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FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
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INFO RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 0049
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RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2870
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
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RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002904 

SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 

E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PTER PHUM EAID SNAR CO
SUBJECT: AUGUST COLOMBIA STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT INTIATIVE UPDATE 

REF: BOGOTA 2759 

SUMMARY 
------- 

¶1. (SBU) The Colombian military is moving forward with its security 
strategy in support of the National Consolidation Plan (PNC), the 
GOC's effort to increase state presence in Colombia.  Civilian 
participation at a senior level meeting for the Coordination Center 
for Integrated Action (CCAI), the PNC's civil-military coordinating 
mechanism, was disappointing and underscores the challenge in 
asserting civilian control of the initiative.  Moreover, President 
Uribe still has not named a director for his Agency for Social 
Action and International Cooperation (Accion Social).  In meetings 
with the Embassy, Vice President Francisco Santos stressed the 
critical condition of the Pacific Coast while regional coordinators 
for Putumayo and Montes de Maria described challenges in their 
zones.  The Tolima Regional Coordination Center (RCC) has begun 
developing its regional security plan, and the Prosecutor General's 
office (Fiscalia) is augmenting its personnel in Tumaco.  End 
Summary.

POSITIVE SIGNALS ON SECURITY STRATEGY FOR PNC 
--------------------------------------------- 

¶2. (SBU) General Carlos Saavedra, Chief of Army Operations, and 
General Freddy Padilla, Chief of Defense, will be holding a series 
of meetings with the coordinators of all RCCs (civilian, police and 
military) and the respective military and police leadership to 
discuss security strategies.  Gen. Padilla told Polcouns September 2 
that he intends to press hard for greater civilian leadership in the 
PNC, including the naming of a new head of Accion Social.  These 
developments follow an August 24 meeting with the Embassy (see 
reftel) in which General Saavedra offered to lead visits to our 
Colombia Strategic Development Initiative (CSDI) priority zones to 
meet with area commanders, receive their security assessments, and 
evaluate current conditions. 

ASSISTANCE REQUESTS FOR RCC'S 
----------------------------- 

¶3. (SBU) CCAI officials submitted a $1.8 million assistance request 
to the Embassy for RCC support.  The majority of the request is for 
salaries of regional technical advisors, with smaller amounts for 
operational expenses (office space, communications equipment, etc.). 
 The CSDI working group is evaluating the request and preparing a 
response.  Encouragingly, the salaries requested are for one-year 
"bridge" funding for advisors in critical specialties such as 
economic activation, land tenure and property rights, community 
development, and the justice sector.  The CCAI officials told us 
their request is not modeled on the level of effort put forth in 
Macarena but rather "bare bones."

MINISTRIES DISAPPOINT AT CCAI MEETING 
------------------------------------- 

¶4. (SBU) The third CCAI senior coordinating meeting (Comite
Directivo) was held on August 18.  Despite a letter from President 
Uribe's office to ministries directing them to support the PNC, no 
ministers or vice-ministers attended.  Key ministries, such as 
Agriculture, did not send any delegate, while the Ministry of 
Interior and Justice representative said her ministry was too 
preoccupied with other business to prepare a report.  The majority 
of the reports, though appearing to focus on resources already 
designated to consolidation zones before the PNC existed, at least 
demonstrated better awareness of the PNC than in the previous two 
senior staff meetings. 

ACCION SOCIAL DIRECTOR POSITION STILL VACANT 
-------------------------------------------- 

¶5. (SBU) The Uribe Administration has still not named a director for 
Accion Social.  One potential candidate is Diego Molano, the former 
number two at Accion Social and currently a USAID contractor.  Some 
observers have suggested that President Uribe was awaiting the 
outcome of the re-election referendum debate in the Congress before 
appointing a new director, whose sizeable social budget is thought 
to be a significant political spoil. 

GOC GIVING PNC A MAKEOVER 
------------------------- 

¶6. (SBU) A senior CCAI official told us that the GOC has internally 
discussed and acknowledged its initial mistake in presenting the 
PNC.  The image has been decidedly military because the MOD has been 
responsible for ninety percent of the content of presentations.  He 
added that the prime example of consolidation has been the La 
Macarena zone, which has a distinct military flavor.  The official 
said the military image needs to be changed so that the PNC is 
accurately represented as a civilian endeavor, and the GOC is 
attempting to do this zone by zone.  They have redesigned their core 
presentation to be led by civilians and to stress the civilian side 
of consolidation.  Polcouns suggested to Gen. Padilla that a new 
rollout of the Plan, this time emphasizing civilian leadership, 
could take place once a new Accion Social Director is named. 

