EX-IM BANK GUARANTEES S $22.4 MILLION LOAN FINANCING SALE OF HELICOPTERS FOR COLOMBIA'S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Bank Approves Financing for Sale of American-Made Helicopters for Use in Colombia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry

Transaction will support an estimated 200 aerospace-related jobs in Pennsylvania

Washington, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $22.4 million loan guarantee to finance the export of U.S.-made AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters to North Pole Investments in Panama for leasing and use in Colombia’s offshore oil and gas industry. The lender is Apple Bank for Savings of New York, N.Y.

According to Ex-Im Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology, the Bank’s financing will support an estimated 200 jobs at AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia, Pa., and in the company’s U.S. supply chain.

Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg made the announcement today while participating as a member of the U.S. government delegation to the Summit of the Americas conference being held in Panama City.

“We are pleased to finance the exports of these quality, American-made helicopters because of the jobs in Philadelphia that will be sustained as a result,” said Chairman Hochberg. “This transaction will empower AgustaWestland to continue to grow in Latin America while maintaining good-paying aerospace jobs here at home.”

Ex-Im Bank plans to co-finance this asset-backed transaction with Italy's export-credit agency, Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero, S.p.A. (SACE), which is anticipated to provide a guarantee for a portion of the financing covering foreign content. The majority of the export is the U.S. content, which consists of manufacturing activities, assembly, customization, avionics and instrumentation.

North Pole Investments is an aviation lessor headquartered in Panama City. The company leases aircraft mainly to Helistar S.A.S., a civil charter services operator based in Colombia. The AW139 helicopters being financed will be leased to Helistar and will be deployed for offshore oil and gas crew transport in the Colombian Caribbean continental shelf.

AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia employs nearly 600 U.S. aerospace and administrative support workers. In February 2008, the company opened a second AW139 assembly line in Philadelphia to meet the growing demand for its helicopters, particularly in expanding markets in the Western Hemisphere.

The transaction is Ex-Im Bank’s fourth financing of exports of U.S.-made AgustaWestland helicopters to Latin America. In August 2009, the Bank assisted in financing the export of AW139 helicopters to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for use in search and rescue operations. In December 2012 and in July 2013, the Bank approved loan guarantees financing AW139 helicopters for export to Omni Taxi Aéreo to meet its transportation contracts with the oil and gas industry in Brazil.

THREE COLOMBIANS SENTENCED FOR MURDER OF DEA AGENT TERRY WATSON

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, December 12, 2014
Three Colombian Nationals Sentenced to Prison for the Kidnapping and Murder of DEA Agent Terry Watson
Two Additional Colombian Nationals Also Plead Guilty For Their Roles

Three Colombian nationals were sentenced to decades in prison today in the Eastern District of Virginia for their roles in the kidnapping and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent James “Terry” Watson in Bogotá, Colombia, on June 20, 2013.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart and Bill A. Miller, Director, U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service made the announcement.

“Throughout his law enforcement career, Special Agent Watson’s service was both selfless and courageous,” said Attorney General Holder.  “With this action, we continue our work to hold accountable those who were responsible for his murder.  In the weeks ahead, we expect to take additional steps to bring the perpetrators to justice.  And in all that we do, our nation’s Department of Justice will continue to honor Special Agent Watson’s sacrifice, to safeguard the nation he served, and to protect the values and principles he defended all his life.”

“Terry Watson was a courageous and accomplished DEA Special Agent who we will forever honor and remember for his dedicated career and sacrifice,” said DEA Administrator Leonhart.  “DEA is grateful that those who carried out this reprehensible and senseless act are now facing U.S. justice.  We will honor his life and career by continuing our global crusade with our domestic and international partners to defeat violent drug trafficking networks.”

Héctor Leonardo López, 34, Julio Estiven Gracia Ramírez, 32, and Andrés Álvaro Oviedo García, 22, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and aiding and abetting the murder of an internationally protected person.  Today, U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced López to 25 years, Gracia Ramírez to 27 years, and Oviedo García to 20 years.

In addition, Wilson Daniel Peralta-Bocachica, 31, pleaded guilty today to obstruction of justice and Edwin Gerardo Figueroa Sepúlveda, 39, pleaded guilty on Dec. 9, 2014, to conspiracy to kidnap and aiding and abetting the murder of an internationally protected person.  Sentencing hearings for Peralta-Bocachica and Figueroa Sepúlveda are scheduled for Feb. 18, 2015.

In the statements of facts filed with their plea agreements, López, Gracia Ramírez, Oviedo García, and Figueroa Sepúlveda admitted that they conspired to conduct “paseo milionarios” or “millionaire’s rides” in which victims were lured into taxi cabs, kidnapped and then robbed.  They admitted that on the evening of June 20, 2013, they were part of a robbery crew that targeted Special Agent Watson.  Gracia Ramírez picked up Special Agent Watson in his taxi, while López drove a second taxi carrying the assailants.  Figueroa Sepúlveda entered the taxi carrying Special Agent Watson and shocked him with a stun gun while another defendant stabbed him.  Special Agent Watson was able to escape from the taxi, but he later collapsed and died from his injuries.  Oviedo García was part of the robbery crew, but shortly before Special Agent Watson was targeted, a third taxi encountered mechanical issues and Oviedo García stayed with the disabled taxi.  Peralta-Bocachica admitted that in the days following the kidnapping and murder, he washed the taxi in which Special Agent Watson was stabbed, removing blood from the back seat then discarding the cleaning rags, before turning the taxi over to the Colombian National Police.

Two other defendants, Omar Fabián Valdes Gualtero, 27, and Édgar Javier Bello Murillo, 27, are charged with second degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap in connection with their alleged involvement in the murder.  Trial is set for Jan. 12, 2015.  The charges in the indictment against these defendants are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the FBI, DEA and the Diplomatic Security Service, in close cooperation with Colombian authorities and with assistance from INTERPOL and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.  The case is being prosecuted by Special Counsel Stacey Luck of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Ben’Ary of the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia.

The Department of Justice gratefully acknowledges the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, Colombian National Police, Colombian Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN), DIJIN Special Investigative Unit, Bogotá Metropolitan Police, Bogotá Police Intelligence Body (CIPOL) Unit and Colombian Technical Investigation Team for their extraordinary efforts, support and professionalism in responding to this incident.

COLOMBIA RECEIVES U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO CURB IED ATTACKS

FROM:   U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

U.S. Military Helps Colombia Fight IED Threat

From a U.S. Southern Command News Release

MIAMI, July 10, 2014 – Miles away from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, improvised explosive devices are wreaking havoc in other parts of the world. Colombia, Pakistan, India and Syria rank high on a list of countries where this “invisible enemy” is leaving a trail of deaths and injuries.

In Latin America, most notably in Colombia, insurgents and criminal organizations build and employ bombs with the intent to cause devastation to government forces as well as innocent civilians. In fact, IEDs have become the weapon of choice of these organizations, desperate to find a force multiplier as they experience increased personnel losses.

“According to statistics, Colombia ranks first in the world, outside of Afghanistan and Iraq, in IED incidents,” said Juan Hurtado, science advisor at the U.S. Southern Command, the U.S. military geographic command that works with countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean to promote security and stability in the Western Hemisphere.

These deadly devices are made out of commercial-grade explosives, various explosive precursors, fertilizer, nails, nuts, bolts, and other objects.
In less than a year, between March 2013 and February 2014, a total of 2,356 IED events were reported in Colombia. The aftermath: 707 casualties, according to statistics compiled by the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization.
JIEDDO was established by the Defense Department in 2006 in response to the alarming increase in fatalities and injuries caused by roadside bombs and other makeshift artifacts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Within Southcom’s area of responsibility, Colombia has 95 percent of all IED activity and 98 percent of all IED-related injuries.

To help change this concerning reality, Hurtado said, Southcom and JIEDDO have joined efforts, through the U.S. Military Group in Colombia, to collaborate with the Colombian military and police in search of cooperative and innovative ways for IED threat mitigation. The idea is to leverage the painful lessons learned and investments made during years in research and development, and to harness the “brain power” of Colombian and U.S. experts committed to this fight.
“A key element in this formula is the world-class support we are receiving from JIEDDO,” Hurtado said. “They have dealt with this threat for almost a decade, and they are eager to share lessons learned and benefit from the experiences of others.”
The science and technology division that Hurtado heads at Southcom hosts JIEDDO experts and coordinates counter-IED support on behalf of the command’s theater engagement division. His main efforts, he said, are to scope the level of activities, enable collaboration to assist regional requirements and formulate a sustainable path.

Together, Hurtardo said, they are working with the U.S. Embassy Country Team, the U.S. Military Group and Colombia’s organizations such as the office of the vice minister of defense, the Joint Directorate for Explosives and Demining -- known as DICED, its Spanish acronym -- and the Colombian army’s Counter IED and Mines National Center -- known as CENAM, its Spanish acronym -- in advancing a roadmap for collaboration against IEDs -- the weapon of choice for insurgents and criminal organizations in Colombia.

As the Colombian government increases pressure against FARC -- the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- the group desperately looks for new ways to offset its losses and delay the advance of the public forces into territories under their control, illegal coca cultivation areas and illicit drug labs, said Charles Brady, JIEDDO’s liaison officer and counter-IED integrator to Southcom.

According to CENAM officials, about 75 percent of the events affecting Colombian troops are related to IED incidents. Stood up in 2014, CENAM was created to assist with the IED challenges with a holistic approach, in cooperation with other government and nongovernment national and international partners.
The roadmap for collaboration that Brady referenced is comprehensive and was signed by Colombia’s vice minister of defense for policy and international affairs and JIEDDO in April 2013. It encompasses a framework of working groups that assist in the development of solutions to capability gaps such as identifying the need of protective garments and improved detection equipment for Colombian military troops.

The collaboration plan also includes support to sophisticated interagency efforts such as the creation of a national level counter-IED database and the establishment of standard evidence collection procedures that can enable the judiciary process.
Another key line of effort Southcom and JIEDDO are working on with Colombia is in the field of intelligence and data analysis technics. The idea, Brady said, is to leverage each other’s knowledge and expertise to attack the criminal and terrorist networks at their roots.

This effort is a two-way avenue, Brady said, noting that the work DICED, CENAM and others are advancing in Colombia will allow JIEDDO and Southcom to assist partner nations that may face a similar situation.

