PARAGUAY: ENTRY OF CUBANS CONCERNS GOP

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/31/2008
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KCRM PINR PA
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY: ENTRY OF CUBANS CONCERNS GOP

Classified By: POLOFF STERLING TILLEY, FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D)

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Summary
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1. (U) News articles in recent weeks alleged an alarming
number of Cuban nationals are entering Paraguay.
Confidential sources have confirmed the legal entry of

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significant numbers of Cubans into Paraguay since May 2005.
Carlos Liseras, Director of Immigration, discussed this issue
with the ConGen but would not confirm details since the
investigation is on-going. Embassy sources have noted that
simultaneous investigations by intelligence and military
organizations seek to determine if Cuban intelligence
operatives are working in various parts of the country. The
Ambassador discussed the entry of Cubans with a reporter who
indicated the Cubans are using Paraguay as a "trampoline" to
go to the US. Ironically, it seems the Cuban Government
officials are also concerned; the Cuban Embassy in Paraguay
has announced it was investigating the travel of Cubans to
Paraguay and "how they got out of Cuba.". The MFA's
Bilateral Affairs Director confirmed the GOP plans to
terminate the Cuban doctor program; he placed the number of
Cuban doctors in the country at 70 and the number of
Paraguayans on scholarship in Cuba at 651. Private
individuals have informed Emboffs that a number of the Cuban
doctors do not want to leave Paraguay. End Summary.

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Immigration Chief Offers Little Information
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3. (C) On August 24, ConGen discussed the legal entry of
Cubans in increasing numbers in recent months with Carlos
Liseras, Director of Immigration. Liseras indicated
Immigration along with the National Police are investigating
the motives behind the increase in Cubans entering Paraguay.
He indicated that the Immigration Office does not know the
exact number of Cuban nationals in Paraguay. He also said
that the Cubans have been entering legally with the proper
documentation. Some Embassy sources have indicated that
sixty (60) to seventy (70) Cubans per month have entered
Paraguay since May 2005. Some public and military sources
estimate that as many as 700 Cubans have entered Paraguay
since May. Liseras indicated that once the investigation is
complete he will discuss the issue again with ConGen.

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Spies, Tourists, and Doctors, Oh My!
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4. (C) Embassy sources confirm there are simultaneous
investigations underway, including by the Military,
Immigration and the National Police, into the travel of
Cubans to Paraguay. The military is addressing this
situation from the perspective that some tourists and/or
medical personnel may be GOC intelligence operatives.
Immigration and the National Police are investigating the
possibility that the Cubans are involved in international
crime syndicates operating in Paraguay and or are planning
to travel to third countries. Unconfirmed news reports have
alleged that Cuban nationals have provided military training
to leftist groups in the interior provinces.

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Ninety (90) Miles Not Long Enough
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5. (U) Recently, the Ambassador discussed this issue with a
journalist, who believes many Cubans are using Paraguay as a
means to earn enough dollars to enter the U.S. and then claim
asylum. A recent news report alleges, a large number of
Cubans entered Paraguay in Ciudad del Este and Encarnacion,
then obtained falsified documents and entered the U.S. via
Argentina and Brazil. Consular information indicates only
three (3) Cuban nationals applied for NIVs and all were
denied. The ConGen suspects the Cubans may be using coyotes
to enter the U.S., if the story is true. ConGen will discuss
this issue with the DHS Officer in Lima.

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Cuban Government Concerned?
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6. (U) News reports indicate that the Cuban Embassy in
Asuncion is investigating not only the stay of its citizens
here but also how they succeeded in leaving Cuba. One
diplomatic source said that a normal Cuban citizen couldn,t
get access to enough money to buy an airplane ticket to leave
Cuba. Cuba's Ambassador to Paraguay Gonzalez Cruz has
asserted that Cuba is also interested in finding out more
about its nationals entering Paraguay: namely who those
people are, what they did for a living in Cuba, what
itinerary they are using, whether they got their visa from
the Paraguayan Embassy in Havana (headed by Augusto Ocampos
Caballero),and whether they will remain in the country or
are thinking of emigrating to a third country like the U.S.
(NOTE: A related report claims, a Cuban mission plans to come
in September with portable communications equipment to
navigate through the Internet in connection with the medical
work they will carry out in the country. End Note.) Other
reports indicate Cuba's Ambassador to Paraguay will soon
finish her mission.

