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### Viewing cable 08QUITO1091, CONGRESSMAN MCGOVERN VISITS ECUADOR

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08QUITO1091 | 2008-11-25 21:42 | 2011-05-02 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Quito

`

    VZCZCXYZ0003
    OO RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHQT #1091/01 3302142
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    O 252142Z NOV 08
    FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9668
    INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 7850
    RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 4031
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3281
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ NOV LIMA 2914
    RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 3932
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
    RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
    RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
    RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

` `

    UNCLAS QUITO 001091

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: PREL OVIP PHUM SNAR PTER MOPS MCAP ENRG EPET EC CO
    SUBJECT: CONGRESSMAN MCGOVERN VISITS ECUADOR

    ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Congressman James McGovern traveled in Ecuador
    from November 13 to 18, to visit sites at issue in the
    Chevron-Texaco oil pollution case, and Ecuadorian border communities
    affected by refugees and other aspects of the violence in Colombia.
    Congressman McGovern met with Government of Ecuador (GOE) Ministers
    and President Correa, and while taking no position on the unresolved
    Chevron-Texaco suit, expressed concern about the humanitarian,
    health and environmental impacts of oil contamination on local
    affected communities and the humanitarian situation on the border,
    and pledged to draw greater attention to the plight of refugees.
    Foreign Minister Salvador and Vice Defense Minister Miguel Carvajal
    asked McGovern for the U.S. Congress to investigate the March 1
    Colombian attack against a FARC camp in Angostura, along the
    northern border of Ecuador, which McGovern did not agree to. (END
    SUMMARY)

    COLOMBIAN REFUGEE ISSUES

    ¶2. (SBU) Congressman McGovern met with Ecuadorian and Colombian
    residents of the border communities of Baranca Bermeja and Puerto
    Mestanza, and with Colombian refugees in Lago Agrio, in Sucumbios
    province. The delegation heard repeated tales of displacement and
    abuse in Colombia and discrimination in Ecuador. Border residents
    criticized Plan Colombia, particularly U.S. military support to
    Colombia and aerial spraying. These same border residents also
    frequently condemned the U.S. military presence in the Forward
    Operating Location (FOL) in Manta, Ecuador. NGO briefings mixed
    comments on the humanitarian situation with issues such as aerial
    spraying with glyphosate, alleged participation of aircraft from the
    FOL in military actions on the Colombian border (especially the
    March 1 attack), and alleged infiltration of the Ecuadorian security
    services by the USG.

    ¶3. (SBU) The leader of a Jesuit refugee association condemned USG
    infrastructure assistance as "part of the problem," because
    assistance is channeled through local governments that the refugees
    say actively discriminate against them. Representatives from the UN
    High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for
    Migration (IOM), and the World Food Program (WFP) briefed the
    delegation on their analysis of the refugee situation, their efforts
    to register and provide protections for refugees, and work to
    construct municipal infrastructure. (Embassy Note: UNHCR estimates
    that of 250,000 Colombians in Ecuador, 130,000 are in need of
    international protection, but only 20,000 are registered. The USG
    provides significant funding for refugee programs and assistance in
    border towns. USAID committed to convene a meeting of local and
    national aid agencies in Lago Agrio in December to better understand
    refugees' needs and to discuss what assistance is available in the
    area. End Note)

    ¶4. (SBU) Representative McGovern responded by stating his respect
    and sympathy for the speakers, his long-standing opposition to Plan
    Colombia, and his intention to expand understanding of the refugee
    issue in the USG and international NGO community through U.S.
    Congressional hearings and other measures.