“Globally, we are seeing an increase in the use of these homemade bombs and their devious emplacement,” he said. “The U.S. has learned a great deal from Colombia about enemy tactics. We now understand their techniques for employment and the nature of the devices. This information is vital to our forces.”
On a recent visit to the United States, Vice Minister of Defense for Policy and International Affairs Jorge Enrique Bedoya Vizcaya met with JIEDDO’s director, Army Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, and Southcom’s director of theater engagement, Navy Rear Adm. George Ballance, to review the current cooperation efforts and establish major goals for the near future. Crafting a whole-of-government approach by Colombia for counter-IED efforts, developing a centralized Defense Ministry counter-IED organizational structure, and increasing information exchanges to help build capacity in this field are among those goals, officials said.
Earlier this year the U.S. Military Group supported and facilitated the participation of six explosive ordnance disposal and IED experts from the U.S. Navy’s Counter-IED Center of Excellence at Indian Head, Maryland, in an exchange with Colombian forces.

Designed to develop capabilities for evidence and forensic analysis from bombs, the subject-matter expert exchange occurred at the Tolemaida National Training Center, the main Colombian Army training base, and involved the participation of 46 students from the Colombian Public Forces.

Every step taken in this direction, Southcom’s science advisor said, is a step forward in the battle against IEDs and the organizations behind them. Looking at statistics from last year, displayed on a Google-like map of the world, Hurtado pointed out that although the number of IED incidents actually increased in Colombia, the number of casualties shrunk significantly.

“That’s an important improvement,” he said. “Is it related in any way to the combined efforts? It is probably too soon to say, but what I do see is a rise in the discovery of IED caches and the found-and-cleared rate by trained personnel.”
Still, Hurtado said, much remains to be done against a scourge that is constantly evolving to stay relevant and that threatens to spread to other nations in the Western Hemisphere.

FARC TERRORIST PLEADS GUILTY TO TAKING U.S. CITIZENS HOSTAGE IN 2003

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Member of FARC Terrorist Organization Pleads Guilty to Hostage-Taking Charges in 2003 Capture of U.S. Citizens
Hostages Were Held in Colombia for More Than Five Years

Alexander Beltran Herrera, 37, a commander of the FARC terrorist organization, pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to hostage-taking charges stemming from the 2003 kidnappings of three U.S. citizens in Colombia.

The guilty plea was announced by John P. Carlin, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; and George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Division.

Beltran Herrera pleaded guilty to three counts of hostage-taking.   He is to be sentenced July 25, 2014, by the Honorable Royce C. Lamberth.   The offense of hostage taking carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, although as part of the extradition process from Colombia, the United States agreed not to seek a sentence exceeding 60 years.

According to a statement of facts submitted as part of the plea hearing, t he FARC is an armed, violent organization in Colombia, which since its inception in 1964, has engaged in an armed conflict to overthrow the Republic of Colombia, South America’s longest-standing democracy.   The FARC has consistently used hostage taking as a primary technique in extorting demands from the Republic of Colombia, and hostage taking has been endorsed and commanded by FARC senior leadership.  The FARC has characterized American citizens as “military targets” and has engaged in violent acts against Americans in Colombia, including murders and hostage taking.  The FARC was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State in 1997 and remains so designated.

Beltran Herrera, a commander in the FARC, was involved in the hostage taking of three United States citizens: Marc D. Gonsalves, Thomas R. Howes, and Keith Stansell.  These three, along with Thomas Janis, a United States citizen, and Sergeant Luis Alcides Cruz, a Colombian citizen, were seized on Feb. 13, 2003, by the FARC, after their single-engine aircraft made a crash landing in the Colombian jungle.

Members of the FARC murdered Mr. Janis and Sgt. Cruz at the crash site.  Mr. Gonsalves, Mr. Howes, and Mr. Stansell were held by the FARC at gunpoint and were advised by FARC leadership that they would be used as hostages to increase pressure on the government of Colombia to agree to the FARC’s demands.  At various times, the FARC marched the hostages from one site to another, placing them in the actual custody of various FARC fronts.

At the conclusion of one 40-day long march, in or about November 2004, the hostages were delivered to members of the FARC’s 27th Front, who imprisoned the hostages for nearly two years.  During part of this period, Beltran Herrera was responsible for moving the hostages and keeping them imprisoned.  Throughout the captivity of these three hostages, FARC jailors and guards used choke harnesses, chains, padlocks and wires to restrain the hostages, and used force and threats to continue their detention and prevent their escape.   In July 2008, the Colombian military conducted a daring operation which resulted in the rescue of the hostages.

All told, members of the FARC held the Americans hostage for 1,967 days.

“This case underscores our resolve to hold accountable those who target our citizens with violence anywhere in the world,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Carlin. “With this guilty plea, Alexander Beltran Herrera has admitted his participation in the hostage taking and captivity of three Americans by the FARC, a Colombian terrorist organization.  I want to thank all of the prosecutors, agents, and analysts who made this result possible.”

“Alexander Beltran Herrera was a terrorist and commander in the FARC organization who held three Americans hostage in the Colombian jungle,” said U.S. Attorney Machen.  “With today's guilty plea, he admitted to his role in terrorizing these Americans, who were held in captivity for more than five years.  His extradition and prosecution reflect our determination to bring to justice anyone who sets out to harm our fellow citizens overseas.”

“Alexander Beltran Herrera was a commander within FARC, a foreign terrorist organization based in Colombia that considered U.S. citizens to be targets for murder and hostage taking,” said Special Agent in Charge Piro.  “First captured, then extradited to the United States, Herrera has now admitted to his role in moving and keeping hostage three American citizens, Marc D. Gonsalves, Thomas R. Howes and Keith Stansell.  Once again, the excellent, longstanding cooperation between the Colombian National Police and U.S. law enforcement has ended another terrorist’s career of violence and thuggery.”

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Miami Division.   The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Asuncion and Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez from the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney David Cora, from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.   The case was indicted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Kohl, of the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The FBI’s Miami Division partnered in the investigation with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Department’s Judicial Attachés in Colombia, and the FBI’s Office of the Legal Attaché in Bogota, Colombia.  The Directorate of Intelligence (DIPOL) and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (GAULA) of the Colombian National Police also provided valuable support during the investigation.

FORMER CEO OF OIL SERVICES COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO BRIBERY CHARGES

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Former Chief Executive Officer of Oil Services Company Pleads Guilty to Foreign Bribery Charges

The former chief executive officer of PetroTiger Ltd., a British Virgin Islands oil and gas company with operations in Colombia and offices in New Jersey, pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials and to defraud PetroTiger.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey and Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford of the FBI’s Newark Division made the announcement.

Knut Hammarskjold, 42, of Greenville, S.C., the former co-CEO of PetroTiger, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Josephy E. Irenas in Camden, N.J., to an information charging one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to commit wire fraud and is scheduled for sentencing on May 16, 2014.   Gregory Weisman, 42, of Moorestown, N.J., the former general counsel of PetroTiger, pleaded guilty to the same charges on Nov. 8, 2013.   Charges remain pending against Joseph Sigelman, 42, of Miami and the Philippines, the other former co-CEO of PetroTiger, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to violate the FCPA, conspiracy to launder money and substantive violations of the FCPA.

According to the charges, the defendants allegedly paid bribes to an official in Colombia in exchange for the official’s assistance in securing approval for an oil services contract worth roughly $39 million.   To conceal the bribes, the defendants allegedly first attempted to make the payments to a bank account in the name of the foreign official’s wife, for purported consulting services she did not perform.   The charges allege that Sigelman and Hammarskjold provided Weisman invoices including her bank account information.   The defendants made the payments directly to the official’s bank account when attempts to transfer the money to his wife’s account failed.

In addition, court documents allege that the defendants attempted to secure kickback payments at the expense of several of PetroTiger’s board members.   According to the criminal charges, the defendants were negotiating an acquisition of another company on behalf of PetroTiger, including on behalf of several members of PetroTiger’s board of directors who were helping to fund the acquisition.   In exchange for negotiating a higher purchase price for the acquisition, two of the owners of the target company agreed to kick back to the defendants a portion of the increased purchase price.   According to the charges, to conceal the kickback payments, the defendants had the payments deposited into Sigelman’s bank account in the Philippines, created a “side letter” to falsely justify the payments, and used the code name “Manila Split” to refer to the payments amongst themselves.

Sigelman and Hammarskjold were charged by sealed complaints filed in the District of New Jersey on Nov. 8, 2013.   Hammarskjold was arrested on Nov. 20, 2013, at Newark Liberty International Airport.   Sigelman was arrested on Jan. 3, 2014, in the Philippines.   The charges against Sigelman, Hammarskjold and Weisman were unsealed on Jan. 6, 2014.

The conspiracy to commit violations of the FCPA count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost.   The conspiracy to commit wire fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000 or twice the value gained or lost.

As to the charges in the complaint pending against Sigelman, they are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The department has worked closely with and has received significant assistance from its law enforcement counterparts in the Republic of Colombia and greatly appreciates their assistance in this matter.    The department also thanks the Republic of the Philippines, including the Bureau of Immigration, and the Republic of Panama for their assistance in this matter.   Significant assistance was also provided by the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Newark Division.   The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Chief Daniel S. Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Mendelsohn of the District of New Jersey.

JUSTICE SAYS ALLEGED LEADER OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION EXTRADITED TO U.S.

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Alleged Leader of Mexican Narcotics Trafficking Organization Extradited to U.S.
Organization Allegedly Transported Multi-Ton Quantities of Cocaine from Central America to Mexico for Mexican Cartels to Import into the U.S.

The alleged leader of a Mexican narcotics trafficking organization responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine, Juan Juarez Orosco, aka “El Abuelo,” was extradited to the United States from Panama on Nov. 8, 2013, and arraigned on Nov. 10, 2013, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom in the Eastern District of New York.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch of the Eastern District of New York, Special Agent in Charge James T. Hayes Jr. of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) and Special Agent in Charge Brian R. Crowell of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New York Division made the announcement.

According to court documents, from the early 1990s until his arrest by Panamanian law enforcement in March 2012, Juarez allegedly led a large-scale maritime and land transportation operation that was responsible for trafficking multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Central America via ship to the coast of Mexico.  Once the cocaine arrived in Mexico, Juarez and his co-conspirators would transport the cocaine from the coast to Mexico City, where it was then destined for the United States.  Throughout the 2000s, Juarez allegedly worked with major narcotics traffickers based in Colombia and Mexico, including the Norte Valle Cartel, the Beltran-Leyva Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel.  Through the mid-2000s, Juarez’s organization allegedly transported at least 35,000 kilograms of cocaine for the Beltran-Leyva organization alone.  At the height of its activity, Juarez’s organization allegedly transported approximately eight tons a month in conjunction with the Sinaloa Cartel.

