State Department Cables of interest on Latin America, June 6-26, 2011

[dawn paley]

State Department Cables of interest on Latin America, released by Wikileaks June 6-26, 2011

COLOMBIA

Colombians now represent the single largest group of refugees granted asylum in Argentina bit.ly/jPSd7Y #cablegate

USG happy with first round of privatization at ECOPETROL, Colombia's formerly state oil company bit.ly/lvrpsu #cablegate

USG: CIDA "will indirectly contribute to social development and consolidation in CSDI zones." bit.ly/mJi2ae #cablegate #Colombia

Canada could use "Global Peace and Security fund," granted to Afghanistan, Haiti & Sudan, in Colombia bit.ly/jKNhak #cablegate

Canada "does not have the 'strategic responsibility' to ensure the stability of the Colombian state." bit.ly/lskVIO #cablegate

Colombia model: before "development" can take place, the military and cops must "secure" the territory bit.ly/jqkf78 #cablegate

Colombian official: "it is difficult to extend the state presence of a democracy" bit.ly/kof99G #cablegate

The USG's successor to Plan Colombia is called the Colombia Strategic Development Initiative bit.ly/ki5KWs #cablegate

USG: Colombia provides lessons w/respect to challenges facing US elsewhere, esp Afghanistan and Pakistan. bit.ly/mjyqtX #cablegate

Colombian senate prez Gutierrez blamed @piedadcordoba for denouncing threats on her life while in the US bit.ly/mORisN #cablegate

US embassy continued to work with DAS in Colombia after corruption allegations began to surface bit.ly/iw2bvj #cablegate

CUBA

US Deputy Chief of Mission claims Cuban gov't broke into residence and poisoned his pet bit.ly/lBrEpV #cablegate

USG inquiry into former Salvador prez Antonio Saca: The man likes to eat bit.ly/iLLGNt #cablegate

USG: Colombian agrarian program that enriched large landowners a case of "faulty design" & "bad optics" bit.ly/jopz8y #cablegate

ECUADOR

USG advocates privatization of Petroecuador, campaign around corruption & transparency as first step bit.ly/iYCAk4 #cablegate

EL SALVADOR

Funes gov't in El Salvador emphasizes "FMLN does not speak for the GOES on foreign policy matters" bit.ly/imoa1p #cablegate #golpista

USG pushed for wiretap legislation in El Salvador bit.ly/mFYpEP #cablegate

El Salvador home to three important US run military/police centers bit.ly/mFYpEP #cablegate

US interested in running unmanned aircraft from Comalapa base (Cooperative Security Location) in El Salvador bit.ly/mScehc #cablegate

GUATEMALA

Back in '04 drugs didn't much figure into US-Guatemala diplomacy bit.ly/kTgzxa #cablegate

UN payment to Guatemala for sending 650 soldiers to Haiti "so lucrative as to be a source for modernization" bit.ly/kTgzxa #cablegate

HAITI

US, UN pushed refugee camps in Haiti to hesitant Preval administration post earthquake bit.ly/mHh9Tq #cablegate

USG concern with @AJEnglish coverage of Haiti quake response bit.ly/m8sbUi #cablegate

USG went on media offensive in Bolivia after criticism following Haiti earthquake bit.ly/kgdTri #cablegate

Brazil asked USG to better coordinate with other MINUSTAH forces in Haiti post earthquake bit.ly/l4zBHC #cablegate

USG: DR "is correct in seeing the Haiti earthquake as both a threat and an opportunity in economic terms" bit.ly/jECbj6 #cablegate

There's a suite of cables here sent from Port Au Prince directly following the '10 quake in Haiti bit.ly/jlTnws #cablegate

Cable gives US overview of immediate aftermath of '10 quake in Haiti bit.ly/l26e5g #cablegate

USG: Haiti has the lowest wages in the western hemisphere... about USD 1.75 per day bit.ly/j3LxPw #cablegate

Cable on student protests in Port Au Prince bit.ly/mw1nTM #cablegate #Haiti

JAMAICA

USG helped write privatization scheme for Air Jamaica bit.ly/lWKMHF #cablegate

Jamaican gov't outlines first step in shift to local/municipal service provision circa 2008 bit.ly/ikF1wy #cablegate

MEXICO

Is it really a measure of success that cartels are turning to kidnapping and extortion? bit.ly/klEpfZ #cablegate #Mexico

