Cablegate: Uribe Supports Supreme Court Actions On Para

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P 012236Z DEC 06
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INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7291
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RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ DEC LIMA 4529
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RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 5187
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C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 010958

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/2016
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: URIBE SUPPORTS SUPREME COURT ACTIONS ON PARA
SCANDAL, INSISTS INSTITUTIONS MUST BE ALLOWED TO WORK

REF: A. BOGOTA 10596
B. BOGOTA 8623
C. BOGOTA 10826

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood.
Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

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Summary
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1. (C) The Supreme Court continues its investigation of
paramilitary ties to the Colombian legislators; nine
legislators from the Atlantic Coast have now been implicated.
Two executive and judicial branch officials have also
resigned. President Uribe has publicly urged the Court to
pursue all leads and to punish public officials who are
guilty. Uribe said the accusations related to the conduct of
individuals, not institutions, and urged Congress to continue
working on his legislative agenda. Some legislators said
Colombia's institutions are working, but voiced concern that
the on-going investigations could eventually paralyze
Congress or undercut the credibility of other public
institutions. End summary.

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Court Continues to Act, More Revelations
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2. (C) On November 28, the Supreme Court ordered six members
of Congress to appear for questioning to answer accusations
they were associated with ex-paramilitary criminal
activities. The Court will question Senators Alvaro Araujo,
Dieb Maloof, Luis Eduardo Vives, and Mauricio Pimiento, as
well as representatives Jorge Caballero and Alfonso Campo,
beginning the week of December 4. The Court's action follows
its November 9 order to arrest three members of Congress,
Senator Alvaro Garcia, Senator Jairo Merlano, and
Representative Erik Morris, all of whom are in custody (ref
A). The crux of the allegations is that the legislators
organized or facilitated criminal acts, including murder and
fraud, to further the aims of paramilitary organizations,
primarily on the Atlantic Coast, between 1997 and 2001. All
legislators sought by the Court to date are members of the
governing coalition.

3. (C) The Prosecutor General's Office is seeking to
question former DAS head Jorge Noguera on accusations related
to the scandal. In addition, High Council of the Judiciary
President Jose Alfredo Escobar and his wife--a Prosecutor
General's Office employee--are accused of association with
criminal interests, including Salvatore Mancuso.

4. (C) On November 29, Luis Carlos Ordosgoitia, Director of
the National Institute of Concessions under the Ministry of
Transportation and former congressman for the Conservative
Party, resigned after admitting he participated in a 2001
meeting between paramilitary chiefs and approximately 40
legislators, as well as mayors and governors, from the
Atlantic Coast. Senator Miguel de La Espriella, who first
revealed the meeting to El Tiempo on November 26, insisted
the meeting was supposed to support the start of a peace
process with the armed group. Espriella claimed the
legislators felt "pressured" to sign a document at the
meeting. Neither the document nor the list of signatories
has yet been revealed. Only one other attendee, former
Representative Eleonora Pineda, has admitted to being present.

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Uribe: Congress Must Continue to Work
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5. (C) President Uribe urged the Court to follow the
evidence to where it leads. He said his administration was
the first to try to clean up a paramilitary phenomenon that
flourished under previous presidents. Uribe emphasized that
criminal responsibility is personal, not institutional, and

said the Congress must continue to work normally. He
rejected a proposal that Congress be closed, and said any
legislators who are jailed should be replaced in accordance
with existing procedures. Uribe also called on legislators
to reveal their ties with leftist guerrilla groups and
narcotraffickers. El Tiempo's Editorial on November 27
agreed, saying "the revelations are welcome and--despite
their traumatic political effect--are necessary and healthy
for the well-being of the institutions."

6. (C) Former Liberal Party presidential candidate Horacio
Serpa asked the House of Representatives to investigate
whether Uribe may be held criminally and politically
responsible for ties to the paramilitaries. A 15-member
multiparty House commission must decide whether to dismiss
the allegations or present them to the full Congress, which
could recommend censure. Serpa presented no evidence to
support his request, and few observers expect it will
advance.

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...And Foreign Minister Stays
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7. (C) The revelations about Congressional involvement with
paramilitaries, including allegations against Foreign
Minister Araujo's brother, Senator Alvaro Araujo, led the
opposition to demand the Foreign Minister's resignation
(septel). Still, the President has emphatically supported
her. A Senate hearing on November 29 to question the
Minister about her family's ties to paramilitaries instead
became a forum for new revelations by Prosecutor General
Iguaran (septel). During the hearing, FM Araujo admitted she
had used an official meeting with Iguaran to ask if he was
investigating her family.

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What's Next?
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8. (C) The "para-politician" scandals have primarily focused
on the Atlantic Coast, but some suggest other regions are
also involved. Political analyst and columnist Claudia Lopez
noted "para-politician pacts" were also evident in Antioquia,
the Santanders, Meta, and Casanare. Polo Democratico leader
Gustavo Petro warned Congress on November 29 he planned to
reveal information in March on "para-politicians" in
Antioquia. To date, the media has linked 19 serving
legislators and ten former congressmen to the paramilitaries.
In addition, the government is braced for allegations
against officials in the Executive and other branches.

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Governability at Risk?
----------------------

9. (C) All political observers, government officials, and
opposition members have expressed support for the
institutions of justice--the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor
General's Office, and the Attorney General's Office--and
agree that an institutional crisis is not looming. Semana
Magazine's editorial on November 26 said the notion that
there is an institutional crisis is "an exaggeration...what
we have is quite the contrary: the institutions of justice
are taking action." Cambio Radical Senator German Vargas
Lleras said Congress continues to work on key legislation and
dismissed calls that Congress be closed.

11. (C) Still, several political figures voiced concern that
the scandals could eventually paralyze Congress an undermine
the credibility of Colombia's fragile political institutions.
Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo told us November 22
he is urging President Uribe to try to agree with the
opposition parties on a unified approach to manage the
institutional damage resulting from the investigations (ref
C). Senator Marta Lucia Ramirez told us November 29 she had
discussed with President Uribe the idea of a national pact

with the Opposition (Liberal and Polo Democratico parties)
that would try to insulate key legislation from the political
turmoil. It could also involve commitments to avoid partisan
political sniping that would damage the Colombia's public
institutions. She thinks key opposition figures would be
disposed to participate.

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Comment
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12. (C) Allegations about legislators' links to
paramilitaries are the direct result of Colombian government
policy on the peace process with the AUC, and U.S. Government
support for that approach. Colombia's democratic
institutions are exposing long-suspected links between part
of the country's political elite and the paramilitaries in
what will be a painful, yet necessary process. In the
present environment, there is a sense of "guilty until proven
innocent," although in many cases the facts reveal a
proximity to or association with paramilitary figures, but no
actual collusion. We are monitoring developments closely and
insisting, with President Uribe, that the truth be told.
President Uribe remains strong, and Congress continues to
function.
WOOD

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