“As alleged in the indictment, Juarez’s trafficking organization was responsible for the importation of massive quantities of cocaine, across oceans and continents, into the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman.  “Juarez’s arrest and extradition are a testament to the tenacity of law enforcement officers across the world, and show what we can accomplish when we work together with our partners around the globe to capture major drug traffickers and bring them to justice.”

“There is no escape from the reach of the law, no matter where drug kingpins operate their poisonous trade,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch.  “Juan Juarez Orosco may have operated an international drug trafficking network that stretched across the Western Hemisphere, but today he faces justice in a courtroom in Brooklyn.  Thanks to our law enforcement partners in Panama, today’s extradition also shows that there is no safe haven for drug traffickers on the run.”

Juarez was indicted on March 15, 2012, and charged with international narcotics importation and distribution conspiracy.  If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by ICE HIS and DEA.  This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Adrian Rosales of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drugs Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gina M. Parlovecchio and Tiana Demas of the Eastern District of New York, with the assistance of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S STATEMENT REGARDING RELEASE OF KEVIN SUTAY FROM FARC

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Release of Kevin Sutay From Captivity by the FARC
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
October 27, 2013

We welcome the release today of Kevin Scott Sutay from captivity at the hands of the FARC.

The United States is profoundly grateful to the Government of Colombia and commends its tireless efforts to secure his release. We offer special thanks to President Juan Manuel Santos for his assistance.

We also appreciate the contributions of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Governments of Norway and Cuba in securing Mr. Sutay’s freedom. And we thank the Reverend Jesse Jackson for his efforts in consistently advocating for Mr. Sutay’s release.

JOHN KERRY'S REMARKS AT THE ARCANGELES WOUNDED WARRIOR PROGRAM

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks at the Arcangeles Wounded Warrior Program
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Coldeportes Bogota, Colombia
August 12, 2013

Buenos dias. Estoy encantado de estar aqui en Bogota and it's a great pleasure for me to meet with all of the teams here. I myself am a veteran. I fought in Vietnam. So for many years I’ve been involved with programs in America to work to try to make sports part of the reentry into life and part of an awareness for people about possibilities after injuries. And what I’ve learned is there are no limits, everything is possible. And you can be an amazing inspiration to so many people about how they can deal with either an accident or one of the things that happens in life that people think is somehow a setback, but people can turn it into something very positive and be an inspiration to millions of people.

The United States is very happy to be supportive of this program. And I understand that a lot of these chairs came from our support and I’m delighted, though I’m a little bit surprised to see how hard you guys bump into each other. That’s a tough sport, but I congratulate you and I really want to thank you for your service, for what you have done for your country, for your people, and what you continue to do even now. And we will do everything possible that we can do to try to be helpful to support this program and other programs and ultimately to try to help bring peace in Colombia.

So thank you for the honor of visiting with you today. Thank you for letting me play a little bit of the volleyball and thank you for my shirt with numero uno. Take care of yourselves. Thank you. (Applause.) And let me congratulate – and Pablo, I want to thank him for his incredible inspiration in helping to start this program and my great congratulations to Minister Botero and everything that you’re doing here in the country. God bless you. Thank you very much.

REMARKS BY SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY AT EMBASSY IN BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Embassy Bogota Meet and Greet
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Embassy Bogota, Colombia
August 12, 2013

AMBASSADOR MCKINLEY: Secretary Kerry, 42 U.S. Government agencies and departments, all of our Colombian colleagues who work with us, it’s terrific to have you here. Si podemos darle la bienvenida calurosa – el Secretario Kerry, por favor. (Applause.)

And I know we’re here to hear Secretary Kerry, so without further ado I’ll turn over the microphone to you, sir.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you. Muchas gracias. Thank you very much, Mike McKinley. I really appreciate it. Hello, everybody. Buenos dias. Estoy encantado de estar aqui en Bogota. Gracias. Que mas? (Laughter and applause.) Good? I don’t know. I want more energy out of all you guys. We have a long workday ahead of us. Get this going.

Thank you for coming out for a few minutes. And Michael, thank you. Where’d he go? He ran away. Oh, there he is. He’s over here with Fatima. Fatima, thank you for what you do and the kids and everybody. And Michael, thanks for your extraordinary leadership. He’s worn a lot of hats through his career, and now is heading off to beautiful Kabul and Afghanistan to help us, the important task of winding down. But I’m grateful, very grateful to you for the work you’ve done. And Andy Bowen somewhere – where is Andy? He’s somewhere over here. Andy, thanks for hanging in there in the interim while we got another Deputy Chief of Mission. And Ben Ziff is somewhere here. I haven’t met him yet.

Ben. I’ve got high marks on Ben because my brother-in-law was the Ambassador to Rome for the last four years, to Italy, and Ben worked there, among other places, in Baghdad and elsewhere. So Ben, welcome aboard. And I’m sure everybody looks forward to getting to know you. Bring your – well, maybe, maybe. (Laughter.) I don’t know.

Anyway – and to all of you, Foreign Service Officers, civil servant employees, local employees, political employees, whatever you may be – half-baked employees – thank you very, very much for being part of this extraordinary effort. This is one of our – it was amazing to me. I was not aware of this previously, but this is one of our largest missions. And it goes back to a time when I was in the United States Senate in the 1990s, when we were really desperately trying to figure out what’s the path forward in Colombia. And I was then Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, so I was very, very involved in Central and Latin America. Back in those days, we were dealing with the Contras and with Nicaragua and, ironically, the same person, Ortega, who is there today. So it goes around full-circle.

But it was a time of unbelievable, sort of, “How do you save this place?” Because the narcotics trafficking and the violence was so prevalent. And I remember back then – I think it was something like 13 members of the supreme court had been assassinated in one moment, and there was a challenge to civil authority, a challenge to the state. To his credit, President Uribe came in and stood up, and we came up with this thing called Plan Colombia, all of us, everybody working on it together. And you all, many of you were here, local employees certainly who were part of that amazing transformation. And today Colombia is, without exaggeration, one of the most important leaders in all of Latin America, one of our most important allies – most importantly, an enormous statement about the possibilities of what happens when people put their minds together with good diplomacy, good political leadership, good concepts, and you go out and you actually take the risks.

I just came from the high-altitude training center where I met a lot of the veterans, a lot of the people who have paid the price of this journey – police officers, military personnel who have been wounded by an IED or grenade or explosion of some kind. And they’re getting on with their lives and setting an example, but it’s never easy. And proudly, USAID is involved in helping to support that program, and we’re doing things. But what all of you are part of is one of very few success stories anywhere in the world right now. President Obama and I were talking the other day about the challenge that we’re facing in the Sahel, in the Maghreb, in the Arabian Peninsula, in the Levant, in South Central Asia, in other parts of the world, where you have either failing or failed states, none of whom have been able to make the kind of decision that was made here in Colombia.

So I just wanted to come and say – and my message to President Santos will be one of huge support. He is continuing on – and I think bravely and courageously – with the right track. What had to happen from 2000 and 2002 on for a period of time had to happen, a direct confrontation, a struggle to restore the credibility and viability of the government itself. But after that, you need to look beyond and figure out: How do we get away from perpetual conflict and actually make peace? That’s what we’re all engaged in right now and that’s what President Santos is trying to lead. And I think it’s the right decision and the right direction. And hopefully, we can contribute to that, all of us together, as we go forward in these next months.

Now, you know, obviously, it’s always difficult and you are engaged on the front lines. So I want to say thank you to you for moving from home, many of you, and for those of you who are local employees, for being willing to be part of this mission. I’m confident that sometimes some people say, “Oh, well, you work for the Americanos. What’s that all about?” And you take some flak for it and everything else, but we’re very proud and very grateful that you are part of this mission.

I want all of the local employees, raise your hands, and I want everybody else to say thank you to our local employees for their great, great work. (Applause.) We cannot possibly do this without your help, and so we thank you for it.

The fun thing is that I don’t think there’s better work in the world. I really mean that. I am privileged to get up every day and go be the Secretary of State in Washington and think about a lot of different places, but I love what you’re doing every day at this local level where we have the 42 agencies that the Ambassador talked about, and 3,500 people with contractors and all the people who are a part of this effort. It’s amazing. And every day we get to go out and try to make other people’s lives better, and every day we get to go out and try to make the relationship between the United States and Colombia and the rest of this region better.

And we do it in profound ways and different ways. Sometimes it’s by giving somebody a visa so there’s a family reunification or the chance to go to some special event or to go be educated somewhere else. And the numbers of increases in visas is extraordinary, given President Obama’s new efforts to try to increase the numbers of students coming from Latin America, and given the numbers of people who automatically want to try to do that.

And those ties are ties for a lifetime. You have no idea how many places I get to go as Secretary and I meet the leaders of countries who proudly say to me, “Oh, well, I went to Michigan State.” “I went to Stanford.” “I was at Princeton.” “I was in California.” “I went to University of Mississippi.” It’s amazing. And they carry the values that come from that experience with them for the rest of their lives. That’s what we’re doing. We’re sharing values with people and trying to improve people’s lives so that we can all get along a little better and look to a future that is more peaceful, and frankly, more shared by more people.

So I want to thank you on behalf of President Obama, on behalf of all American citizens. We are grateful for those of you who pack up your bags, move your families, go from mission to mission, and carry our flag and carry our values and our hopes and our aspirations with you. It’s really a privilege, I think, and I hope you feel the same way. So I’m grateful have a moment to come here. I apologize that it’s quick coming through Colombia and then tomorrow in Brazil and then back, because as you know, there’s a lot of turmoil going on. We’re trying to figure what’s going to happen in Egypt, in the Middle East, and other places. But we’re working hard at all of this, as you are.

So from all of us, muchas gracias. I wish you well and I look forward to having a chance to shake a few hands and say hello to everybody. God bless. Thanks for being part of this mission.

One thing, I know we lost a couple – we’ve lost a few people in the last days. Tom Watson[1], the DEA agent, I know, senselessly, after three tours in Afghanistan and 20 years in law enforcement, and senselessly his life was taken recently. And Meghan Aberle who was a resident of Massachusetts, I talked to her sister Kathryn. For those of you who did meet her in the two days she was privileged to be here – and that happens, unfortunately. And there’s a young fellow by the name of Fabio Artunduaga, I think, whose life was always playing sports.