USG: "Mexico must build up its civil police... to fill much of the space currently occupied by the military" bit.ly/lKlCcv #cablegate

USG: "the lack of cooperation between police and military in Matamoros may reflect the worst of the worst" bit.ly/mbiwyb #Cablegate

Cable on 2/10 firefight between Mexican Army and Zetas shows confusion reigns in Nuevo Laredo bit.ly/m3QXt6 #cablegate #Mexico

Zetas disrupt BBQ attended by US diplomats in Nuevo Laredo bit.ly/lcjj24 #cablegate #Mexico

USG warm to the idea of rolling municipal police in Mexico into state level organizations bit.ly/ksArPk #cablegate

Merida Initiative, delayed due to interagency issues, proposes to improve interagency communication in Mexico bit.ly/ihOAa9 #cablegate

Key cable for anyone wishing to understand US perceptions of/interests in intelligence gathering in Mexico bit.ly/ktgIKi #cablegate

2009: " USG-GOM cooperation, while not flawless, has never been better." bit.ly/kzsFCi #cablegate #Mexico

How long 'til SSP becomes like a Mexican version of Colombia's DAS? bit.ly/jgeV0j #cablegate

USG: "Military units deployed to hotspots operate virtually blind except for anonymous tips." bit.ly/iqWclM #cablegate #Mexico

Mexico's Public Security Secretariat (SSP) building phone intercept, can access phone co info w/o warrant bit.ly/lYCIbH #cablegate

USG: "Mexico's use of strategic and tactical intelligence is fractured, ad hoc, and reliant on US support." bit.ly/ktgIKi #cablegate

More state language from USG on human rights. I'm stymied. This one needs an essay, not a tweet. bit.ly/iGoThl #cablegate #Mexico

USG would like to see de-centralized policing in Mexico, with more control at state level bit.ly/iyXUs9 #cablegate

Key step for USG after Merida phase one is to have Mexican police & army respond to US intel bit.ly/mK9b9C #cablegate

Cable on the "new architecture" of state control in Mexico post Merida Initiative bit.ly/lapJyU #cablegate

Cable details meeting w/ ICE and Mexican politicos, incl info on intel sharing & public rel'ns strategies bit.ly/iZekmE #cablegate

US Rep. asks Mexico to publicize "success" of Merida Initiative, so as to convince US congress it's working bit.ly/j5EqR0 #cablegate

USG happy to "help shape the future" of the Mexican police bit.ly/mfefhr #cablegate

USG calls escape of Chapo Guzman "embarrassing" bit.ly/jH3oBi #cablegate #mexico

2007 cable on "professionalization" of Mexican police bit.ly/k9ev09 #cablegate

NICARAGUA

USG finds support on Nicaragua's Atlantic coast, as many families there depend on remittances for survival bit.ly/mCRxgH #cablegate

"Should You Buy Real Estate and Retire in Nicaragua?" Short answer: No. Long answer: No way. bit.ly/jdK95u #cablegate

Murdered police boss in Nicaragua not reported missing for five days because it was his birthday... bit.ly/iUa8vM #cablegate

A nice dose of doublespeak: USG commitment to good relations with the Sandinistas remains firm bit.ly/iSDTc0 #cablegate

List of "pro-democracy" anti-Ortega projects seeking funds forwarded from US Embassy in Nicaragua to DC bit.ly/lw0Ysf #cablegate

USG saw "excellent opportunity to harness [labor] unrest" against Daniel Ortega's government in '07 bit.ly/myCxx6 #cablegate

In return for a $510,000 grant, USG got to draft new law permitting privatization of ports in Nicaragua bit.ly/klZUzX #cablegate

Dole fruits offers $6000 for those sterilized cause of pesticides, $2000 for low sperm count bit.ly/lL8Apj #cablegate #Nicaragua

USG: Brazilians interested in accessing US market for ethanol exports via Nicaragua bit.ly/mt2Whd #cablegate

US oil companies in Nicaragua had laws changed in "negotiations" for concessions, and it backfired bit.ly/mt2Whd #cablegate

Huh. US State Dept uses comments posted after online news articles to gauge public opinion. bit.ly/iFQf0Y #cablegate #Nicaragua

USG used USAID money funneled thru IRI and NED to support congressional opposition to the Sandinistas in '07 bit.ly/iEXCnw #cablegate

100+ cables from Managua just released, can't get through them all bit.ly/kaN9kF #cablegate #Nicaragua

