STATUS OF INQUIRIES INTO THE DEATHS OF PERUVIAN

UNCLAS LIMA 005311 SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/AND, L/PM, PM, DS/IP/WHA, DS/IP/OPO E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV MARR ASEC PE SUBJECT: STATUS OF INQUIRIES INTO THE DEATHS OF PERUVIAN CITIZENS WORKING AS SECURITY CONTRACTORS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ REF: A) MONSERRATE/POWERS E-MAIL 12/14, B) LIMA 5309, C) LIMA 5286, D) LIMA 5231 ¶1. Per Ref A, this message summarizes the information post needs in order to respond to diplomatic notes, family concerns, and media inquiries in these cases. ¶2. Embassy has received three diplomatic notes regarding Martin Jara Hichard, a security guard working for the U.S. firm MVM Inc. who was reported deceased in Kabul on 12/1. The specific requests of the Foreign Ministry are to: -- Provide information on the circumstances of the death of Mr. Jara. -- Provide information on the operational relations between the contracting and the recruiting companies involved in sending Peruvians to Afghanistan. -- Provide information on the relationship between the USG and the companies that provide it with security services in places like Afghanistan. -- Give urgent attention to this matter, as Mr. Jara's family has received no information about the circumstances of his death, nor are they aware of the location of his remains. -- Per the request of the 31st Lima Public Prosecutor's Office, return Mr. Jara's body to Lima intact, with its internal organs and blood, and accompanied by a copy of the autopsy report done in Afghanistan, in order to safeguard forensic evidence regarding Mr. Jara's demise. (NOTE: Embassy understands that per international air freight standards, a body may not be shipped without at least "partial" embalming. END NOTE.) ¶3. Embassy also wishes to receive any information the Department can provide regarding the case of Wilder Gutierrez Rubio, a security contractor employed by the U.S. firm Triple Canopy who died in Lima of leukemia on 12/6, shortly after returning from Baghdad. Press reports have quoted Mr. Gutierrez's family as claiming that when he departed for Iraq a few weeks previously, he was in a good state of health. In addition to general background information on Mr. Gutierrez, we would like to receive data on his medical history prior to departure for Iraq, and his treatment while in Iraq. We are also interested in the general issue of Triple Canopy's policy on screening for health issues prior to employment. To date, Embassy has not received a diplomatic note regarding the case of Mr. Gutierrez. STRUBLE