So look, life is transitory and we all know that. It shouldn’t be as fragile as it is in some places because of violence. So whatever we do we will continue to do in memory of those people, too, who were as committed as all of us, to try to make a difference. And we’re going to continue to make that difference, and in the end, I think we will have contributed to a great enterprise. Thank you all and God bless. (Applause.)

One last thing. Where is she? Will you all – I promise this is the last comment. I want to introduce – what?

STAFF: (Off-mike.)

SECRETARY KERRY: She’s working on the phone? Jen Davis. Many of you know Jen Davis. She’s working – she’s one of my right arms up in Washington and she’s back here and she’s doing a heck of a job. And I want you all to welcome Jen back because she loves Bogota. (Applause.) Her kids were here right up until a couple of weeks ago. They just moved into their new home in Washington and she feels like this is home. So thank you. Anyway, thanks so much.

EX-IM BANK SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH BANCÓLDEX TO INCREASE U.S.-COLOMBIAN TRADE

Photo Credit:  Wikipedia 

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and Bancóldex have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together to facilitate trade between the United States and Colombia.

Ex-Im Bank and Bancóldex have agreed to exchange information on trade and business prospects that may present opportunities for cooperation, including expanding use of Ex-Im Bank financing by Colombian buyers for their purchases of U.S. goods and services.

Bancóldex is Colombia’s government-owned development and foreign trade bank. It functions as a secondary lender and focuses on entrepreneurship and foreign trade.

The MOU is a statement of general intent between Ex-Im Bank and Bancóldex to promote the availability of Ex-Im Bank financing to Colombian companies, particularly small and mid-sized businesses. Ex-Im Bank and Bancóldex will work together to share information and develop export-financing opportunities in key sectors, including infrastructure, environmental projects, medical equipment and transportation.

Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg and Bancóldex CEO Santiago Rojas signed the agreement today at Ex-Im Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. Colombia’s deputy chief of mission to the United States, Nicholas Lloreda, attended the signing ceremony. Also attending was Bancóldex Risk Vice President Mauro Sartori.

“Colombia is one of the fastest-growing markets for U.S. goods and services in Ex-Im Bank’s portfolio, and it was our single-largest country market last fiscal year. We join Bancóldex in celebrating the entry into force of the historic U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement on May 15. Ex-Im Bank’s agreement with Bancóldex will further encourage opportunities for both countries. It will also strengthen our ability to reach more Colombian buyers and assist more U.S. exporters in tapping the potential of this emerging market,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg.

Bancóldex CEO Santiago Rojas noted, “The free trade agreement will be an opportunity for both countries to increase their bilateral trade, which will have a positive effect on the competitiveness of each country as well as on the ability to generate employment in some sectors. The cooperation between Ex-Im Bank and Bancóldex will support the opportunities that the free trade agreement could bring to entrepreneurs.”

Colombia’s National Investment Plan for 2011-2014 calls for an investment of over $300 billion in infrastructure projects, a key focus area for Ex-Im Bank financing.

Chairman Hochberg conducted a business-development mission in Bogotá in August 2011, where he met with Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos and other government and business leaders. In December 2011, Ex-Im Bank hosted an event in Washington, D.C., “Infrastructure Opportunities in Colombia for U.S. Companies,” which was attended by representatives of more than 100 U.S. companies interested in doing business in Colombia.

Colombia is one of nine key markets (others are Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, South Africa, Nigeria, India, Indonesia and Vietnam) where Ex-Im Bank is focusing its business-development efforts. The Bank authorized more than $3.7 billion in support of U.S. exports to Colombia in FY 2011.

U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY PANETTA MEETS WITH SOUTH AMERICAN DEFENSE LEADERS

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta observes a Brazilian Marine Corps demonstration with Adm. Ferando Antonio at Governor's Island Marine Base, Rio de Janeiro, April 25, 2012. Panetta is on a five-day trip to the region to meet with counterparts and military officials in Colombia, Brazil and Chile to discuss an expansion of defense and security cooperation. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley  


Panetta: U.S., Brazil Partnership 'Is the Future'
By Cheryl Pellerin
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 26, 2012 - On the second day of his first official visit to Brazil, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta addressed a war college audience, watched an amphibious assault demonstration by Brazilian Marines, and paid tribute to Brazil's fallen heroes of World War II.


Panetta has met so far this week with military officials in Colombia and Brazil on a South American trip that aims to expand defense and security cooperation with countries that are important in the region and, increasingly, the world.


"The United States and Brazil begin with a very important strength," Panetta told military officers at the Escola Superior de Guerra -- Portuguese for Superior War College. The secretary said the two nations share the same values and respect for human rights and democracy.


"And if, using that, we can begin to develop the kind of cooperative relationship that we have in the security area, I think our countries can not only help promote security in this hemisphere but can work together to try to promote peace in the world," he said.
"This is the kind of partnership that is the future," noted Panetta, who fielded questions after his lecture.


A Brazilian Navy fleet captain asked if a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan had reduced the power of the U.S. military and if recent and significant budget tightening represented a transformation or was just a way to save money.


"In many ways," the secretary replied to the Brazilian captain's question, "it represents taking into consideration all the factors you just talked about."
Panetta explained how in a time of fiscal constraints Congress directed the Defense Department to reduce its budget by $487 billion over 10 years.


"My problem is that, even though after 10 years of war we are seeing some successes in Iraq and Afghanistan and on the war on terrorism, we still [have] major threats to confront in the world," he said, noting the dangers posed by terrorist groups like al-Qaida, instability in North Korea and Iran, unrest in the Middle East, and cybersecurity threats.
In view of these threats, Panetta said he rejected across-the-board defense cuts in favor of four guidelines. The secretary vowed that the Defense Department would:
-- Maintain the world's finest military.


-- Avoid hollowing out the force. A smaller, ready and well-equipped military is better than a larger, ill-prepared force that has been arbitrarily cut across-the-board.
-- Achieve savings in a balanced manner, with everything on the table.
-- Preserve the quality of the all-volunteer force and not break faith with the men and women in uniform or their families.


Based on these guidelines and with input from all the services, the department developed "a defense strategy that would meet those goals and provide the force we need not just now but in 2020 and beyond," Panetta said.
"At the same time we can't avoid our responsibilities in the rest of the world," the secretary added, "and that's where this hemisphere comes into play."
The United States must work with other countries, including Brazil, to develop innovative partnerships, he said. The United States military, he added, must invest in the technologies of the future -- cyberspace, unmanned systems, and space -- and appreciate the unique capabilities provided by special operations forces.


"We feel very good about the strategy [because] ... it was developed not only because of the budget but because of what we felt we needed to put in place to keep our country strong for the future," Panetta said. "And I recommend to all of you as students, there are elements of the strategy that Brazil and other countries ought to consider as you move forward."


After the lecture, Panetta visited Brazil's World War II Memorial here in Flamengo Park, established in 1965 to honor Brazilian troops killed while serving alongside U.S. troops in Italy.


Panetta and other U.S. and Brazilian officials toured a small museum there, and then placed a wreath in honor of the fallen heroes as rose petals released from the memorial structure drifted down onto the solemn crowd.


Later, at the Governor's Island Marine Base, Panetta and his delegation watched from an observation post as Brazilian special operations troops staged an amphibious beach assault.


During the exercise, two special operations teams used inflatable boats to infiltrate the site of a radar station, "killing" an enemy lookout and reducing the station to splinters with a fiery explosion.


Automatic weapons fire, incoming helicopters, troops, amphibious craft, a tank-carrying landing craft and many colored-smoke-belching grenades completed the demonstration.
Toward the end of the day, Panetta visited the 130-foot statue of Christ the Redeemer, its arms outstretched at the top of the 2,300-foot Corcovado Mountain in Tijuca Forest National Park, overlooking the city and the sea.
"In the world of today," Panetta had said at the war college, "we believe it is important for other countries to develop their military capabilities and provide for security for their people and security for this hemisphere."
The best way to deal with common challenges in today's world, the secretary said, "is to work together, not apart."


"That's why I'm here in Brazil," he added. "Because this is an important place to start that kind of relationship."

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PANETTA WORKS TO EXPAND SOUTH AMERICAN DEFENSE TIES

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Panetta Visit to Expand South American Defense Ties

By Cheryl Pellerin

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2012 - During his first visit to South America as defense secretary, which starts today, Leon E. Panetta will meet over the next week with military officials in Brazil, Colombia and Chile, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

The secretary "is looking to expand defense and security cooperation with three important countries in the region and, increasingly, in the world," Little added.

Panetta will travel to Brasilia and Rio de Janiero in Brazil, Bogota in Colombia, and Santiago in Chile.

This trip follows a late-March visit by Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, Fla., and then to Brazil and Colombia.

In Brazil Dempsey met with Defense Minister Antonio Celoso Amorim and top-ranking military official Gen. Jose Carlos de Nardi in Brasilia, and in Bogota with Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon Bueno and Gen. Alejandro Navas, commander of the Colombian Armed Forces.

For Panetta, one set of discussions in South America will focus on partnering with Brazil, Chile and Colombia to help build capacity for the military to assist civil authorities in such Central American nations as Guatemala, El Salvador and Belize, a senior defense official told reporters in a background briefing on Friday.

"The challenges these countries face are towering compared to their own capacity to deal with them," he said, adding that Brazil, Chile and Colombia already are significant contributors to building partner capacity.

Colombia, for example, offers capacity-building assistance in 16 countries inside and outside the region, including Africa.

Colombian service members have trained more than two dozen Mexican helicopter pilots and now train police in Honduras and Guatemala. The nation also provides assistance in nondefense areas like justice reform, the official said.

Also in the region, in the aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake and tsunami in Haiti, thousands of U.S. and Brazilian military personnel worked together to provide life-saving relief to the Haitian people. It was the largest combined operation of U.S. and Brazilian military forces since they fought together as allies in World War II.

"We could have done better in Haiti if we had glued together the system in advance to provide for more effective defense support to civil authorities," the official said.

"By collaborating with [all three countries]," he added, "the United States can get down to specifics about which country will be conducting specific initiatives and what kinds of initiatives, so together we can ensure the investment we're making ... is as efficient and effective as possible."

During an April 9 meeting in Washington, President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff established the U.S.-Brazil Defense Cooperation Dialogue and announced that Panetta and Amorim would hold the first meeting this week in Brazil.

The DCD will help bolster cooperation between DOD and Brazil's Ministry of National Defense, and between the nations' militaries, the White House said in a statement.

Beyond the Western Hemisphere, the Defense Department is looking to Colombia and Brazil, both of which already have deep ties to Africa and now provide assistance there, to help U.S. Africa Command with peacekeeping and other efforts there.

