AMBASSADOR MEETS MINISTER OF JUSTICE TO DISCUSS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 004147

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL CASC SP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR MEETS MINISTER OF JUSTICE TO DISCUSS
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND TIP ISSUES

Classified By: Political Counselor Kathy Fitzpatrick; reason 1.5 (B) an
d (D).


1. (C) Summary. The Ambassador met with Minister of Justice
Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar on October 21 to discuss law
enforcement issues, including counterterrorism cooperation,
trafficking in persons, and Mutual Legal Assistance and
Extradition treaties (MLAT). The Ambassador stressed the
USG's interest in highlighting the good ties between the U.S.
and Spain, particularly on law enforcement issues. Aguilar
agreed on the importance of working together to combat all
forms of international crime and described the level of USG
cooperation with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) as
"excellent." Asked how cooperation could be improved,
Aguilar said the GOS would like to see more timely responses
to GOS requests for USG information in GOS counterterrorism
investigations. He said the GOS is committed to combating
trafficking in persons. On other matters, Aguilar discussed
the Zapatero Government's conflict with the Catholic Church
on a range of GOS social initiatives and said he was amazed
by the growth of Protestant and other non-traditional
denominations in Spain. Aguilar is among the most positive
of Zapatero's officials towards the USG and is well placed to
help us on security matters. End Summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador and DCM met with Justice Minister
Aguilar to discuss a range of law enforcement issues. The
Ambassador thanked Aguilar for Spain's high level of
cooperation with the USG on law enforcement issues, including
in the fight against terrorism. The Ambassador expressed the
USG's appreciation for the Spanish Attorney General's
proposal to begin talks with the USG on the formation of a
joint counterterror investigation team. Aguilar agreed with
the Ambassador on the importance of strong bilateral
cooperation on law enforcement issues, describing the level
of USG agencies' cooperation with their Spanish counterparts
as "excellent."

//TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS//


3. (C) The Ambassador underlined the importance to the USG of
combating traficking in persons (TIP),noting that the
Embassy had received significant cooperation from GOS
contacts in preparing the 2003 TIP report. Aguilar said the
GOS understands the scope of the TIP problem in Spain and is
committed to dismantling TIP networks. He said he had been
aware of the problems of East European victims discussed in
the TIP report, but was surprised by the number of African
prostitutes making their way to Spain via Maghrebi smuggling
routes. The DCM said the USG found government statistics
related to TIP a particularly useful tool for gauging
international trafficking patterns. Aguilar said GOS would
gladly share TIP statistics with the Embassy.

//LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION//


4. (C) Aguilar and the Ambassador discussed upcoming talks in
Madrid between USG and GOS legal officials to work out the
final details of the bilateral protocol to the Mulitlateral
Extradition and Legal Assistance treaties (MLAT). Aguilar
remarked on the continuing political sensitivity for Spanish
authorities on extraditions related to death penalty cases.
He nonetheless assured the Ambassador that the MLAT
discussions were on track from the Spanish perspective and
that all pending issues would be resolved in the late
November or early December meeting of bilateral legal
experts. The Ambassador asked whether Spain has replaced its
Central Authority for enforcement of the Hague Convention on
Parental Child Abduction, a pending issue of importance to
our Mission. Aguilar provided the name of the official in
the Ministry of Justice who oversees the Central Authority,
but indicated the position has not yet been filled.


5. (C) The Ambassador asked what the USG could do better in
terms of law enforcement cooperation. After consulting
briefly with his aides, Aguilar said the GOS would like a
more timely response from USG agencies on Spanish requests
for information related to counterterrorism investigations.
(NOTE: This stems from complaints by some Spanish officials,
notably high-profile judge Baltasar Garzon, that the USG is
"impeding" Spanish investigations by not making intelligence
information available to Spanish prosecutors for use in
court. This is likely to remain a point of contention,
especially in cases where GOS police lack information that
can be used in court. END NOTE). However, Aguilar did not
press the issue and stressed Spain's overall satisfaction
with the level of USG cooperation.

//RISING IMPORTANCE OF NON-TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS//


6. (C) Switching from law enforcement matters to GOS
relations with religious organizations (which also falls
under the purview of the Ministry of Justice),Aguilar
defended the Zapatero Government's iniative to reduce the
influence of the Catholic Church and to decrease some of the
government benefits enjoyed by the Church but not by other
denominations. He said accusations that Zapatero was
anti-Catholic Church were unfair; the GOS wants a truly
secular state without providing special advantages to any
particular group. Aguilar said Spain's religious demography
was vastly more complex than in the past, noting the
impressive rise of Protestant churches, Mormon congregations,
and, most recently, the opening of a Church of Scientology
center in downtown Madrid.

//BIOGRAPHIC NOTES//


7. (C) Aguilar was born in 1961 in the Canary Islands.
Within the PSOE, Aguilar has served as Assistant Spokesman
(1993-1998),as a member of the party's Executive Committee,
and as an election coordinator. He was one of the PSOE
negotiators in security discussions with the Popular Party
that resulted in the PSOE/PP Anti-Terrorist Pact. He holds a
masters degree from the University of Granada, a law degree
from the University of Bologna, and was chair of the School
of Constitutional Law at the University of Las Palmas.
Aguilar also received a degree from the Fletcher School of
Law and Diplomacy, spending two years in the U.S. during his
studies. He is friendly towards the USG and will likely be a
useful interlocutor on law enforcement issues throughout his
tenure as Minister.
ARGYROS