    CHEVRON-TEXACO SITE VISITS

    ¶5. (SBU) Sites visited in relation to the Chevron case included six
    oil well sites, the re-located Cofan indigenous community of Dureno,
    Sucumbios province, and a number of communities in the Sucumbios and
    Orellana provinces claiming to have suffered from contamination.
    Congressman McGovern expressed concern for the cancer, skin disease,
    crop failures, and animal deaths attributed to oil pollution. While
    not commenting on the merits of the court case, he later stated in
    several ministerial meetings in Quito and to the press that there
    was a moral issue as well as a legal issue at stake, and that
    because Chevron was a U.S. company, its behavior reflected badly on
    the U.S. He expressed his view that any court resolution was many
    years away, and said he hoped to facilitate a settlement, possibly
    based on a clean-up model agreed to by the USG and GOE, or other
    third parties.

    ¶6. Solicitor General Diego Garcia Carrion initially rejected
    entering into negotiations that could lead to the state oil company,
    PetroEcuador, being held "responsible" for damages or clean-up
    costs. Toward the end of a half-hour meeting, Garcia allowed that
    the GOE could enter negotiations with no preconditions. Likewise,
    the Chevron-Texaco representative in Ecuador, Jaime Varela-Walker,
    did not acknowledge that the company had any motive to settle, but
    agreed to share the idea with his superiors.

    GOE MEETINGS

    ¶7. (SBU) Representative McGovern held meetings with President Correa
    and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Justice, and Internal
    and External Security on November 12. In his private meetings and
    during a working lunch, GOE officials expressed appreciation for
    McGovern's praise for Ecuador's "incredible job responding to the
    largest human crisis in the Western Hemisphere," his commitment to
    bring more resources to the refugee problem, and his condemnation of
    Plan Colombia. Both McGovern and GOE officials expressed hope for
    new policies from President-elect Obama. McGovern repeatedly
    praised the Ecuadorian military (who had briefed him in Coca,
    Orellana province), and lamented that the Colombian military was not
    containing the conflict on its side of the border.

    ¶8. (SBU) McGovern's official calls began with a meeting with Foreign
    Minister Maria Isabel Salvador. FM Salvador expressed her hope that
    the election of Barack Obama would mean better relations between the
    U.S. and Latin America, which was living through a "new era," and
    had "important ideas." McGovern said he looked forward to good
    relations between Ecuador and the U.S., and that he wanted to be a
    friend of Ecuador's in Congress.

    ¶9. (SBU) McGovern recounted his trip to the Colombian border, where
    he saw the refugee crisis first hand. He said that few in the
    Congress were aware of the problem. Salvador noted that the
    refugees were one of the GOE's most important issues. She said that
    although their efforts were recently recognized by the UN High
    Commissioner in Geneva, more help was needed.

    ¶10. (SBU) McGovern then turned to the subject of contaminated oil
    sites linked to Chevron-Texaco. Noting the terrible situation of
    the people in affected communities, he said he hoped to work with
    the GOE on the problem. He said that safe potable water had been
    provided for humans, but that animals were still drinking
    contaminated water. He said that in town hall meetings he had asked
    how many people had cancer, or had cancer in their families, and
    that everyone raised their hands. Children had terrible rashes. He
    commented that PetroEcuador was attempting remediation, but was
    using inappropriate techniques. He suggested that EPA or USAID
    could play a role in the remediation, perhaps designing a model
    clean-up. He explained that he feared that even with a decision in
    the lawsuit, the loser would appeal and nothing would be done to
    correct the situation for many years. He added that perhaps the GOE
    could have a role if the parties were willing to come together.

    ¶11. (SBU) FM Salvador noted that the Correa government was the first
    to have a ministry devoted to human rights (the "Ministry of Justice
    and Human Rights"), and that the new constitution was based strongly
    on people's rights, including the rights of people on the Colombian
    border. McGovern said that everyone he had talked to said that Plan
    Colombia had messed things up. He said that he was a long-time
    opponent of Plan Colombia, and that what was needed was
    community-based development. He said that he opposed fumigation,
    because drugs would always be provided if there was a lucrative
    market. He stressed that more development assistance and less
    military assistance was needed in Colombia, and said that Congress
    had begun to recognize this priority in last year's budget.
    Salvador noted that the border was long and porous, and acknowledged
    that Colombian forces sometimes entered Ecuador, but that before
    March 1, a security agreement allowed Ecuador and Colombia to
    discuss and respond to incidents. Now there was virtually no
    communication after border incidents.