"Africa typifies the situation we're in, where the United States has limited capacity to help build partner capabilities," the defense official said.

"Brazil and Colombia ... are stepping up to the plate. Let's collaborate with them, establish a dialogue between their militaries and Africom so we're working in mutual support in an informed, cooperative way," he added.

Panetta will also seek to expand the range of defense collaborations, including traditional military efforts such as training, exchanges and joint exercises.

"Clearly we still have plenty to talk about in continuing to support the Colombians in their efforts against [the narcoterrorist group FARC, for Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]to talk about counternarcotics," the official said.

Panetta also will discuss new challenges like cyber security and defense support to civil authorities that offer opportunities for collaboration.

In 2014 Brazil will host the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, World Cup tournament in Rio de Janeiro, and two years later that city will host the 2016 Olympic Games.

"We know in the United States how to provide defense support to civil authorities, to law enforcement or to help prepare for the kinds of challenges these world-class sporting events can attract," he said, "so we're going to share expertise [and] talk about the kind of dialogue that will help nations get prepared."

He added, "In the context of limited resources of the United States for defense ... we have an opportunity to partner together with other nations so they become security exporters."

Panetta, Little said, sees Brazil, Chile and Colombia "as increasingly important players on the regional stage and also in terms of their leadership roles internationally."

All have made progress in terms of their economies, their militaries and their political situations over the last several years, he added.

U.S. ANNOUNCES TEN YEAR VISA VALIDITY FOR COLOMBIANS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Announcement of Ten-Year Visa Validity for Colombians Visiting the United States
Fact Sheet Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 15, 2012
The State Department is pleased to announce an increase in the validity of visas for Colombians traveling on a temporary basis to the United States from five years to ten years. This means that most Colombian applicants who qualify for a B-category non-immigrant visa may be issued a 120-month, multiple-entry visa.

This extension of visa validity is supporting of the expanding partnership between the United States and Colombia on a broad array of issues, which has resulted in increased exchanges for tourism and business. The extension is also consistent with the passage of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which can increase investment between our two countries. A growing Colombian economy will lead to a growth in travel for education and training, tourism, and economic activities.
Approximately 577,000 Colombians visit the United States annually, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Changes in visa reciprocity have no effect on visa eligibility or security screening procedures. Visa applicants will be subject to the same standards of eligibility for a U.S. visa as before the change in validity.

Benefits of the Visa Validity Extension:
Colombians qualified for a temporary visa to the United States will only need to apply to renew their visa once every ten years.
U.S. and Colombian businesses and service providers, including the tourist industry, will benefit from increased travel between the two countries.

PRESIDENT OBAMA AT THE CEO SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS PANEL DISCUSSION

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE

President Barack Obama participates in the CEO Summit of the Americas panel discussion at the Hilton Hotel, Cartagena, Colombia, April 14, 2012. President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff and President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos took part. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

April 14, 2012
Remarks by President Obama at CEO Summit of the Americas
Gran Salon Bolivar
Hilton Hotel
Cartagena, Colombia
10:43 A.M. COT
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, first of all, I want to thank President Santos and the people of Colombia for the extraordinary hospitality in the beautiful city of Cartagena.  We're having a wonderful time.  And usually when I take these summit trips, part of my job is to scout out where I may want to bring Michelle back later for vacation.  So we'll make sure to come back sometime in the near future.  (Applause.)
I want to acknowledge Luis Moreno of IDB, as well as Luis Villegas of the National Business Association of Colombia, for helping to set this up, and everybody who's participating.

As President Rousseff indicated, obviously we've gone through some very challenging times.  These last three years have been as difficult for the world economy as anything that we've seen in our lifetimes.  And it is both a result of globalization and it is also a result of shifts in technology.  The days when we could think of each of our economies in isolation, those days are long gone.  What happens in Wall Street has an impact in Rio. What happens in Bogota has an impact in Beijing.

And so I think the challenge for all of our countries, and certainly the challenge for this hemisphere, is how do we make sure that that globalization and that integration is benefiting a broad base of people, that economic growth is sustainable and robust, and that it is also giving opportunity to a growing, wider circle of people, and giving businesses opportunities to thrive and create new products and new services and enjoy this global marketplace.

Now, I think the good news is this hemisphere is very well positioned in this global economy.  It is remarkable to see the changes that have been taking place in a relatively short period of time in Latin and Central America and in the Caribbean.  When you look at the extraordinary growth that's taken place in Brazil, first under President Lula and now under President Rousseff, when you think about the enormous progress that's been made here in Colombia under President Santos and his predecessor, what you see is that a lot of the old arguments on the left and the right no longer apply.

And what people are asking is, what works?  How do we think in practical terms about delivering prosperity, training our people so that they can compete in the global economy?  How do we create rule of law that allows businesses to invest with some sense of security and transparency?  How do we invest in science and technology?  How do we make sure that we have open and free trade at the same time as we're making sure that the benefits of free trade are distributed both between nations but also within nations?
And the good news is I think that, through various international organizations and organizations here within the hemisphere, we've seen enormous progress.  Trade between the United States and Latin, Central -- South America, Central America and the Caribbean has expanded 46 percent since I came into office -- 46 percent.

Before I came to Cartagena, I stopped in Tampa, Florida, which is the largest port in Florida.  And they are booming and expanding.  And the reason is, is because of the enormous expansion of trade and commerce with this region.  It's creating jobs in Florida, and it's creating jobs in Colombia, and it's creating jobs in Brazil and throughout the region.  Businesses are seeing that if they have an outstanding product or an outstanding service, they don’t have to restrict themselves to one market, they now have a regional market and ultimately a global market in which they can sell their goods and succeed.

A couple of things that I think will help further facilitate this productive integration:  Number one, the free trade agreement that we've negotiated between Colombia and the United States is an example of a free trade agreement that benefits both sides.  It's a win-win.  It has high standards -- (applause) -- it's a high-standards agreement.  It's not a race to the bottom, but rather it says each country is abiding by everything from strong rules around labor and the environment to intellectual property protection.  And so I have confidence that as we implement this plan, what we're going to see is extraordinary opportunities for both U.S. and Colombian businesses.

So trade agreements of the sort that we have negotiated, thanks to the leadership of President Santos and his administration, I think point the way to the future.

In addition, I think there is the capacity for us to cooperate on problems that all countries face, and I'll take just one example -- the issue of energy.  All of us recognize that if we're going to continue to grow our economies effectively, then we're going to have to adapt to the fact that fossil fuels are a finite resource and demand is going up much faster than supply.  There are also, obviously, significant environmental concerns that we have to deal with.  So for us to cooperate on something like joint electrification and electric grid integration, so that a country like Brazil, that is doing outstanding work in biofuels or hydro-energy, has the ability to export that energy but also teach best practices to countries within the region, create new markets for clean energy throughout the region -- which benefits those customers who need electricity but also benefit those countries that are top producers of energy -- that's another example of the kind of progress that we can make together.

On the education front, every country in the region recognizes that if we're going to compete with Asia, if we're going to compete with Europe, we've got to up our game.  We have to make sure that we've got the best-trained workers in the world, we've got the best education system in the world.  And so the work that President Rousseff and I are doing together to try to significantly expand educational exchanges and send young people who are studying science and engineering and computer science to the United States to study if they're Brazilian, down to Brazil to study best practices in clean energy in Brazil -- there's enormous opportunity for us to work together to train our young people so that this hemisphere is filled with outstanding entrepreneurs and workers, and allows us to compete more effectively.

So there are a number of areas where I think cooperation is proceeding.  Sometimes it's not flashy.  I think that oftentimes in the press the attention in summits like this ends up focusing on where are the controversies.  Sometimes those controversies date back to before I was born.  (Laughter.)  And sometimes I feel as if in some of these discussions or at least the press reports we're caught in a time warp, going back to the 1950s and gunboat diplomacy and Yanquis and the Cold War, and this and that and the other.  That's not the world we live in today.

And my hope is, is that we all recognize this enormous opportunity that we've got.  And I know the business leaders who are here today, they understand it; they understand that we're in a new world, and we have to think in new ways.

Last point I want to make -- I think when you think about the extraordinary success in Brazil, the success in Colombia, a big piece of that is governance.  You can't, I believe, have, over the long term, successful economies if you don't have some basic principles that are being followed:  democracy and rule of law, human rights being observed, freedom of expression.  And I think -- and also personal security, the capacity for people to feel as if they work hard then they're able to achieve, and they have motivation to start a business and to know that their own work will pay off.

And I just want to compliment both Brazil and Colombia, coming from different political traditions, but part of the reason why you've seen sustained growth is governments have worked effectively in each country.  And I think that when we look at how we're going to integrate further and take advantage of increased opportunity in the future, it's very important for us not to ignore how important it is to have a clean, transparent, open government that is working on behalf of its people.

And that's important to business as well.  The days when a business feels good working in a place where people are being oppressed -- ultimately that's an unstable environment for you to do business.  You do business well when you know that it's a well-functioning society and that there's a legitimate government in place that is going to be looking out for its people.

So I just want to thank both of my outstanding partners here.  They're true leaders in the region.  And I can speak, I think, for the United States to say that we've never been more excited about the prospects of working as equal partners with our brothers and sisters in Latin America and the Caribbean, because that's going to be the key to our success.  (Applause.)

* * * *
MR. MATTHEWS:  President Santos, I guess there are some issues in America -- we have a very large Hispanic population.  Ten percent of our electorate is going to be Hispanic in background.  We are the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world after Mexico.  People have dual languages in the United States, of course, but there is so much Spanish speaking. You have the chance to sit next to President Obama now.  Do you want to ask him about the ways you think the United States could help your country in the drug war?
* * * *
PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Do you want me to respond?

MR. MATTHEWS:  Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, this is a conversation that I've had with President Santos and others.  Just as the world economy is integrated, so, unfortunately, the drug trade is integrated.  And we can't look at the issue of supply in Latin America without also looking at the issue of demand in the United States.  (Applause.)

And so whether it's working with President Santos or supporting the courageous work that President Calderón is doing in Mexico, I, personally, and my administration and I think the American people understand that the toll of narco-trafficking on the societies of Central America, Caribbean, and parts of South America are brutal, and undermining the capacity of those countries to protect their citizens, and eroding institutions and corrupting institutions in ways that are ultimately bad for everybody.

