ARGENTINA: U.S. CITIZENS' LAND THREATENED WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 001930

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR WHA/BSC, EB/OIA, EB/CBA, AND L/EB
USTR FOR MARY SULLIVAN
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN
OPIC FOR RUTH ANN NICASTRO
TREASURY FOR OSIA/INL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: U.S. CITIZENS' LAND THREATENED WITH
EXPROPRIATION

REF: BUENOS AIRES 01567

Classified By: CDA, a.i., Michael Matera, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d)

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (SBU) Two recent cases of threatened land expropriation
directed against two U.S. citizens have garnered local media
attention, but it does not appear that the seizure of
properties will move ahead in the near term. The most
serious case involves the land of Douglas Tompkins, whose
property in Corrientes province was encroached upon by former
piquetero and now GOA official Luis D'Elia on August 10 as
part of a media spectacle ostensibly designed to defend the
rights of local residents living in the area of Tompkins'
property. D'Elia subsequently backed a bill in the National
Congress together with Kirchner congresswoman Areceli Mendez
to confiscate Tompkins' property and that of a nearby
Argentine company. On August 23, however, Cabinet Chief
Alberto Fernandez said that the Casa Rosada did not back the
bill.


2. (SBU) The other case involves the land of Peter McBride
in Catamarca Province. The case originally arose in 2005,
but gained momentum in July 2006 when the Catamarcan Senate
approved the expropriation of the McBride's property. There
does not appear to be momentum to move further with the case
in the short term and Catamarcan Governor Brizuela del Moral
promised Ambassador Gutierrez in June that he did not, and
would not, support the expropriation. However, McBride told
Poloff during a recent visit by Poloff to Catamarca that he
was surprised by the Senate vote and that the situation could
change at any moment. Poloff conveyed to the Catamarcan Vice
Governor and members of the provincial Senate and Lower House
our concern that the issue be resolved in a just and legal
manner.


3. (C) Leading Argentine political analysts consulted by
Poloff are in agreement that President Kirchner is unlikely
to follow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's model and
initiate a wider scale land expropriation. However, they
warn that Kirchner and his allies may initiate more of these
expropriation cases against U.S. citizens holding large
tracts of land as the election campaign heats up in the
coming year. END SUMMARY.

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TOMPKINS CASE
--------------


4. (SBU) On August 10, Argentine Secretary for Public Lands
and former piquetero leader Luis D'Elia led a group of
protesters to cut open an unlocked cattle gate on the ranch
of American citizens Douglas and Kristine Tompkins. The move
appeared to be a stunt on the part of D'Elia to attract media
attention to his call for the expropriation of the Tompkins'
300,000 hectare property in Corrientes province. His stated
reason was that Tompkins was blocking the road access of
local residents, a charge Tompkins has publicly denied. The
gate in question, Tompkins argued, had always been unlocked.
D'Elia subsequently supported a bill in the Lower House of
Congress introduced by Kirchner Congresswoman Areceli Mendez
to confiscate Tompkins' property and that of a nearby
Argentine company. D'Elia also held a p2F]!g,E6+!' 0Btogether with other leftist Kirchner allies, such as the
Mothers of the Plaza's Hebe de Bonafini, in support of the
expropriation of Tompkins' property.


5. (C) The press and opposition reaction to the proposed
land expropriation was very negative, leading the GOA to
distance itself from D'Elia's actions. Leading local
newspapers criticized the proposed land expropriation,
pointing out the negative affect the action would have on
badly needed foreign investment. Leading opposition figures,
such as Mauricio Macri and Roberto Lavagna, argued the action

demonstrated the Kirchner administration's lack of respect
for the rule of law. On August 23, Cabinet Chief Alberto
Fernandez said that the Casa Rosada did not back the bill.
Agustin Rossi, head of the Kirchner bloc in the Lower House,
also said he would not move forward on the expropriation
bill. (Comment: Given the two week delay between D'Elia's
encroachment on Tompkins' property and the Casa Rosada
response, as well as the presence of numerous Kirchner allies
at D'Elia's public events in support of the expropriation, it
is likely that D'Elia's actions at least initially had the
Casa Rosada's approval. End Comment.)


6. (SBU) Multi-millionaire businessman and founder of North
Face outdoor wear Douglas Tompkins was out of the country
when the incident occurred. However, his wife contacted the
Embassy on August 14 to express her concern for the safety of
ranch hands and worries over D'Elia's continuing public
threats to return to the ranch with his gang. Consular
officers have been in contact with Ms. Tompkins regarding her
safety concerns, but she is seeking USG political
intervention with GOA leaders. She told Conoff on August 23
that she feels no immediate personal danger, but continues to
worry about her staff at the El Transito ranch. Recently,
local media has been inciting hostility against her family,
their property and their employees with the motive of
"recuperating national sovereignty," Tompkins told Conoff.
(Comment: Ms. Tompkins' conversation with Conoff took place
before Alberto Fernandez's announcement that the Casa Rosada
does not support the land seizure. Regardless, we plan to
raise the issue with our Casa Rosada contacts. End Comment.)


