COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN

UNCLAS MADRID 004657 SIPDIS DOJ FOR ANDREW BEACH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OVIP CASC KCRM KJUS PREL SP EUN SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN ASHCROFT REF: A. A) USDOJ 83090 ¶B. B) BEACH-ZUNIGA TELCON OF 12/8 ¶1. Embassy Madrid warmly welcomes and grants country clearance to Attorney General Ashcroft and his team on December 17 for the signing of the bilateral protocol to the multilateral MLAT (REF A) and a meeting with Minister of Justice Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar. We have incorporated the new arrival information (REF B) and understand that this event will now take place on December 17 with no overnight stay by Attorney General Ashcroft or members of his party. ¶2. Post will make hotel reservations for advance team member Andrew Schauder when his travel plans to Madrid are finalized. We have already made separate hotel reservations for the Attorney General's security advance discussed in REF ¶A. We assume that the Attorney General's party will no longer require the mobile phones requested per REF A. Please advise if mobile phones will still be required. ¶3. The Embassy control officer for the Attorney General's visit is political officer Ricardo Zuniga. Contact info follows: Office phone: 34-91-587-2386 Cell phone: 34-650-625-413 Fax: 34-91-587-2391 Home phone: 34-91-650-6081 e-mail: zunigarf@state.gov ¶4. Visitors are reminded that bearers of diplomatic and official passports coming to Spain on official business need to obtain a Spanish visa prior to arrival in Spain. ¶5. THREAT ASSESSMENT: In general, Spain is safe. However, Madrid, Barcelona and other large cities in Spain -- including resort/convention areas such as Benidorm -- attract a large number of criminals and pickpockets and frequent incidents of crime of opportunity against the unwary do occur. Carry only essential items including a photocopy of your passport's photo page. Visitors can protect themselves against crime by being street-smart, alert and aware of their surroundings. In the event you are victimized by crime, or experience any security-related incident, please contact the Embassy's Regional Security Office at 91-587-2550 or after hours at 91-587-2355. Official visitors to the Embassy in Madrid or the Consulate General in Barcelona are encouraged to receive a security briefing from the RSO office at their earliest convenience. Additional information regarding safety and security in Spain is available on the U.S. Department of State's website (http://www.state.gov) and the U.S. Embassy's website (www.embusa.es). Travelers are encouraged to review the most recent Worldwide Caution issued by the Department of State. As the Department of State continues to develop information on any potential security threats to Americans overseas, it shares credible threat information through its Consular Information Program documents, available on the Internet at http://travel/state.gov. In addition to information on the Internet, U.S. travelers can hear recorded information by calling the Department of State in Washington, D.C. at 202-647-5225 from their touch-tone telephone, or receive information by automated telefax by dialing 202-647-3000 from their fax machine. MANZANARES