PARAGUAY: NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL PLEDGES COOPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASUNCION 001071

SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/AA
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN
TREASURY FOR OTA WARFIELD, VAN KOCH, MILLAR
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD DAN JOHNSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM PTER PINR SNAR PA KICC
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY: NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL PLEDGES COOPERATION


Classified By: PolCoun James P. Merz for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. On 8/19, the Ambassador met with Ruben
Candia Amarilla, Paraguay's newly elected Attorney General,
to stress the importance the U.S. attaches to cooperation
with his office in the fight against transnational crime,
including drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorist
financing, and piracy. Candia pledged his commitment to
cooperation with the U.S. and sought our guidance on some
personnel questions. Candia was accused by the opposition
and in the press of being corrupt and unqualified for the
job. Post neither opposed nor endorsed Candia when his
candidacy was originally floated. To date, Candia is making
positive noises about being responsive on issues we care
about. End Summary.
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Candia Elected in the Face of Attacks, Rumors
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2. (U) On 8/18, the Paraguayan Senate elected Ruben Candia
Amarilla by a vote of 28-13 to be Paraguay's next Attorney
General replacing Oscar Latorre whose term expires 8/31. His
candidacy enjoyed the support of not only the ruling Colorado
Party Senators and the members of its multi-party coalition
(3 dissident Senators from the opposition Liberal Party, the
2 Senators from the leftist Country in Solidarity Party
(PPS),and the one Senator from the left-center National
Encounter Party (PN)) but also the votes of the five Senators
from National Union of Ethical Citizens Party (UNACE) headed
by imprisoned coup-plotter Lino Oviedo. There is already
speculation that UNACE negotiated its support for Candia's
candidacy in exchange for favorable consideration of
outstanding charges and conviction appeals connected to
Oviedo. Opposition senators from the Liberal Party and
Beloved Fatherland Party (PQ) accused Candia of being both
corrupt and unqualified for the job. In the course of his
Senate hearing, a PQ Senator introduced a transcipt of a tape
from the mid-90s allegedly quoting Candia soliciting a bribe
as compensation for his assistance in getting charges
dropped.

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U.S. Courted on Candia's Candidacy
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3. (C) In the weeks prior to the 8/18 Senate vote, a number
of candidates for the position of Attorney General, including
Candia, approached the Ambassador and other Emboffs, seeking
U.S. support for their candidacy. It was public information
that Candia had once defended a prominent drug trafficker and
other criminals. Of course, that is what criminal lawyers
do, and Candia claimed he had only handled one part of one
narcotic case; he hadn't made that his specialty. Candia's
name did not appear in NADDIS, DEA's database. On several
occasions, Candia conveyed openness to cooperate fully with
the U.S., assuring us that our priorities would be his and
requesting suggestions to improve his office, including
personnel changes. The Embassy knew that he was President
Duarte's first choice and did not want to create a
confrontation over his candidacy when we did not have
reliable derogatory information on him. We would have
preferred a person with no blemishes but all the principal
candidates raised doubts one way or the other. In the end,
given the considerations noted above, we neither endorsed nor
opposed him.

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U.S. Establishes Priorities
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4. (C) On 8/19, the Ambassador met with Candia stressing
the importance we attach to cooperation with the Office of
the Attorney General in the fight against transnational
crime. The U.S. provides direct technical and material
assistance to GOP law enforcement entities to assist them in
the investigation of these crimes. Just recently, the U.S.
announced a decision to provide Paraguay with an additional
USD 324,000 to combat IPR violations of which USD 139,000 was
earmarked for the Attorney General's Office. In addition we
had provided significant assistance to the Secretariat for
the Prevention of Money Laundering (SEPRELAD) and urged him
to work more closely with this institution in building money
laundering cases. More assistance to support GOP law
enforcement activities could be forthcoming in connection to
the Millennium Challenge Threshold program.

5. (C) The Ambassador identified by name several key
prosecutors, involved in narcotics and IPR cases, that we
would like to see extended. He also conveyed our support for
the prosecutors working in the Economic Crimes unit that are
vetted by the U.S. It was critical the Attorney General
establish internal controls to combat corruption. We urged
that he participate in an upcoming seminar hosted by the
Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS) designed to
assist Paraguay in identifying priorities in developing a
National Security Plan and fostering greater
interinstitutional cooperation.

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Candia Pledges Cooperation, Requests Assistance
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6. (C) Candia remarked that he was worried about the scope
of the challenges that faced him. He conveyed on repeated
occasion his commitment to work closely with us in
introducing reforms. He carefully noted the names of
prosecutors we support and queried us for our views regarding
several prosecutors from CDE long rumored to be corrupt. He
shared our concerns about the integrity of the corps of
police officials assigned to his office but who do not fall
under his direct authority. He wanted our views about the
reliability of an informant for confidential information on
sensitive cases. He assured us that he was prepared to work
closely with SEPRELAD. He explained that he was good friends
with the current Attorney General Latorre consulting with him
on frequent occasion about the workings of the office. In
separate meetings with Emboffs, Candia conveyed his readiness
to work with us in advancing key procedural code reform. He
also signaled readiness to dedicate a second prosecutor
exclusively to drug cases -- an outstanding U.S. request to
which his predecessor had not been responsive.


7. (C) Comment. Thus far, Candia has conveyed an
unambiguous commitment to cooperation with the U.S. in the
advancement of shared priorities combating transnational
crime. He has made himself readily available to the Embassy
and listened carefully to our requests. Ultimately, his
success will ride on his ability to adopt and implement a
plan of action to advance effectively these objectives and
resist the inevitable political pressure that will come to
bear upon him not to effect this kind of change. We will be
pro-active in providing early assistance and guidance to
cement our relationship and strengthen his ability to address
our priorities. We will also urge he travel to the U.S.
early on in his term. End Comment.
KEANE