Cablegate: Colombian Military Fire Leaves Two Dead
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DE RUEHQT #2557 2922057
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O 192057Z OCT 06
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C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 002557
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/06/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR MASS MOPS SNAR PTER EC CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIAN MILITARY FIRE LEAVES TWO DEAD
Classified By: PolOffJarahnHillsman, Reasons 1.4 (b&d)
1. (C) Summary: Ecuadorian military officials on October 19
confirmed that two Ecuadorian civilians were killed by
Colombian military gunfire on October 15 while traveling in a
canoe with FARC rebels on the San Miguel River. Foreign
Minister Francisco Carrion publicly criticized the Colombian
military and called for reparations for the victims'
families. The bi-national commission met on October 19 to
evaluate the incident, and is expected to release a detailed
report later this week. End summary.
Ecuadorians Killed; Details Murky
---------------------------------
2. (U) According to press reports, two Ecuadorian nationals
resident in Colombia were shot and killed on October 15 while
traveling in canoe on the Ecuadorian side of the San Miguel
River in the Sucumbios province. The canoe reportedly came
under Colombian military gunfire around 7:30 a.m., killing a
52 year-old woman and 31 year-old man.
3. (C) The Ecuadorian 24th Special Forces Battalion
Commander based in LagoAgrio, Sucumbios, Luis Lara,
confirmed the incident to Embassy officials. Lara admitted
that details surrounding the event remain murky, but said
that the Ecuadorian military believes that FARC rebels were
also traveling in the canoe with the Ecuadorian civilians
killed (Note: Canoes often serve as river taxis on the San
Miguel). The Colombian military, apparently unaware of the
civilian travelers, fired on the canoe from the Colombian
side of the border, Lara explained. He was not certain if
the FARC rebels were also killed, but signaled that it was
likely.
FM Carrion Demands Reparations
------------------------------
4. (U) Foreign Minister Francisco Carrion in a press
conference on October 18 said that the bi-national border
commission (COMBIFRON) would meet in emergency session on
October 19 on the San Miguel Bridge between Sucumbios,
Ecuador and Putumayo, Colombia to exchange information.
Carrion also called for the Colombian government to punish
those responsible and compensate the victims' families.
Defense Minister Marcelo Delgado, who traveled to the region
earlier in the week, told the press that further
investigation was needed, but that the GOE believed that the
Colombian military fired the shots that killed the two
civilians.
Comment
-------
5. (C) The area of the incident is known FARC territory and
is a hotbed of illegal activity and conflict between the
Colombian military and FARC rebels. A more definitive report
on the scuffle is expected later this week. Bilateral
consultation procedures on border incidents have resolved
similar cases in the recent past, with hiccups, and the cases
generally fade from public view once the GOC agrees to pay
damages (even when not explicitly accepting responsibility
for the incident). We will encourage the GOE to handle this
incident in a similar manner.
JEWELL
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