VP SANTOS ON THE PACIFIC COAST 
------------------------------ 

¶7. (SBU) Vice President Francisco Santos met with CSDI working group 
members on August 4 to discuss consolidation issues.  He said that 
while the Embassy is focusing on Tumaco, the situation in the entire 
Pacific coast is troubling, especially the northern areas of Choco 
andGuapi.  Santos said the economic development vision for the 
Pacific coast needs to be re-orientated towards the natural markets 
of the Pacific Basin rather than the interior. 

NAS PROGRAM TO RECRUIT POLICE FROM PACIFIC COAST REGION 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 

¶8. (U) NAS is coordinating with the Colombian National Police (CNP) 
to provide scholarships for up to 100 police recruits from the 
coastal region of Tumaco who will commit to serving in the Pacific 
Coast area for two years.  The program is part of an effort to 
recruit youth who meet academic and physical qualifications, but do 
not have the resources to pay for the one-year Police Academy 
training.  The youth come from communities with little history of 
professional or career opportunities, poor perceptions of the 
police, and that have previously resisted the presence of the state. 
 The final selection will take place in November and the course will 
begin in January 2010.  The applicants will follow the regular CNP 
admission process, including physical, medical, psychological, and 
security testing.  NAS' Pacific Coast advisor is working with local 
police recruiting offices on security screening of candidates and 
means testing. 

CONSOLIDATION IN PUTUMAYO FACES CULTURAL CHALLENGES 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 

¶9. (SBU) A CCAI civilian coordinator told us on August 13 that the 
GOC is prioritizing six municipalities in southern Putumayo, four of 
which border Ecuador.  They are also considering locating an RCC in 
Puerto Asis even though Putumayo is considered a GOC secondary 
effort.  The coordinator said he has faced cultural resistance to 
consolidation because the residents of southern Putumayo identify 
strongly with Ecuador --they watch Ecuadorian television, listen to 
Ecuadorian radio, follow soccer teams in Quito, and even sing the 
Ecuadorian national anthem.  The coordinator added that changing 
this cultural identification is a long-term challenge and difficult 
to measure.  The task is complicated in the current PNC context 
where the GOC is seeking quick wins, focusing on infrastructure and 
other material deliverables, and looking towards a deadline of 
August 2010. 

STRENGTHENING 'RETURN COMMITTEES' IN MONTES DE MARIA 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 

¶10. (SBU) In an August 14 meeting with USAID, a CCAI official 
identifiedfour GOC priorityareas in Montes de Maria:  Las Palmas 
toBajogrande; Carmen de Bolivar (El Salado, Macayepo); Ovejas 
(Chengue); and San Onofre (La Libertad, Pelona y Cacique).  USAID is 
focusing twelve small infrastructure projects in health and 
education in these areas.  The official also described the status of 
the "Return Committees" ("Comites de Retorno"), local committees to 
coordinate activity programs for the displaced.  The interagency 
committees exist at the municipal and departmental levels and 
consist of working groups assigned to different phases of 
displacement:  prevention, emergency humanitarian assistance, 
reestablishment, and strengthening displaced populations and 
organizations.  The official told us only two of the four priority 
municipalities have a functioning committee --San Jacinto and 
Ovejas-- and these do not meet regularly, slowing the iplementation
of each municipality's plan to assist displaced persons.  USAID will 
be prioritizing strengthening these committees at the municipal 
level. 

DEVELOPING A TOLIMA SECURITY PLAN 
---------------------------------- 

¶11. (SBU) USAID's implementing partner is currently working with the 
Tolima RCC to develop a security map for Tolima and Valle del Cauca. 
 This analysis will then serve as a basis for discussions with the 
army and the police regarding a security strategy based on 
territorial control.  The map is based on the same process that was 
used for La Macarena, which determined on a case-by-case basis which 
districts had the minimal acceptable security level for program 
implementation. 

FISCALIA AUGMENTING PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES IN TUMACO 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 

¶12. (SBU) The Prosecutor General's office (Fiscalia) is addressing 
judicial branch difficulties in Tumaco with both prosecutors and 
judges.  The Fiscalia is assigning an additional special prosecutor 
for narcotics (currently there is only one) and replacing six of the 
seven other local prosecutors due to ineffectiveness or corruption 
concerns.  New housing and office arrangements will have to be 
created for the new prosecutors to avoid the same environment that 
led to problems with the current group.  A leading possibility is 
co-locating them with the police.  Of the four municipal judges in 
Tumaco, one has already been removed and another is slated for 
removal.  The Fiscalia has asked for replacements for these judges 
and an additional specialized judge to hear narcotics cases. 
BROWNFIELD