So this is part of the reason why we've invested, Chris, about $30 billion in prevention programs, drug treatment programs looking at the drug issue not just from a law enforcement and interdiction issue, but also from a public health perspective. This is why we've worked in unprecedented fashion in cooperation with countries like Mexico on not just drugs coming north, but also guns and cash going south.

This is one of the reasons why we have continued to invest in programs like Plan Colombia, but also now are working with Colombia, given their best practices around issues of citizen security, to have not just the United States but Colombia provide technical assistance and training to countries in Central America and the Caribbean in finding ways that they can duplicate some of the success that we've seen in Colombia.
So we're mindful of our responsibilities on this issue.  And I think it is entirely legitimate to have a conversation about whether the laws in place are ones that are doing more harm than good in certain places.

I personally, and my administration's position, is that legalization is not the answer; that, in fact, if you think about how it would end up operating, that the capacity of a large-scale drug trade to dominate certain countries if they were allowed to operate legally without any constraint could be just as corrupting if not more corrupting then the status quo.

Nevertheless, I'm a big believer in looking at the evidence, having a debate.  I think ultimately what we're going to find is, is that the way to solve this problem is both in the United States, us dealing with demand in a more effective way, but it's also going to be strengthening institutions at home.

You mentioned earlier, the biggest thing that's on everybody's minds -- whether it's the United States, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica -- is, can I find a job that allows me to support my family and allows my children to advance and feel secure.  And in those societies where you've got strong institutions, you've got strong business investment, you've got rule of law, you have a law enforcement infrastructure that is sound, and an economy that's growing -- that country is going to be like a healthy body that is more immune than countries that have weak institutions and high unemployment, in which kids see their only future as participating in the drug trade because nobody has actually trained them to get a job with Google, or Pepsi, or start their own small business.

And so I think that it's important for us not to think that if somehow we look at the drug issue in isolation, in the absence of dealing with some of these other challenges -- institutional challenges and barriers to growth and opportunity and the capacity for people to climb their way out of poverty, that we're going to be able to solve this problem.  The drug issue in this region is, in some ways, a cause, but it's also, in some ways, an effect of some broader and underlying problems.  And we as the United States have an obligation not only to get our own house in order but also to help countries in a partnership to try to see if we can move in a better direction.  (Applause.)
* * * *
MR. MATTHEWS: Mr. President, do you want to respond?  I think the question that seems to be apparent here in the last couple of days is, first of all, tremendous enthusiasm, a zeitgeist here that's almost unusual in the world for positive optimism about the development in this part of the world.  It's not like it was -- just isn't the way it was we grew up with.

The challenge I think you just heard from the President of Brazil was the notion that Latin America is not interested in being our complementary economy anymore -- the agricultural end while we do the industrial end; they do the provision of raw materials and we do the finest and highest-level high-tech work. How do we either respond to Brazil's demand, really, to be partners and rivals -- they want to use our educational resources, they want to come north to learn how to compete with us -- right, Madam President?  You want to be equals.  You want to learn everything we know, and then take it back and shove it at us, right?  (Laughter.)  Isn't that it?

Well, anyway, that's the response -- I'd ask you for your response.  (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Chris, I'm not sure you're characterizing what President Rousseff said -- (laughter) -- but this is what happens when you get some of our U.S. political commentators moderating a panel.  (Laughter.)  They try to stir up things that may not always be there.  (Applause.)  And Chris is good at it.  He's one of the best.  (Laughter.)
But, look, this is already happening.  This is already happening.  Brazil has changed, Colombia has changed -- and we welcome the change.  The notion somehow that we see this as a problem is just not the case, because if we've got a strong, growing, prosperous middle class in Latin America, those are new customers for our businesses.  (Applause.)
Brazil is growing and that opportunity is broad-based, then suddenly they're interested in buying iPads, and they're interested in buying Boeing airplanes and -- (laughter.)

PRESIDENT ROUSSEFF:  Boeing -- Embraer.  (Laughter and applause.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  I was just trying to see how she'd respond to that.  (Laughter.)  But the point is, is that that's a market for us.  So we in the United States should welcome not just growth, but broad-based growth, of the sort that President Rousseff described.
I'll give you just -- I said I was in Tampa.  All those containers that are coming in, they have, in some cases, commodities coming from Latin America, but they also have finished products that are coming in from Latin America.  We have commodities that are going into Latin America that we're sending back on those containers, as well as finished products.  And so this is a two-way street.

When I came into office, one of my first decisions was to say that the G20 was not a temporary thing to respond to the world economic crisis; this should be the permanent forum for determining and coordinating direction in the world economy.  And frankly, there were some folks who were members of the G8 who were upset with me about that determination, but realistically you can't coordinate world economic issues if you don't have China and Brazil and India and South Africa at the table -- and Mexico.  That's not possible.

So the world has changed.  I think the United States and U.S. businesses stand to benefit from those changes.  But it does mean that we have to adapt to that competitive environment.  And all the advantages that President Rousseff mentioned we have as the United States -- its flexibility, our scientific edge, our well-educated workforce, our top universities -- those are the things that we continue to have to build and get better at.  And that's true for every country here.
Every one of the businesses here are going to be making determinations about where you locate based on the quality of the workforce, how much investment you have to make in training somebody to handle a million-dollar piece of equipment.  Do you feel as if your intellectual property is going to be protected?  Do you feel as if there's a good infrastructure to be able to get your products to market?  And so I think this is a healthy competition that we should be encouraging.

And what I've said at the first summit that I came to, Summit of the Americas that I came to, was we do not believe there are junior partners and senior partners in this situation. We believe there are partners.  And Brazil is in many ways ahead of us on something like biofuels; we should learn from them.  And if we're going to be trying to mount a regional initiative, let's make sure that Brazil is taking the lead.  It doesn’t have to be us in every situation.

Now, the flip side is -- and I'll close with this -- I think in Latin America, part of the change in mentality is also not always looking to the United States as the reason for everything that happens that goes wrong.  (Applause.)

I was in an interview -- several interviews yesterday.  These were actually with Spanish-speaking television stations that have broadcast back in the United States.  And the first interviewer said, why hasn't the United States done more to promote democracy in the region, because you've done a lot in the Arab Spring but it seems as if you're not dealing with some of the problems here in Latin America.  The next questioner said, why are you being so hard on Cuba and promoting democracy all the time?  (Laughter and applause.)  That’s an example, I think, of some of the challenges we face that are rooted in legitimate historical grievances.  But it gets -- it becomes a habit.

When it comes to economic integration and exchanges, I am completely sympathetic to the fact that there are challenges around monetary policy in developed and less-developed countries. And Brazil, for example, has seen the Real appreciate in ways that had been hurtful.  I would argue a lot of that has to do with the failure of some other countries to engage in rebalancing, not the United States.  But having said that, I think there's not a country in Latin America who doesn’t want to see the United States grow rapidly because we're your major export market.

And so most of these issues end up being complicated issues. Typically, they involve both actions in the United States as well as actions in the other countries if we're going to optimize the kind of growth and prosperity and broad-based opportunity that both President Santos and President Rousseff have spoken about.

And the United States comes here and says:  We're ready to do business.  We are open to a partnership.  We don’t expect to be able to dictate the terms of that partnership, we expect it to be a negotiation based on mutual interest and mutual respect.  And I think we're all going to benefit as a consequence of that. (Applause.)

MR. MATTHEWS:  Thank you very much, President Rousseff, President Santos, and my President, President Obama.  Thank you. It's been an honor.
END

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Victoria Nuland
Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
April 3, 2012
TRANSCRIPT:
12:31 p.m. EDT
MS. NULAND: All right. Happy Tuesday, everyone. I have a brief statement on Mali at the top, and then we’ll go to what’s on your minds. And we will also be putting this statement out right after the briefing.

The United States remains deeply concerned about the ongoing political crisis in Mali. Mali’s territorial integrity is at stake, and its political institutions will be further weakened if Captain Amadou Sanogo and his supporters do not release their illegitimate grip on Mali and its people immediately. We commend the ongoing leadership of the ECOWAS group to restore full civilian and constitutional rule, and we echo ECOWAS’s call – that’s hard, echo ECOWAS’s call – on Captain Sanogo and his supporters to return to power – return power to the civilian leadership, consistent with Mali’s constitution.

At the same time, the United States urgently calls on all armed rebels in the north of Mali to cease military operations that compromise the Republic of Mali’s territorial integrity, and we exhort all parties in the north to ensure the safety and security of Mali’s northern populations. As civilian leadership is restored in Mali, we also urge all armed rebels to engage in dialogue with the civilian leaders in Bamako to find a nonviolent path forward for national elections and peaceful coexistence.
Let’s go to what’s on your minds.

QUESTION: Well, just on that, before, when this was a – before the coup, weren’t you fully supportive of the fight against the Tuaregs? And now you’re saying they should talk to the – they should talk to whoever’s in control?

MS. NULAND: Well, the concern has been that as the security forces of Mali have split, some of them joining the junta leaders, some of them still supporting the elected government, they have stopped fighting the Tuaregs in the north. We’ve seen the result of that, that the Tuaregs have made a march not only on Gao but on Timbuktu, that the situation has become considerably worse. We have always said that the government in Mali needed not only to be fighting, but also to be providing an opportunity to address legitimate political grievances in the north.

So our call now is obviously not only for the civilian government to be restored, but for the Tuaregs to cease their violence, and once we get back to a civilian government, for that government and those with grievances in the north to engage in dialogue rather than to be trying to settle these issues by violence.

QUESTION: Did you ever figure out how much aid you suspended?

MS. NULAND: I have to say to you, Matt, that we are continuing to work through these programs one by one. It is relatively complicated because we want to continue the humanitarian aid while we cut off anything that provides support to the government. So we’re still continuing to work through that, but we are also looking at other ways we can bring pressure to bear on Captain Sanogo.

QUESTION: Well, okay. Like what?

MS. NULAND: We will have more to say about that in coming days.

QUESTION: The French, for instance, are saying that they think it’s time for the UN Security Council to get involved. Is that something the United States supports?

MS. NULAND: My understanding is that the Security Council is discussing Mali today, and in fact there may well be a presidency statement, whether it’s today or in coming days, and we would strongly support that.

QUESTION: Syria?

QUESTION: No. Wait a sec. Just – you said relatively complicated? I mean, okay, relatively complicated I can understand – one day, two day, three days, four days, maybe even five days. But it’s now been 10, at least. It’s that complicated? That would seem to be more than relatively complicated. That would seem to be a, I don’t know, a problem of such immense proportion that the entire building, or whoever’s in charge of it, is unable to come up with this in 10, 12 days.

