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### Viewing cable 08BOGOTA337, CJCS ADMIRAL MULLEN'S JANUARY 17 MEETING WITH

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08BOGOTA337 | 2008-01-28 17:05 | 2010-12-10 21:09 | SECRET | Embassy Bogota

`

    VZCZCXYZ0001
    PP RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHBO #0337/01 0281705
    ZNY SSSSS ZZH
    P 281705Z JAN 08
    FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1118
    INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION PRIORITY 0512
    RUEHBE/AMEMBASSY BELMOPAN PRIORITY 0053
    RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8006
    RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 2122
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 9849
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JAN 9199
    RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 5846
    RUEHMU/AMEMBASSY MANAGUA PRIORITY 2134
    RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 8270
    RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 2930
    RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 0387
    RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 1138
    RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE PRIORITY 4734
    RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR PRIORITY 1864
    RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO PRIORITY 2374
    RUEHTG/AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA PRIORITY 1471
    RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 4279
    RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0168
    RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
    RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC//USDP ADMIN/CHAIRS// PRIORITY

` `

    S E C R E T BOGOTA 000337

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2018
    TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER MARR MOPS VZ AR BH BR CI CS
    CU, ES, HO, MX, NU, PM, PA, PE, UY, CO
    SUBJECT: CJCS ADMIRAL MULLEN'S JANUARY 17 MEETING WITH
    PRESIDENT URIBE

    Classified By: Ambassador William R. Brownfield
    Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d)

    -------
    Summary
    -------

    ¶1. (S) President Uribe's overwhelming concern during a
    January 17 meeting with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
    (CJCS) Admiral Michael Mullen, was Hugo Chavez' aggressive
    remarks and proposal to grant belligerent status to the FARC.
    Uribe insisted the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
    (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) must keep their
    terrorist designation, and the USG and GOC should work
    together to convince Latin American countries that Chavez'
    approach would harm Colombia and regional democracy. Uribe
    said Chavez has committed to bring down Uribe and his
    government by using the FARC as his militia inside Colombia.
    The GOC's current plan of action on hostages consists of
    locating them, securing areas near the hostage groups, and
    calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross
    (ICRC) to negotiate their release. Uribe would authorize
    Colombian forces to cross into Venezuela to arrest FARC
    leaders and bring them to justice in Colombia. End Summary.

    ¶2. (U) Participants

    UNITED STATES

    CJCS Admiral Michael Mullen
    Ambassador William Brownfield
    CJCS/EA CAPT James Foggo
    Defense Attach COL Mark Wilkins (notetaker)

    COLOMBIA

    President Alvaro Uribe
    Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos
    Armed Forces Commander General Freddy Padilla
    MFA U.S. and Canada Desk Officer Patricia Cortes

    -------------------------------
    Uribe Obsessed By Chavez Blasts
    -------------------------------

    ¶3. (C) President Alvaro Uribe arrived late to the meeting,
    directly from a discussion with his cabinet on how to respond
    to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' latest inflammatory
    remarks, and the show of solidarity by the Venezuelan
    Congress on granting "belligerent" status to the FARC. It
    was clear that he was still focused on Chavez and the GOC
    response.

    -------------------------
    GOC Progress, USG Support
    -------------------------

    ¶4. (C) Uribe thanked the United States for its continued
    support, stressing its decisiveness in helping Colombia pull
    back from the brink of becoming a failed state. While much
    work remains, Colombia has made great progress against
    terrorists and the GOC feels certain they can win this
    battle. Uribe attributed a great portion of the credit for
    Colombia's success to the permanent assistance of the USG and

    its armed forces. Chairman Mullen reaffirmed the strength of
    the bilateral relationship and assured Uribe of continuing
    USG commitment to defeating our common adversaries. He
    admired Colombians' determination and leadership. The
    Colombian military had transformed itself remarkably and
    performed the highest calling possible -- returning Colombia
    to its citizens.

