Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ASUNCION1249
2005-10-05 17:38:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Asuncion
Cable title:  

PARAGUAYAN LEADERS GATHER TO DEVELOP SECURITY PLAN

Tags:  PGOV PREL PINR PTER KCRM SNAR PA 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASUNCION 001249 

SIPDIS

SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD DAN JOHNSON
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER KCRM SNAR PA
SUBJECT: PARAGUAYAN LEADERS GATHER TO DEVELOP SECURITY PLAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASUNCION 001249

SIPDIS

SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD DAN JOHNSON
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PTER KCRM SNAR PA
SUBJECT: PARAGUAYAN LEADERS GATHER TO DEVELOP SECURITY PLAN


1. Summary. On 9/16-9/18, senior Paraguayan officials
gathered for a workshop sponsored by the Center for
Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS) to discuss developing a
national security plan. This workshop grew out of a visit by
Vice President Castiglioni to the U.S. in May with leading
U.S. officials, including VP Cheyney and SECDEF Rumsfeld, to
discuss Paraguay's concerns about national security
challenges. VP Castiglioni and the Ambassador presided at
the opening and conclusion of the workshop. At the request
of the Paraguayan Government, the workshop focused on three
objectives: 1) promoting greater respect for rule of law, 2)
strengthening public security, and 3) expanding border
security. Participants generally agreed on the need to
strengthen institutions, improve interagency coordination,
and expand the presence of the state throughout the country
to meet these objectives. At the conclusion of the event, VP
Castiglioni promised to present President Duarte with the
salient recommendations emerging from the workshop with a
view to developing a comprehensive plan to meet Paraguay's
national security challenges. End Summary.


2. On 9/16-9/18, a team of experts from the National
Defense University's Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies
(CHDS),headed by CHDS Director Richard Downie, took 40
senior Paraguay Officials including the Minister of Interior,
the Minister of Defense, the National Police Commander, the
Attorney General, 2 Supreme Court Judges, two Senators, the
Vice Foreign Minister, and the Directors of Paraguay's
Anti-Drug Secretariat and its Anti-Money Laundering
Secretariat through the steps necessary for developing a

SIPDIS
national security plan. Participants were broken up into
three groups. The workshop began with a team building
exercise/competition requiring each group to build a bridge
connecting two tables 3 meters apart using basic materials
including paper, paper clips, tape, and cups. Surprisingly,
many of the participants, including the Supreme Court Judges
and the Attorney General, threw themselves into the activity
setting a tone for active participation and teamwork

throughout the week's exercises which focused on 1)
establishing objectives, 2) developing a strategy, 3)
identifying resources, 4) building coordination, and 5)
establishing measures of effectiveness.

--------------
Developing a Strategy
--------------


3. Per feedback from VP advisors, CHDS facilitators had
identified the
following objectives as central to developing a national
security plan:

-- promoting greater respect for rule of law
-- strengthening public security
-- expanding border security

There was a broad agreement on some of the factors that
presently impeded the government's efforts to instill a
greater sense of security within the general population
including:

-- overcentralization
-- poor coordination
-- poor communication
-- limited resources
-- lack of leadership
-- lack of teamwork

While each group worked independently to develop a strategy
to advance the national security objectives identified above,
it was noteworthy how many common elements emerged from each
group. All of the groups essentially agreed on the need to

-- strengthen/modernize institutions
-- improve coordination amongst institutions
-- expand the presence of the state both on the border but
also in the interior of the country where state security
institutions are largely absent
-- combat impunity/promote transparency

Each group reached similar agreement on the resources
necessary to deliver national security including:

-- all state agencies with a role in promoting security
-- training for each of these agencies
-- international support

The groups identified the following to measure effectiveness:

-- crime levels
-- citizen confidence


4. Much focus was placed on the need for greater
coordination. One participant in the workshop remarked on
the meeting's usefulness if for no other reason than that it
served an incentive to draw together all of the key players
on security issues for a group discussion of the challenges
they each face and how they can best meet them together.
Some of the participants from the military expressed some
reluctance about being charged with responsibility for public
security since being brought out of the barracks last
November but this issue was largely glossed over. In
addressing concerns as relate to Paraguay's inability to
control its border a number of complaints were lodged against
the powerful Brazilian community that owns large tracts of
land mostly for cattle or soy cultivation. Several of the
groups stressed the need for concrete measures to cultivate a
greater sense of national identity among the border
populations.
--------------
Next Steps
--------------


5. In the wake of last year's kidnapping and murder of
Cecilia Cubas, the daughter of a former Paraguayan president,
amidst overall rising crime levels, a concern about security
often ranks second only to concerns about the economic
situation/jobs in national polls querying citizens about
leading concerns. With this in mind, VP Castiglioni
embraced the opportunity availed by this workshop to assist
the GOP in developing a strategy to improve national security
and enhance cooperation amongst the entities charged with
responsibility for meeting this challenge. At the concluding
ceremonies, Supreme Court Judge Alicia Pucheta, one of the
leading participants in the workshop, remarked that she had
found the workshop the single best training experience she
had participated in during her 35 year legal career. VP
Castiglioni appeared genuinely impressed with the
presentations made by each group summarizing the conclusions
drawn from the workshop and offering recommendations to meet
Paraguay's public security challenges. He committed himself
to presenting to President Duarte the most salient
recommendations emerging from the workshop. We will be
following up to ensure that presentation occurs and that we
capitalize on the good will and greater sense of team work
that emerged from this workshop.


KEANE