MS. NULAND: Well, my understanding is that the agencies that manage these programs were given about a week to report exactly what they’re doing, what the programs, one by one, fund. So for about a week of this, we were waiting for accurate information to come in to Washington. Now we’re going through the policy and the legal review, and we also have to notify the Congress. So I’m frustrated, I know you’re frustrated, but that’s what’s happing.
Okay.

QUESTION: Just following up on that, ECOWAS, one of the things they’ve talked about is an embargo, an embargo on Mali in the wake of the coup. Is that something the United States supports, and is there anything the United States can do to make that a reality?

MS. NULAND: Well, my understanding is that ECOWAS, as you know, they had threatened sanctions about a week ago, that today they actually did impose their sanctions, including closing borders, suspending flights, those kinds of things. We very much support their efforts, as well, to pressure Captian Sanogo to relinquish power.

QUESTION: The AU also today imposed travel bans and various other sanctions --

MS. NULAND: Yes.

QUESTION: -- on Sanogo and others. Is that something the United States supports and will follow, or --

MS. NULAND: Those are the kinds of things that we’re looking at.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: What would a presidential statement at this point do or achieve, from the Security Council?

MS. NULAND: Well, I think we have to see the text, but usually a presidency statement is the first step in the council expressing its concern. Let’s see what the text says, but obviously, thereafter one can do more of a punitive nature.
Please.

QUESTION: Syria?

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: Yes. Today, the Foreign Minister Walid Muallem issued a statement that they are cooperating with the International Committee of the Red Cross and facilitating their access to all the areas that need to be accessed, and they are cooperating with them. Do you know anything about that?

MS. NULAND: Well, our understanding is that, throughout this crisis, the ICRC has had some limited access. You know that we had given an initial $10 million in humanitarian aid. We decided to increase our aid on the humanitarian side – we’re up to some 25 million – because we were seeing some of that aid flowing to the Syrian people in need. Our concern had been that the humanitarian organizations had not been getting to the areas in greatest need, particularly when they’re under assault. I would refer you to the ICRC for their view of how they are doing, but our understanding is their access if far from complete.

More importantly, however, as you know, the assertion to Kofi Annan was that Assad would start implementing his commitments immediately to withdraw from cities. I want to advise that we have seen no evidence today that he is implementing any of those commitments.

QUESTION: Although they did make a statement that they are, in fact, withdrawing from the cities. They’re taking their mechanized units from certain areas in Homs and Idlib and many other areas. You have no way of verifying that?

MS. NULAND: In fact, our information is the opposite - that nothing has changed.
QUESTION: So there has been more deployment into these areas, these crowded areas where the demonstrations are taking place?

MS. NULAND: I can’t speak to whether there has been increased deployment, but certainly, through our own means, we have been able to verify no withdrawal of mechanized units, which is what he’s claiming credit for today.

QUESTION: So you don’t have confidence that the Syrian Government will fulfill its commitment to pull out by April 10th?

MS. NULAND: Well, as we’ve said consistently, including again tomorrow at the Security – yesterday at the Security Council, we’re going to judge this by – this guy by his actions, not by his words.

QUESTION: One thing that came out yesterday in the discussion, the – Kofi Annan’s report to the Security Council was the Russian position, and Foreign Minister Lavrov has told Interfax that they now explicitly back the demand on Assad to take the first step in withdrawing his troops. Do you read that as a change in their position? And do you think that’s an important sign, as the international community tries to sort of get a coherent view on this?

MS. NULAND: Well, I’ll let the Russians speak for themselves as to whether their position has changed in the last 24 hours. I think you do know that we have been feeling convergence on the Security Council for some two weeks now. Certainly that was highlighted by the presidency statement that endorsed the Kofi Annan six-point plan. And everybody was together yesterday in agreeing that there needed to be this timeline, and that we were waiting for the regime to demonstrate its good faith.
Please.

QUESTION: But the plans to send 250 monitors after the – April 10th is still on. Are you – when are you going to decide to send this mission?

MS. NULAND: Well, I think as Ambassador Rice said yesterday in New York at her press
event, the DPKO, the peacekeeping arm of the UN, is preparing to be able to send monitors in the event that Assad keeps his word and we are able to get a ceasefire so that they could move immediately in and provide eyes and witness, et cetera, and give comfort to the people of Syria. So that – we’re at the preparatory stage with DPKO, but obviously they can’t deploy unless we have movement on the ending of the violence.

QUESTION: Could – just to follow up on your monitoring of the situation in Syria?

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: With the embassy not there, with people like Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch have no presence in Syria, and all the diplomatic missions have really lowered their presence almost to nil, nothing, how do you keep on top of the situation? How do you stay – let’s say – how do you get verifiable information on what’s going on?

MS. NULAND: Well, as you know, we maintain broad contacts with folks inside Syria. Robert Ford, Fred Hof, speak to people in Syria every single day in different parts of the country. In addition, we work with our allies and partners who live in the same neighborhood and have their own contacts. And then, as you know, we have other means for evaluating things like troops movements.

QUESTION: What’s the title of Mr. Hof?

MS. NULAND: He’s special advisor to the Secretary for Syria. I’ll get the precise title, Samir. Yeah.

QUESTION: Can we go to a different topic?

MS. NULAND: Yeah. Please.

QUESTION: Burma, Myanmar.

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: Following up on your response to Andy’s question yesterday, is there a timeline for the United States to decide any further steps? Is the United States waiting, for example, for Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD supporters to actually enter parliament? Is there any timeline for when the U.S. could take further steps?

MS. NULAND: Well, first of all, as we said yesterday, we congratulate all who participated, and it does appear to be a big victory for the NLD in these elections. The – we have the preliminary results, and our statements were based on that. Our understanding is that over the next few days, those results will be confirmed in final. As we’ve said, we are prepared to match positive steps of reform in Burma with steps of our own. We are now looking at what might come next on the U.S. side. I don’t have anything to announce, but I would look for more movement from us on this in the coming weeks.

QUESTION: And is there something specific you’re waiting for, or is it just an internal process to --

MS. NULAND: No. We’re doing some internal work. We’re also consulting with partners in ASEAN, partners in the EU who may be making similar steps to coordinate them.

QUESTION: Change of topic?

QUESTION: A follow-up?

MS. NULAND: Still on Burma? Anybody? No?

QUESTION: Yeah. Let me just follow up.

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: Thank you. Madam, this ruling party backed by the military government was shocked and surprised about the size of victory that Aung San Suu Kyi had in her party. Now, the situation is this time as it was in 1990, but her election in 1990 was annulled by the military government. Now, will – is she going to get some kind of place there so it will not be the situation of 1990? That’s what many Burmese are asking there and here.

MS. NULAND: Well, our expectation is that the government will honor the results as they are certified. As you know, the initial reporting is that she won her own seat, so she’ll be able to join the party. And then she has 42 other members of her party who appear to have won their seats. So our expectation is that these results will be honored and that the parliament will now reflect the results of these elections.

QUESTION: Is U.S. going to back or ask the ruling military party and government that they should have now – a kind of a free and fair general election, national election, so now she can have a place in – like as a prime minister or so?

MS. NULAND: Well, as the Secretary said – I think was on Sunday when we were in Istanbul – it’s now going to be critical for Burmese authorities to continue to work on reform of the electoral system so that it fully meets international standards, including transparency, and it expeditiously looks into any irregularities. But we are obviously hoping for a continuing evolution of the Burmese political system heading towards the next scheduled elections, which I think are 2015, right?

QUESTION: And finally, a quick one. Have you spoken – or any action or reaction from
India or China? Because they both were supporting the previous government in Burma.

MS. NULAND: Well, I think you know Under Secretary Sherman is in India today. I don’t have a full report, but I’m expecting that she’s obviously talking to Indian authorities about Burma, among other subjects.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: Was there a – Palestinian issue --

MS. NULAND: Yeah. Ros.

QUESTION: Lashkar e-Tayyiba. The U.S. has put out a $10 million reward for the arrest and prosecution of Hafiz Saeed, who is the head of the affiliated charitable organization. He’s suspected of being the mastermind behind the Mumbai killings. Why now? That happened more than three years ago, and his organization, as well as Lashkar e-Tayyiba, have already been on this – the U.S.’s terrorist list.

MS. NULAND: Well, this effort to arrange a Rewards for Justice bounty, if you will, for Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and also for Abdul Rahman Makki has been in the works for quite a number of months. These things are somewhat complicated to work through all of the details. So the announcements were only able to be posted when the process was complete. But there was – we’ve been working on this for some time.

QUESTION: More than a few months? More, less than a year? Can you characterize?

MS. NULAND: I think less than a year but more than three or four months.


QUESTION: Can you explain exactly what it is about – what’s so complicated about offering money for some of – what – printing the posters? What is it that’s so complicated?

MS. NULAND: Well, there is a review process to determine, in the first instance, whether offering a bounty of this kind – in this case, it’s $10 million for Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, it’s $2 million for Abdul Rahman Makki – is likely to lead to any results in the case. So there has to be an intelligence evaluation, there has to be a policy evaluation, there has to be a discussion with Congress. This is a lot of money for the U.S. taxpayer to put up. And so that process takes some time. Things have to be correlated. There is an entire review process. There’s an interagency rewards committee that has to look through this. And then the Secretary has to approve it.

QUESTION: Right. But if it’s only started a couple months ago – Mumbai was quite a – when did the process begin?

MS. NULAND: I can’t speak to whether, right after the bombing, we looked at this at that time. But I think sometimes what happens is intelligence and other information comes later with regards to whereabouts of individuals, which leads one to think that offering a reward might cause citizens who know where they are to come forward. And sometimes that isn’t evident right at the time of the crimes. So sometimes it comes up later. As you may know, one of these individuals has been appearing on television and has been quite brazen. So I think the sense has been over the last few months that this kind of a reward might hasten the judicial process, if you will.

QUESTION: So you’re saying --

QUESTION: (Inaudible) you know his television appearances, he did speak to Al Jazeera today about this bounty being placed on him. And he suggested that this is being done because he has been putting pressure on the government in Islamabad to not reopen the southern transport routes for supplies to NATO ISAF forces. Is there anything to that, or is this specifically because of his suspected involvement in the Mumbai attacks?

MS. NULAND: No, it has everything to do with Mumbai and his brazen flouting of the justice system.

QUESTION: Just to --


QUESTION: As he lives more or less openly in Pakistan, has there been communication with the Pakistani Government, the Pakistani authorities, seeking for his arrest?

MS. NULAND: Absolutely. We have been in communication with Pakistan on this issue.

