Ministro de defensa de Colombia se decepciona de la empresa Israeli Global CST

ID DOC: 237483

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FECHA: 2009-01-12 00:00:00

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FUENTE: Embassy Bogota

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PRIVACIDAD: SECRET//NOFORN

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REFERENCIA: VZCZCXYZ0000 OO RUEHWEB DE RUEHBO #3483/01 3352100 ZNY SSSSS ZZH O R 012059Z DEC 09 FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1292 INFO RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

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S E C R E T BOGOTA 003483



NOFORN

SIPDIS



E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/01

TAGS: MARR, MCAP, MOPS, PREL, PGOV, PTER, IS, PE, PM, CO

SUBJECT: COLOMBIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY SOURS ON ISRAELI DEFENSE FIRM



REF: A) BOGOTA 715; B) PANAMA 831



CLASSIFIED BY: William R. Brownfield, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(A),

(B), (D)



SUMMARY



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1. (S/NF) General Oscar Naranjo, Director of the Colombian National

Police (CNP), told the Ambassador on November 24 that Defense

Minister Gabriel Silva was souring on the Defense Ministry's

relationship with Israel. Naranjo said that the CNP's relationship

with retired Israeli Major General Yisrael Ziv and his firm Global

CST had been a "disaster." Naranjo said he understood Ziv was

trying to make inroads in Panama and Peru -- and that he had shared

his concerns with authorities in Panama and would do the same with

Peru if asked. He noted that Silva overruled Colombian Armed

Forces Commander General Freddy Padilla's decision to purchase

Israeli UAVs. Government of Colombia (GOC) officials described

their experience with Global CST under the "Strategic Leap" process

as mixed. End Summary.



MOD SOURS ON GLOBAL CST

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2. (S/NF) CNP Director Naranjo told the Ambassador on November 24

that Defense Minister Silva was souring on the Defense Ministry's

relationship with Israel. Naranjo said that the CNP's relationship

with retired Israeli Major General Yisrael Ziv and his firm Global

Comprehensive Security Transformation (Global CST) had been a

"disaster." Naranjo said he had provided this negative feedback to

Panamanian authorities upon their request. He indicated that Ziv

was now also trying to sell his services to Peru. If Naranjo is

asked by Peruvian authorities, he will share the same warning with

them.



GOC DECLINES UAV PURCHASES

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3. (S/NF) Naranjo told the Ambassador that in a sign of this

growing dissatisfaction, Minister Silva had recently overruled

Armed Forces Commander Padilla's decision to purchase Israeli

unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In late July 2009, Padilla had

commissioned a delegation of Colombian military officers to travel

to Israel to research possible acquisition of an

Israeli-manufactured Hermes-450 UAV system. (Comment: This

represents another sign of what is reported to be a distrustful and

distant relationship between Minister Silva and General Padilla.

End Comment.)



4. (S) GOC officials have expressed security concerns about Global

CST in the past, and found it difficult to work with a private firm

on national security matters as they were prevented from sharing

USG intelligence with them. In February 2008, CNP sources reported



that a Global CST interpreter, Argentine-born Israeli national Shai

Killman, had made copies of classified Colombian Defense Ministry

documents in an unsuccessful attempt to sell them to the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) through contacts in

Ecuador and Argentina. The documents allegedly contained high

value target (HVT) database information. Ziv denied this attempt

and sent Killman back to Israel.



ROLE IN STRATEGIC LEAP

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5. (S) Colombia's defense cooperation with Israel cooled during the

1980s and 1990s, when some Israeli mercenaries reportedly helped

train paramilitary forces in Colombia. Over the last two years,

Embassy officers visiting the MOD and Colombian military have

observed an increased presence of Israeli advisors. Beginning in

December 2006, Colombia's Ministry of Defense engaged Global CST to

help the GOC conduct a strategic assessment of the internal

conflict (see ref A). General Ziv was a personal acquaintance of

then-Minister of Defense Juan Manuel Santos.



6. (S/NF) The Global CST assessment focused on defeating the FARC

and other internal terrorist and criminal organizations by 2010,

but also included an evaluation of external threats including

Venezuela and Ecuador. The MOD spearheaded the exercise --

originally named the "Strategic Leap" -- which was approved by

President Uribe in February 2009. The Strategic Leap was

subsequently rebranded as the National Consolidation Plan (PNC).

Colombian officials have described their experiences with Global

CST under the Strategic Leap planning process as mixed. Former

Colombian Vice Minister of Defense Juan Carlos Pinzon told us that

many of Global CST's programs and recommendations -- which carried

a heavy consulting fee -- were already being implemented by the

USG.



COMMENT

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7. (S) Over a three year period, Ziv worked his way into the

confidence of former Defense Minister Santos by promising a cheaper

version of USG assistance without our strings attached. We and the

GOC learned that Global CST had no Latin American experience and

that its proposals seem designed more to support Israeli equipment

and services sales than to meet in-country needs. Global CST was

not transparent with us, and tried to insert itself into our

classified discussions with the GOC. Given the GOC's experience

with Global CST, it is no surprise that the Defense Ministry is

pulling back from them and warning neighbors that their deals are

not as good as advertized. End Comment.

BROWNFIELD