    ---------------------------
    Chavez' Endorsement of FARC
    ---------------------------

    ¶5. (C) Turning to Venezuela, Uribe said his neighbor's
    actions cause Colombia great difficulty. The FARC and ELN
    must keep their terrorist designation, Uribe insisted, and
    there should be negative consequences for any country
    granting them belligerent status. It was important to
    counter and challenge Chavez' rhetoric, especially on this
    point. When France and Mexico granted that status to the
    Farabundo Marti Liberation Front (FMLN) rebels in El Salvador
    in 1981, Uribe commented, they fought an unelected and brutal
    dictatorship. By contrast, the FARC waged war on a duly
    elected democracy, they had no public support, and they
    financed themselves through narcotrafficking and extortion.

    ¶6. (S) Asked by the Chairman how much help Chavez gave the
    FARC, Uribe replied that Chavez has a five to seven year plan
    to advance his Bolivarian agenda in Colombia. He has created
    popular militias inside Venezuela (apart from the Armed
    Forces) to sustain his revolution. The GOC believes Chavez
    thinks he could use the FARC as his militia inside Colombia
    to combat its democratic government. Chavez remains
    committed to bring down both Uribe and his government, as the
    primary obstacles to his Bolivarian expansionist dreams.
    With no clear Colombian presidential successor, a well
    financed candidate favoring Chavez might find space in 2010.
    The best counter to Chavez, in Uribe's view, remains action
    -- including use of the military.

    ----------------
    Regional Support
    ----------------

    ¶7. (S) Uribe urged the GOC and USG to work together to
    convince Latin American countries that Chavez' approach to
    the FARC was wrong and would harm Colombia and regional
    democracy. The USG, he said, ought to lead a public campaign
    against Venezuela and counter Chavez' progress through
    preferential oil offers. The U.S. and Mexico, supported by
    Honduras, Panama, Belize, and Costa Rica (especially Oscar
    Arias in the latter) were natural leaders to counter Chavez.
    Even Cuba, which felt Chavez had crossed into dangerous
    territory, has exercised a restraining influence. When the
    GOC asked the Cuban government their views on Chavez' call to
    roll back the FARC's terrorist designation, the Cubans stated
    that it was "a difficult proposal."

    ¶8. (S) Uribe saw mixed loyalties among other Latin American
    countries. Only Nicaragua had supported Chavez' FARC
    proposal. Argentina remains difficult, since Venezuela
    bought Argentine bonds and Chavez made campaign contributions
    to the new President. Paraguay, in the midst of an election
    cycle, is uncertain though the front-runner supports Chavez.
    Uruguay, a possible ally, is sitting on the fence. Brazil
    remains friendly with Colombia, but prefers neutrality lest
    it offend anyone. In Peru, President Alan Garcia concurs

    with the United States and would follow its lead. Chile
    remains a good friend to Colombia and its cause.

    -----------------
    Hostages and HVTs
    -----------------

    ¶9. (S) Uribe listed rescue of hostages held by the FARC as
    one of his main goals for 2008. He outlined a plan whereby
    the military would establish a "cordon sanitaire" around
    areas where hostages were held. Then the GOC would
    temporarily open the area to outside interlocutors such as
    the ICRC to offer an international medical mission and
    conduct negotiations. Under this umbrella, the GOC would
    focus on the 44 hostages the FARC had identified as
    "exchangeable." Chairman Mullen assured USG support for
    GOC's efforts, but he cautioned that the USG wanted the
    hostages returned alive. Uribe responded with his conviction
    that the FARC would not kill hostages at this stage. The
    best course of action, he advocated, remains to locate the
    hostages, secure the positions, and then call in the ICRC to
    negotiate their release.

    ¶10. (S) Uribe said the GOC also placed a priority on high
    value targets and that they had achieved great results in
    late 2007. Finally, he said he was prepared to authorize
    Colombian forces to cross into Venezuela, arrest FARC
    leaders, and bring them to justice in Colombia.

    ¶11. (U) CJCS Admiral Mullen cleared this cable.

    Brownfield

`