QUESTION: And he is wanted --

QUESTION: Have they acceded to his placement on this list? Because there’s been some analysis suggesting that doing so could put even more strain on the U.S.-Pakistani relationship. And to follow up on that, is that something that Deputy Secretary Nides would be dealing with in his meetings in Islamabad on Wednesday?

MS. NULAND: Well, on the latter question, the full range of issues related to international terrorism, terrorist threats in Pakistan internationally, is obviously one of the subjects that Deputy Secretary Nides will be talking about. We have continued to impress on the Government of Pakistan that we believe it has a special responsibility to fully investigate and bring those to – those responsible to justice, to the extent that it can. The Government of Pakistan has regularly, in our conversations with them, pledged its cooperation in the investigations. We fully expect that it will follow through on those commitments. I would guess that this case probably will come up.

QUESTION: Is this reward has been – in the consultation of the Indian Government?

MS. NULAND: My understanding is that the primary work that is done before we offer these rewards is internal, that we do advise affected governments that we intend to do this, but it’s not a consultative process, per se.
QUESTION: Thank you, ma’am. Can we change topics?

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: No. It’s – the reward is for information that leads to the conviction of – conviction where?

MS. NULAND: Wherever he can be found. It’s not specific in the way that it goes --

QUESTION: You’re trying to charge – has he been charged with the murder of the six Americans in Mumbai?

MS. NULAND: I don’t have any back --

QUESTION: I guess I’m just trying to find out, why is it for the United States to offer a reward for this guy? Is that the reason?

MS. NULAND: Well, it’s because we want to see him brought to justice. I believe that he has been charged, but I don’t have the – I’ll get you some more on that.

QUESTION: But do you – I mean, you want him brought to justice here? In India? In Pakistan? Where is it that – I mean, what – if I gave you information that he was on such street corner and he gets picked up and arrested, how do I –

MS. NULAND: My understanding --

QUESTION: -- where does he have to be convicted so I can get the money?

MS. NULAND: Okay. Let us get you some more information. But my understanding of
this – and I may have it wrong – is that he’s actually been charged in India --

QUESTION: Yeah.


MS. NULAND: -- in connection with this case, that he has been at large --

QUESTION: Right.

MS. NULAND: -- and has not been able to be either arrested --

QUESTION: Right.

MS. NULAND: -- or brought to trial.

QUESTION: Right.

MS. NULAND: So the precise formulation in the Rewards for Justice announcement is $10 million for information leading to the arrest or the conviction of either – of this individual, $2 million for the other individual.

QUESTION: How much are the Indians offering for this?

MS. NULAND: I don’t know the answer to that.

QUESTION: Are they offering anything, do you know?
MS. NULAND: I do not.

QUESTION: I’m just curious as to why it’s the U.S. job to offer a reward for this guy when --

MS. NULAND: Well, we have Americans killed and it’s only cooperate --

QUESTION: I understand. Six Americans were killed.

MS. NULAND: Correct.

QUESTION: But you also have Americans killed in other places where you’re not offering any rewards or --

MS. NULAND: Well this program, as you know, we have --

QUESTION: Well, it seems to be that the vast amount of damage that this guy and his group has done is to India, and I’m not aware that they’re offering any rewards. So I want to know why the U.S. taxpayer is offering a reward. That’s --

MS. NULAND: Well, I can’t speak to whether India has its own Rewards for Justice-type program. I’m going to refer you to the Indians with regard to that. This is a program that we’ve had for a long --

QUESTION: I understand that, but --

MS. NULAND: Can I finish my point? We’ve had for a long time, when we are concerned that people who have killed Americans overseas are not being able to be brought to justice. So again, this is a case that’s been going on for a long time. This is with regard to justice being served on people who have killed Americans --

QUESTION: Right. Can you --

MS. NULAND: -- so that there is no impunity for them anywhere in the world.

QUESTION: Can we – can you find out, though, where it is that this guy has to be convicted for the reward to be --

MS. NULAND: We will get you a little bit more information on that, Matt.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS. NULAND: Okay.

QUESTION: One more about the overall program?

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: It’s been noted that upwards of $100 million have been paid. Is there a breakdown by amounts, since I understand that there’s no revelation of the people who get the rewards? Is there a breakdown per case, how much was paid out, and when they were paid out?

MS. NULAND: I’m going to take that, Ros. As you know, to protect those who come forward, we don’t generally advertise these things. How much – whether we do an accounting of how much has been authorized under the program and for what cases, I’m not sure. So let me take it.

QUESTION: Okay.

MS. NULAND: Okay?
Said.

QUESTION: Can we go to the Palestinian issue?

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: Yesterday, there was a meeting between Deputy Secretary Burns and a member of the PLO Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi. Could you tell us what has transpired as a result of the meeting?

MS. NULAND: I’m going to take that one too, Said. I don’t have a debrief on that.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS. NULAND: Okay. Please.

QUESTION: Egypt?

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: Members of the Freedom and Justice Party, which is the political arm of the Muslim Brothers, and one of them is a member of the parliament, are in town. It’s the first level – this level visit to Washington that will meet different people. Is there any meeting going on – to take place in this building or not?

MS. NULAND: I don’t know whether we’re meeting this delegation at any level in this building. Let me take that one as well. We’ll get back to you.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS. NULAND: Please, Scott.

QUESTION: Can you speak today on the release of the hostages in Colombia? And what the United States hopes happens next between the government and FARC?

MS. NULAND: Yes. And thank you for your patience yesterday. As you know, the operation was ongoing and we wanted to be careful vis-a-vis the Colombians and the Brazilians, to let them complete the operation.

So the United States is pleased that these Colombian officials, some of whom were unjustly held for up to 14 years by the FARC, are now free and that they’ve been reunited with their families. We commend the ICRC, the Government of Brazil, for the positive roles that they played in this release.

As you know, President Santos of Colombia has welcomed this release and has, in addition, again called for the FARC to renounce all violence and lawlessness and to release all remaining hostages as essential conditions to move forward with a durable peace. I think he used the term that this was positive but insufficient, and we certainly want to see further progress in this regard as well.

QUESTION: Do you believe that the FARC continues to have support from other governments in that region?

MS. NULAND: Well, you know that we’ve had historic concerns about this. I don’t think that those concerns have changed.
Anything else? Please.

QUESTION: On Pakistan?

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: Two questions, quick. One, are you worried about ongoing violence, especially in Karachi? And second, Pakistan is now deporting three wives of Usama bin Ladin, two to Saudi Arabia, one to Yemen. If – you had access to them because they had vital information about Usama bin Ladin’s activities?

MS. NULAND: Well, I’m not going to speak to our intelligence relationship with Pakistan. I think it’s now an internal matter between Pakistan and those governments about the disposition of the wives.
Elise.

QUESTION: And violence – ongoing violence in Karachi?

MS. NULAND: I don’t have anything in particular on that. If we have anything to say,
we’ll let you know.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS. NULAND: Elise.

QUESTION: There have been reports that North Korea is – in addition to the launch that you’re expecting, is also preparing even bigger, long-range missile tests, and there have been some reports that U.S. officials are quoted that it could be even more concerning than originally thought. Do you have anything on this?

MS. NULAND: I don’t have anything new on that. Any kind of missile launch of any kind is of great concern and would be a violation, in our view, of UN Security Council resolutions.

QUESTION: Iraq?

QUESTION: On the --

MS. NULAND: Yeah, Iraq.

QUESTION: On Iraq?

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: Yes. Massoud Barzani, the president of the northern region of Kurdistan, is in town. I asked Mark last week – he is to meet with Deputy Secretary Burns, I guess. Why is he not meeting with the Secretary of State?

MS. NULAND: Well, he’s being hosted, as you know, by the Vice President, so his senior interlocutor will be the Vice President, and then in this building, he’ll have a chance to talk with Deputy Secretary Burns.

Please.

QUESTION: Quick one on Iran, the Secretary in her comments at VMI today again references the expectation that there’ll be these talks next month. Do you have any clarity yet on this?

QUESTION: This month.

QUESTION: This month, sorry.

MS. NULAND: This month, it’s April, right?

QUESTION: Yes, we’re --

MS. NULAND: We’re – life is ticking by.

QUESTION: I’m just wondering if that’s actually been nailed down, when and where.

MS. NULAND: I think we are still where we were yesterday – that we have made a proposal, we think it’s an appropriate proposal, and we are awaiting Iranian confirmation.
QUESTION: On Russia?

MS. NULAND: Yes.

QUESTION: There was a new statement from a senior Russian official criticizing U.S. funding on democracy. Does the United – I mean, arguing that it distorts the Russian domestic process – does the United States have anything new to say to these charges leveled by the Russians?

MS. NULAND: Well, first, I would call your attention to the interview that the Secretary gave to Jill Dougherty of CNN over the weekend. I think we put out the transcript yesterday where she spoke very clearly about our support for Russians’ right to work and speak openly about their interest in more freedom, more democracy, more transparency, more openness.

We have, as the Secretary affirmed, proposed to Congress the creation of a new fund to empower Russian civil society, to protect human rights, to enhance a free and diverse information environment to work with NGOs to create the – increase the dialogue that they have with American NGOs to support the development of political leadership among young people. This would be a $50 million fund that would be drawn from liquidated assets from the former U.S.-Russia Investment Fund. We’re working with Congress on this.

And again, this is designed to support a vibrant civil society in Russia and to allow us to work with those Russian NGOs who want to work with us, to develop their skills and their voice and their ability to represent the aspirations of Russians to increasingly deepen and strengthen their democracy.

QUESTION: Quickly, going back to Iran P-5+1 --

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: -- in your proposal, did you also include Istanbul as a --

MS. NULAND: Yes.

QUESTION: -- venue?

MS. NULAND: Yes, yes.

QUESTION: Did you all take any position on the Palestinian bid for membership in the ICC?

MS. NULAND: With regard to the --

QUESTION: Criminal court – International Criminal Court.

MS. NULAND: To the criminal court? Well, I think – we’ve seen, obviously, the announcement by the prosecutor. This is within his mandate, obviously, to decide, so our focus is obviously, as it has been straight along, just to --

QUESTION: Oh, I know, but you know that countries take positions on things like this.

MS. NULAND: To my knowledge, we did not take any position.

QUESTION: Okay.

MS. NULAND: Okay. All right. Thanks, everybody.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS. NULAND: I will now be off. Have a great holiday week. Mark will be on the podium tomorrow and Thursday.
QUESTION: Oh, yeah.

MS. NULAND: (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Have a great trip.