreement between the United States and Ecuador did not 
represent the totality of relations between the two 
countries.  Ambassador Gallegos responded to this final point 
by stating that "we need to denarcoticize relations" and 
focus on other items, such as economic, social, security, and 
development matters.  He commented that the bilateral 
dialogue presented a chance to expand relations and that new 
items should be added to the dialogue's agenda.  Gallegos 
noted that relations between the United States and Ecuador 
needed to be transparent and respectful. 
 
¶11. (S/NF) At different moments during the discussion, both 
Jalkh and Pozo raised the matter of vetted units in Ecuador 
(reftels).  Jalkh stressed that the GOE had three main 
requirements for future cooperation: first, any agreements 
must be in writing; second, all agreements must be 
coordinated through the GOE's MFA; and third, the vetting 
process must be collaborative.  He said that the GOE 
recognized that cooperating on intelligence matters was 
different, and that the GOE would try to accommodate the USG 
on this.  He also mentioned, "It is not good to have only one 
good unit" to combat narcotics trafficking in Ecuador.  Pozo 
stressed that vetted units must be under the control of the 
civilian authority. 
 
¶12. (S/NF) As the meeting ended, Minister Pozo handed A/S 
Shannon two documents providing details of illegal armed 
groups along Ecuador's northern border and the GOE's military 
position along the northern border.  He also provided a 
printed PowerPoint presentation that outlined the GOE's 
specific assertions regarding the March 24 meeting of the 
Ecuadorian "bad actors" and embassy officers. 
 
April 3 Follow Up Meeting 
-------------------------- 
 
¶13. (S/NF) A/S Shannon and WHA DAS McMullen met with Minister 
Jalkh and Ambassador Gallegos on April 3 for a follow up 
discussion.  A/S Shannon told Jalkh that Embassy Quito had 
completed a preliminary inquiry into the March 24 meeting, 
when the allegedly "inappropriate meeting" took place.  He 
said that what the Embassy had discovered caused us concern, 
though our concerns were different from those expressed by 
the GOE at the April 1 meeting.  A/S Shannon said that the 
USG was concerned that a third party might have been involved 
in this approach to the Embassy.  He said the USG considered 
it important for the GOE to work cooperatively with our 
embassy to investigate what happened; he asked the GOE to 
share any additional information -- such as tapes of 
telephone conversations between Munoz and Rodas following the 
meeting at the embassy.  He emphasized to Jalkh that the 
embassy official had done nothing inappropriate by simply 
meeting with Ecuadorians who had claimed to have information 
on the FARC. 
 
¶14. (S/NF) A/S Shannon reiterated that the USG had no reason 
to try to destabilize the Correa government.  He said that, 
given Ecuador's recent turbulent history, the USG was hoping 
that Correa would bring stability, democracy and development 
to Ecuador.  He added that the United States would like to 
get past this incident as soon as possible and reestablish 
close cooperation in areas of mutual interest. 
 
¶15. (S/NF) Minister Jalkh responded that the GOE appreciated 
the quick response and committed the GOE to working with 
Embassy Quito to follow up.  He pledged to set up a meeting 
with Ambassador Hodges on April 6 to discuss next steps. 
Jalkh added that the GOE also wanted to turn the page and 
move on -- and collaborate closely on a broad set of issues, 
not just security.  He said the GOE appreciated the U.S. 
decision not to retaliate for Ecuador's expulsion of two 
Embassy officers.  While the GOE believed that those Embassy 
officers had acted inappropriately, he acknowledged that the 
USG had the sovereign right to retaliate, but had chosen not 
to do so.  In an implied reference to the Summit of the 
Americas, Jalkh mentioned that it would be helpful if both 
countries' leaders could meet and get to know one another. 
 
¶16. (S/NF) A/S Shannon again stated that the United States 
wanted to find points of convergence with Ecuador and was not 
seeking confrontation.  He warned, however, that any further 
expulsions by the GOE would be very problematic.  He closed 
by stressing the importance of both countries moving beyond 
this rough patch in relations; he hoped that the April 6 
meeting with Ambassador Hodges and her team would be a first 
step in that direction. 
 
 
CLINTON 

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