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Cuban Doctors and Paraguayan Scholarships
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7. (C) On August 26, PolCouns met with the MFA's Director of
Bilateral Affairs Amb. Ceferino Valdez to discuss the Cuban
medical program. When apprised President Duarte had told
SECDEF on August 16 that there were 700 Cuban medical doctors
in Paraguay, Valdez noted that the President had erred.
Seventy (70) Cuban medical doctors are registered in the
country. It is possible the President was thinking of the
number of Paraguayans studying in Cuba on medical
scholarships, which Valdez placed at 651. (NOTE: Embassy
sources have given us a list of 67 medical personnel).


8. (C) Valdez confirmed that President Duarte had decided not
to renew the MOU with Cuba for the doctors program that
expires at the end of the year. However, he advised that
Paraguay has not/not officially informed Cuba of this
decision yet, although it has been mentioned publicly by the
Health Minister. He maintained the Cuban Embassy is calling
"everyday" asking about extension of the MOU for the program,
which is apparently in its fifth year. To date, Valdez was
not aware of any requests for asylum or refugee status made
either to Paraguay or the UN by the Cuban doctors. There
were, however, several cases in which Cuban doctors had
married Paraguayans and had children. The Paraguayan spouses
had petitioned for the Cubans to obtain permanent residency
in Paraguay but Valdez said that the GOC required the doctors
to return to Cuba while the petitions remained pending.
Valdez did not discount the possibility that once the
decision regarding termination of the program was announced
several of the doctors might claim refugee status to avoid
returning.


9. (C) On September 1, Pierre Joly, the Belgian director of
a medical relief NGO and Ivan Benavented, the Director of
Institute that specializes in natural medicine discussed the
Cuban doctor program with PolCouns. Both maintained that
they had heard from GOP sources that Paraguay intended to end
the Cuban medical program in response to U.S. pressure
exerted in part during the recent visit of SECDEF Rumsfeld.
Both had worked with Cuban doctors whom they claimed brought
to Paraguay a knowledge of natural medicine few doctors from
other parts of the world could share. Some of these Cuban
specialists in natural medicine and a number of other Cuban
doctors -- numbering 20 in total -- were worried about the
imminent termination of the Cuban medical program. They
wanted to stay in Paraguay but had been informed by Cuban
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y
authorities that they would be transferred to Venezuela where
they understood "Cuban doctors had been killed." Joly and
Benavente appealed for U.S. intervention with the GOP to
grant these doctors permission to stay in Paraguay.


10. (C) Polcouns described U.S. concern in principle with
the Cuban doctor program given accounts that its participants
involved themselves in political indoctrination activies -- a
concern Joly and Benavente said that they shared. The U.S.
had shared its concerns regarding Cuba but Paraguay would
have to take its own decision about the future of this
program. Those fearing political persecution could consider
appealing for refugee status directly to Paraguay through the
United Nations. Benavente believed that some Cuban doctors
had stayed in Paraguay in the past upon completion of their
tours. He was concerned Cuba might decide to cancel its
scholarship program for Paraguayans should Paraguay decide to
cancel the doctor program or allow a significant number of
Cubans to claim refugee status in Paraguay. He conveyed
interest, however, in exploring with UN representatives the
possibility of pursuing refugee status.


11. (C) Comment: The entry of a significant number of
Cubans, legal and otherwise, has captured the attention of
immigration and law enforcement officials. Immigration is
under pressure to better account for the whereabouts of those
Cubans. The GOP appears prepared to address concerns
regarding the activities of the Cuban doctors in country by
terminating the program at years' end. While the MFA advised
us the number of doctors was limited to 70; the Japanese
Ambassador told us that he had been informed by the Cuban
Ambassador that there were approximately 200 Cuban doctors in
country. Post will remain in contact with GOP regarding
their investigation into this matter and efforts to address
the issue. Our quiet efforts have helped stir debate both
about possible improper activities by Cuban doctors and
others, and lack of adequate data on other Cubans possibly
entering to escape Castro. Ironically, the Cuban
Ambassador's statements noting concern over how so many
Cubans "got out of Cuba" strengthens our message. End Comment.
KEANE