    ¶12. (SBU) Congressman McGovern asked how the two countries could
    reopen communications, especially on the border. Salvador replied
    that the OAS was attempting to mediate, but that progress is slow.
    She said that statements by the two Presidents were not helping, and
    that Colombia was not providing requested information, including
    videos from the March 1 incursion. She said that Colombia needed to
    recognize the GOE's efforts against terrorism, narcotics, and
    transnational crime. McGovern responded that he was struck by the
    complexity of the situation and impressed by GOE efforts to register
    refugees and integrate them into the local population. The meeting
    concluded with both Congressman McGovern and FM Salvador reiterating
    their hope that change brought on by the U.S. elections would
    contribute to improving many of the issues they had discussed.
    After the meeting, in a pull-aside, FM Salvador asked Congressman
    McGovern to consider holding a hearing on the U.S. role in the March
    1 incursion. Congressman McGovern told her it was a bad idea.

    ¶13. (SBU) In his meeting with President Correa, Congressman McGovern
    praised Ecuador's military and humanitarian actions on the border,
    condemned Plan Colombia and fumigation, and vowed to try to move to
    "a negotiated solution, not a military solution." McGovern committed
    to holding Congressional hearings on the border issues in February
    ¶2009. He expressed sympathy for people living with oil pollution
    and doubt that the lawsuit would solve the problem. He expressed an
    interest in mediating a settlement. He warmly praised Ecuadorian
    Ambassador Gallegos in Washington.

    ¶14. (SBU) President Correa's remarks focused on political and
    security issues with Colombia, the "total failure" of Plan Colombia,
    and contrasted it to Plan Ecuador, "a plan of peace." The President
    stressed the importance of roads, schools, and government services
    in the border region, such as providing identification cards and
    land tenure registration. He complained that Colombia has only
    three military detachments along the border, compared to Ecuador's
    thirty. He asked his staff to look into McGovern's report that
    PetroEcuador's current clean-up efforts were inadequate or actually
    harmful. He spoke proudly of raising the environmental budget, and
    complained that it was poorly utilized. Correa concluded by
    congratulating Congressman McGovern on "overcoming racism" by
    electing Obama, and saying that he hoped President Obama would
    "reverse the contradictions" in U.S. policies.

    ¶15. (SBU) In his meeting with Congressman McGovern, Minister of
    Defense Javier Ponce noted that the conflict up north was not
    Ecuador's making, and asserted that Ecaudor would defend its
    sovereignty but did not want a confrontation. He said the GOE did
    not have links to the FARC. Asked what he would want in terms of
    assistance from the U.S., Ponce said he appreciated the
    installations the U.S. had provided. Regarding intelligence, he
    said it was not an area of interest for cooperation. On training,
    he said he was concerned the MOD did not know who the U.S. was
    training and in what. He noted that they had already asked the U.S.
    for assistance with monitoring chips for boats (to prevent piracy).
    Finally, he thought assistance programs, to include the Pacific
    coast, were important.

    ¶16. (SBU) McGovern asked what could be done to get Colombia and
    Ecuador to re-establish relations. Ponce answered that if the U.S.
    only supported one side, there would be distrust, and that there
    should be a balanced relationship. He added that the CIA has to
    change "its old ways." And last, that the U.S. should deal with
    Ecuador without conditions on things like the ATPA.

    ¶17. (SBU) Following the meeting, Principal Under Secretary of
    Defense Miguel Carvajal also pulled aside Congressman McGovern and
    asked for assistance from the U.S. Congress in investigating the
    March 1 killing of FARC leader Raul Reyes by Colombia. McGovern
    replied that it was important to reestablish trust between our
    governments, but did not respond to the request.

    HODGES

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