BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002712 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR US SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC KOMC AR SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: PRE-LICENSE END-USE CHECK ON APPLICATION 05-1011862 REF: A. STATE 182875 ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 1965 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Per Ref A request, post carried out a pre-license check on Buenos Aires, Argentina-based foreign end-user Juan Diego Ariztegui, Representaciones Aeronauticas (Ariztegui) on November 9. It is post's opinion that the company will be a responsible recipient of United States Munitions List items. The unusual aspects of the license request, including the use of a letter of intent vs. a purchase order and the lack of an existing contract, speak to the internal procurement process of the Argentine Navy, and do not reflect negatively on the firm. Site security is not a significant concern, as firm does not warehouse or handle any licensed parts, but arranges for direct shipment to purchaser. END SUMMARY ¶2. (SBU) Ref A questions and post answers: - Can Ariztegui confirm that it has a contract in place with the Argentine Navy to supply the spare parts listed in paragraph 4? POC is Juan Diego Ariztegui, TEL: (54-11) 4779-9600. The firm has a contract with Sikorsky and Helicopters Support International, a spare parts/technical support company 100%-owned by Sikorsky. It does not have a contract with the Argentine Navy but won various tenders to supply 300-400 spare parts directly to the Navy. The firm has already delivered most of the parts but for the small amount which require the export license. - Why is Ariztegui ordering items under a letter of intent and not under a firm purchase order? The license request includes parts which the Argentina Navy has agreed to purchase from Ariztegui, but for which the Navy does not yet have fully authorized budget allocations. Local practice in this case is to pre-order such parts under a letter of intent rather than under a firm purchase order. - Does Ariztegui represent countries in addition to Argentina, and if so, who? Does Ariztegui act as a broker in helping any parties acquire ITAR-controlled items? Will any of these parts be re-exported to other countries? The firm represents the Sikorsky company in both Argentina and Uruguay. It has yet to make any sales in Uruguay and has thus far only made contacts for possible civilian sales. It does not broker ITAR-controlled items. No parts will be re-exported. In fact, parts ordered under this license request will not be handled at any time by the firm, but will be shipped directly to the Argentine Navy. - Can the Argentine Navy confirm Ariztegui's involvement in this transaction? Captain Roberto Duran of the Argentine Navy, a regular contact of Post MilGroup, confirms Ariztegui's involvement in this transaction. ¶3. (U) Per Ref B, post Blue Lantern officer is now Brian Jensen. Please slug all future Blue Lantern requests to him until further notice. Contact info below: Brian D. Jensen, Economic Officer Phone: 54-11 5777-4403 or 4747 Fax: 54-11 5777-4212 JensenBD@state.gov ETD July 2009 MATERA