7. (SBU) In press interviews, Douglas Tompkins has indicated
his desire to donate the land around the disputed roadway and
help the those families living in the vicinity obtain legal
titles to the property they are living on. Tompkins is a
dedicated environmentalist, who has purchased large tracts of
land in Chile and Argentina with the principal objective of
environmental conservation. For example, Tompkins acquired
33 thousand hectares of land near the famous Perito Moreno
Glacier in Kirchner's home province of Santa Cruz when
Kirchner was Governor of the province.

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MCBRIDE CASE
--------------


8. (SBU) This case involves the proposed expropriation of
53,603 hectares of privately-held land in Catamarca province,
a large part of which is owned by U.S. citizen Peter McBride.
McBride first raised the issue with the Embassy in 2005, and
after several calls from Ambassador Gutierrez and other
Embassy officials, it appeared the effort had been halted.
However, on July 13 of this year, the Catamarcan Senate
unanimously approved the expropriation. The bill must still
be approved by the provincial lower house and signed by
Governor Eduardo Brizuela del Moral before taking effect.
Brizuela del Moral has indicated his opposition to the bill
on numerous occasions and told Ambassador Gutierrez during a
June 21 phone call that he was aware of the issue and would
work to prevent the implementation of the law. (Note: The
Catamarcan legislature can pass the law over the veto of
Governor Brizuela del Moral provided they have a two-thirds
majority in support of the bill. End Note.) (For more on
the details of the McBride case, see reftel.)


9. (SBU) Poloff met with Peter McBride during a August 14-16
visit to Catamarca, during which McBride said he thought
there was no momentum to move further with the expropriation,
but that things could change at any point. McBride said that
he wanted to donate the part of his land on which the
squatters were living (the professed justification for the
expropriation). However, McBride said that the province is
trying to expropriate a much larger piece of his land on the
grounds that squatters on land adjacent to his property want
it for grazing. McBride noted that his property had been on
the market for 15 years before he purchase it in 2003. The
land had been considered worthless until he and his partners

found water on the land. Only after the water was found,
McBride reported, did the proposal to expropriate his land
surface. McBride reported that the Vice Governor Hernan
Colombo was one of the big proponents for the land
expropriation. McBride said that the Embassy may have some
influence over Colombo through appeals to his allies in the
Casa Rosada, such as Kirchner political strategist Juan
Carlos Mazzon.


10. (C) On August 15, Poloff met with Catamarcan Vice
Governor Hernan Colombo and leading members of the Catamarcan
Senate in a wide-ranging discussion that included expressing
our concerns that the McBride case be resolved in a just and
legal manner, with respect for private property rights. Vice
Governor Colombo said the issue for the province was
defending the rights of the people that had been living on
the land for a long time. Poloff noted that McBride was
seeking to donate part of his land to the residents. The
Vice Governor appeared to not acknowledge this fact and
remarked to Poloff, "And besides, why would McBride want this
land anyway? There is no water on it." Poloff replied that
McBride had in fact found water (something that even Governor
Brizuela del Moral has acknowledged in signed correspondence
to McBride).


11. (C) The Vice Governor said that regardless of the
details of the case, the proposed expropriation had nothing
to do with McBride's status as a foreigner. (Note: The bill
approved by the Catamarcan Senate specifically mentions the
"foreign interests" that have acquired the disputed territory
and are impinging on the rights of the native Catamarcans on
the property. End Note.) The Vice Governor said he hoped
the issue would not dampen the desire of U.S. investors to
invest in Catamarca. Poloff said that judicial security was
a crucial requirement for investors and again noted our
desire to see the issue resolved in a just and legal fashion.
On August 14, Poloff delivered a similar message to leaders
of the Catamarcan Lower House.

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PART OF A TREND?
--------------


12. (C) Leading Argentine political analysts consulted by
Poloff are in agreement that President Kirchner is unlikely
to follow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's model and
initiate a wider scale land expropriation. Also, in contrast
to Venezuela, the Argentine political leaders advocating the
land expropriation in both cases have at least hinted at
compensation. However, the Argentine political analysts warn
that Kirchner and his allies may initiate more expropriation
cases against U.S. citizens holding large tracts of land as
the election campaign heats up in the coming year as a means
of shoring up their leftist base.

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COMMENT
--------------


13. (C) Given polls that show Argentines have the most
negative views of the U.S. out of all nations in Latin
America, the U.S. will be a convenient target for President
Kirchner as the election season gets under way next year.
Kirchner frequently resorted to anti-U.S. rhetoric during his
2003 presidential campaign and there is little reason to
believe he will not do the same if he decides to run for
re-election in 2007. We cannot rule out that this type of
rhetoric might inspire more efforts to expropriate the
property of some U.S. citizens in Argentina, particularly
large landholders. For now, they appear as two isolated
cases.


14. (C) D'Elia picked a difficult target in Douglas Tompkins
-- given his stated objective of acquiring land for
environmental conservation -- especially while Argentina is
in a dispute with Mercosur neighbor Uruguay over the
construction of two paper plants that has been couched in

terms of the GOA's defense of the environment. It appears
that the land seizure in these two cases will not move
forward in the short-term, but this is an issue that we will
continue to closely monitor. END COMMENT.


MATERA