USG: the "Ortega administration also has not proven susceptible to international pressure" bit.ly/l9nBqK #cablegate

USG: Nicaragua private sector ambivalent on need to "defend democratic institutions and the free markets" bit.ly/iEebw2 #cablegate

"U.S. foreign policy does not condone or recognize the right to abortion" bit.ly/jdZAtT #cablegate #Nicaragua

USG used disaster relief on N. Atlantic coast in Nicaragua to undermine Sandinistas bit.ly/mprpmO #cablegate

PERU

When 1,198 HA are actually 1,698 HA: USG numbers game for calculating coca eradication in Peru bit.ly/jt0MCe #cablegate

USG: "Evangelicals are creating a vision for the less-privileged masses in Peru that aligns with our own" bit.ly/lofZBd #cablegate

Cable on explosive devices planted in coca fields in Peru bit.ly/jUzkNL #cablegate

Categorizing politics in Peru -- Baja Ecuador, or Upper Chile? bit.ly/mRYsL4 #cablegate

From potatoes to tupperware: US assisted cocaine interdictions in Peru bit.ly/mq76KL #cablegate

USAID suspended work in coca growing areas of Peru for 54 days in '05 because of attacks/protests bit.ly/mcjUwP #cablegate

The total amount of poppy cultivation in Peru is unknown bit.ly/in3LIh #cablegate

Benefits of US sponsored training of Peru cops? More business for nearby restaurants. No joke. (#9) bit.ly/mDyVzZ #cablegate

Cable on mining conflicts in Cajamarca region of Peru bit.ly/kJmdAA#cablegate @miningwatch

Cable on community referendum in Peru re: Majaz mining projectbit.ly/jpJfgH #cablegate

In '07, there were at least 29,000 land mines along the Peru/Ecuador border bit.ly/lH6LKF #cablegate

A sure sign of development: "shopping malls are flourishing"bit.ly/kZ4RnV #cablegate #Peru

Cable shows how US backed anti-drug police in Peru respond to protests by civilian groups bit.ly/m69OUy #cablegate

USG on Peru, '07: "the danger exists that simmering discontent could flare at any time into popular outrage" bit.ly/kUNqCu #cablegate

Cable acknowledges widespread unrest throughout Perubit.ly/lYjdhs #cablegate

USG trained prosecutors who carried out massive '07 raid & seizure at Lima's El Hueco market bit.ly/kGbbPv #cablegate #Peru

US Narcotics Affairs Section and UNODC planned to "sell" draft asset forfeiture law to Peru congress bit.ly/l7iRbw #cablegate

US Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS) running air, customs, canine & ports programs w/Peruvian cops bit.ly/mRhZAU #cablegate

Dyncorp trained Peruvian "air police" in use of night vision goggles bit.ly/jEWQmE #cablegate

Peruvian "Air Police" trained at Helicopter Adventures Inc. in Titusville, FL bit.ly/jEWQmE #cablegate

Peruvian anti-drug police trained at US Customs training facility in Virginia bit.ly/j07T7y #cablegate

USG open to the idea that coca farmers plant IEDs in with their crops bit.ly/jjunAE #cablegate #Peru

Billion dollar discrepancy in calculations of remittances to Peru bit.ly/jViE5b #cablegate

2007 cable outlines counterinsurgency strategy in Peru bit.ly/masF6Q #cablegate

URUGUAY

In '06 Uruguay had 1,897 troops deployed in Africa (MONUC) and 965 in Haiti (MINUSTAH) bit.ly/jqC8bm #cablegate

VENEZUELA

.@wsj lowballed Venezuelan gov't compensation to Norway's Statoil in '08 bit.ly/iIsaNf #cablegate

Cable on Venezuela tar sands at Carabobo field and international oil companies bit.ly/jNn9F5 #cablegate

USG threats to Ecuador should it allow Iran to open an Export Development Bank bit.ly/mKkzjI #cablegate

US oil co's po'd Venezuela will only compensate them for book value (à la United Fruit, Guatemala, mid 50s) bit.ly/jCHzVQ #cablegate

Oil execs visit US embassy Caracas "as if they were going to a counseling session or visiting a priest." bit.ly/m6x8W9 #cablegate

State dept hints that gov't of Venezuela behind "false" rumors that USG to build military base in Paraguay bit.ly/kFJAkE #cablegate

For cablegate updates in real time, follow Dawn on Twitter, http://twitter.com/dawn_