[R-G] ECUADOR: ‘CIA Infiltration’ Charges Prompt Shake-Up in Armed Force

[Anthony Fenton]

ECUADOR:  ‘CIA Infiltration’ Charges Prompt Shake-Up in Armed Forces
By Kintto Lucas
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41945

QUITO, Apr 10 (IPS) - President Rafael Correa’s allegations that  
intelligence services in Ecuador had been infiltrated by the U.S.  
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have led to a shake-up in the armed  
forces of unforeseeable consequences.

Resignations and dismissals are the order of the day. Wellington  
Sandoval resigned as defence minister Wednesday and was replaced by  
Correa’s personal secretary Javier Ponce. The head of the Joint Chiefs  
of Staff Hector Camacho, army commander Guillermo Vásconez, and the  
chief of police, General Bolívar Cisneros, also stepped down.

A high-level Ecuadorean military officer who asked not to be  
identified told IPS that the country is at a critical juncture, with  
only two possible routes: "either the military as an institution  
returns to its nationalist orientation or it submits itself once and  
for all to impositions from the U.S."

It is necessary, he added, for "independent and progressive sectors to  
regain control over the institution." He also called for "a reduction  
of the power of a group that answers to former president Lucio  
Gutiérrez" (2003-2005), a former army colonel who was removed as  
president by Congress and replaced by his vice president Alfredo  
Palacio.

The current crisis broke out as a result of Colombia’s Mar. 1 bombing  
raid of a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) camp in  
Ecuadorean territory, which led to a brief rupture in relations  
between Ecuador and Colombia and sparked a regional crisis that was  
quickly overcome through dialogue.

At least two other members of the Ecuadorean high command have also  
offered their resignations, said Camacho.

Ponce, the new defence minister, said "this is not setting the stage  
for a witch hunt, but for a healthy critical exercise of transparency.  
The stability of our democracy is not based on cover-ups but on the  
courageous analysis of our actions."

He also urged the armed forces "to undertake a generous review of  
their structures and practices."

On Saturday, Correa denounced in his weekly radio broadcast that the  
CIA "has totally infiltrated some of Ecuador’s military intelligence  
bodies."

A few days earlier he had sacked the army intelligence chief, Colonel  
Mario Pazmiño, for hiding information from the government, and  
announced that further measures would be taken.

According to Correa, the failure to share critical information gave  
rise to errors in the country’s military and diplomatic handling of  
the conflict with Colombia.

Sandoval’s resignation came two days after the announcement of the  
creation of a high-level civilian commission to "determine the extent  
of unauthorised links between intelligence officers and units in  
Ecuador" and "foreign intelligence agencies," according to the Notimil  
military news agency.

The agency also reported that an investigation had been launched to  
determine whether Pazmiño had provided the government with "timely and  
complete" information with respect to the bombing of the FARC camp,  
which killed the rebel group’s international spokesman Raúl Reyes, who  
was negotiating a release of hostages held by the insurgents.

Citing military sources, the on-line news site Ecuadorinmediato said  
Monday that "Pazmiño’s fall is apparently the result of a series of  
complaints and denunciations from higher ranking officers who were  
disobeyed by the colonel," who served as army intelligence chief for  
more than 10 years.

According to the news report, when it began to be revealed that the  
armed forces had previous knowledge of the Colombian air strike on the  
FARC camp in Ecuador, several military officers complained internally  
that the intelligence service had not passed on the information.

Local media outlets reported that military intelligence had been  
following Franklin Aizalla, an Ecuadorean citizen who died in the  
attack on the FARC camp, without informing Correa.

On Mar. 17, Correa and then defence minister Sandoval learned from the  
press that Aizalla had been under surveillance, which Colombia’s  
rightwing President Álvaro Uribe had been aware of for some time.

Colonel Pazmiño’s curriculum indicates "very effective training by the  
U.S. and Israeli security bodies," wrote Ecuadorinmediato, which added  
that "he handled military intelligence operations in a nearly  
autonomous manner, without duly reporting to his superiors, many of  
whom were unaware of those actions."

The military source who spoke to IPS said it was true that Pazmiño had  
accumulated enormous influence, but also criticised the negligence  
shown by the intelligence chief’s direct superiors over the last 10  
years.

He also said Pazmiño merits "a dishonourable discharge and a trial for  
treason." But, he added, "perhaps there are fears that Pazmiño knows a  
great deal about many officers, and could talk."

Alexis Ponce of the Permanent Assembly on Human Rights said "this is  
the first time that a head of state has touched on this issue, and I  
think it is a historic opportunity to dismantle groups that are  
autonomously carrying out parallel intelligence work, often against  
the very interests of Ecuadorean national security."

Retired colonel Jorge Brito, one of the army officers who took part in  
the January 2000 uprising by indigenous groups and junior officers  
that toppled president Jamil Mahuad, brought legal action against  
Pazmiño in 2001, accusing him of being the founder of the Legión  
Blanca (White Legion), a far-right group that has issued death threats  
against journalists, human rights activists and political and social  
leaders.

With respect to Pazmiño’s possible ties to Colombia’s intelligence  
services, Alexis Ponce pointed out that people living near the site of  
the Mar. 1 bombing raid were given warning to leave the area, "because  
there were going to be armed clashes."

Camacho and U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Linda Jewell opened a seminar  
Monday on "Strategic Opportunities and Challenges", which forms part  
of the cooperation between the U.S. Army Southern Command and the  
Ecuadorean military.

The officer consulted by IPS expressed his opposition to such  
activities which, he argued, "condition" Ecuador’s armed forces.

He also said that, "besides the CIA’s infiltration in the armed  
forces, it is essential to take a look at what is happening in the  
police, who have traditionally had the closest ties to U.S. security  
policies for the region."

Former U.S. Southern Command chief Charles Wilhelm said in 2000 that  
after Ecuador signed an agreement leasing the air base in the port  
city of Manta to the U.S. military, one of Washington’s aims was to  
"reorient" the Ecuadorean armed forces.

The officer who spoke anonymously to IPS said "part of that  
reorientation was the modification of the training received by the  
Ecuadorean military, to make it more similar to the training received  
by the Colombian army."

To bring that about, "it was necessary to eliminate more progressive  
elements and modify the social relationship between the military and  
different social sectors like indigenous groups," while "implementing  
more closely the training agreements signed by the U.S. and Ecuadorean  
armed forces."

The source said a rift occurred in the armed forces after the January  
2000 uprising by indigenous associations and the group of junior  
officers that overthrew Mahuad, and that U.S. influence took deeper  
root at that time.

In January 2004, after the arrest in Quito of FARC leader Simón  
Trinidad, U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Marti Estell said the "joint  
operation, which turned out perfectly," was "an example of cooperation  
between the Ecuadorean and Colombian police," with the support of the  
U.S. secret services.

A few days after the Mar. 1 bombing of the FARC camp, the Colombian  
magazine Cambio reported that members of the Ecuadorean police  
intelligence services had helped locate the camp. (END/2008)