Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06MEXICO787
2006-02-13 22:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Mexico
Cable title:  

AVIATION COOPERATION CONTINUES, ICAO DEMARCHE

Tags:  ECON EAIR MX CMGT PINS PTER 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5677
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #0787/01 0442240
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 132240Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8911
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC
RUEANHA/FAA NATIONAL HQ WASHDC
RHMFISS/TSA HQ WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 000787 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/TRA/OTP BIRGITTA MATTINGLEY
WHA/MEX, AND WHA/EPSC
IO/T FOR L TOBEY
TSA FOR SUSAN HASMAN AND VICKI REEDER

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2016
TAGS: ECON EAIR MX CMGT PINS PTER
SUBJECT: AVIATION COOPERATION CONTINUES, ICAO DEMARCHE
DELIVERED

REF: A. 06 STATE 13518

B. 05 MEXICO 5213

C. 05 MEXICO 6052

D. 04 MEXICO 7837

E. 05 MEXICO 4419

Classified By: MINISTER COUNSELOR FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS JAMES T. HEG
FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 000787

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB/TRA/OTP BIRGITTA MATTINGLEY
WHA/MEX, AND WHA/EPSC
IO/T FOR L TOBEY
TSA FOR SUSAN HASMAN AND VICKI REEDER

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2016
TAGS: ECON EAIR MX CMGT PINS PTER
SUBJECT: AVIATION COOPERATION CONTINUES, ICAO DEMARCHE
DELIVERED

REF: A. 06 STATE 13518

B. 05 MEXICO 5213

C. 05 MEXICO 6052

D. 04 MEXICO 7837

E. 05 MEXICO 4419

Classified By: MINISTER COUNSELOR FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS JAMES T. HEG
FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (SBU) Summary: Embassy and TSA officials met February 7
with the Director General for Mexican Civil Aviation (DGAC)
and other high level DGAC officials to discuss numerous
aviation related matters including Bill Voss' candidacy for
Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation

SIPDIS
Organization (ICAO),disaster/emergency preparedness, a
MANPADS assessment, and aviation security related training.
The DGAC was enthusiastic and open to working with the U.S.
on these key priorities but as usual, they could not make any
promises without the permission of other Mexican agencies.
End Summary.


2. (SBU) ECON Mincouns, Econoff, and TSA Rep for Mexico met
February 7 with Director General of Mexican Civil Aviation
(DGAC) Gilberto Lopez Meyer, DGAC Director of Security Major
Aaron Villar, and Subdirector of Airports and Service Luis
Bolado to deliver the ICAO leadership demarche and to discuss
aviation disaster preparedness, a MANPADS assessment,
explosives (IED specifically) training, and an upcoming
meeting with TSA.

ICAO DEMARCHE


3. (SBU) Econ Mincouns delivered the ICAO demarche (ref A).
He told the DGAC that we are strongly considering supporting
Roberto Kobeh for President and would like their support for
Bill Voss as Secretary General. Lopez Meyer said he does not
know what the official position of Mexico will be, but he
spoke highly of Kobeh and said that he has a lot of respect
for Voss and believes he is well-qualified. He noted that
Voss and Kobeh would probably work well together and said

ICAO needs good leadership and requires change. Lopez Meyer
acknowledged that the Foreign Ministry (SRE) plays an
important role in the decision, but suggested that Secretary
Mineta call Secretary Cerisola to discuss the matter.
(Embassy is sending a diplomatic note on Voss to SRE).

DISASTER/EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS


4. (SBU) Econ Mincouns thanked the DGAC for their assistance
during Hurricane Wilma and asked if the DGAC would support or
host a conference for government and industry on
aviation-related aspects of disaster preparedness. Econ
Mincouns and Econoff explained the purpose of the conference
would be to improve communication and coordination during
natural disaster related emergency evacuations in tourist
filled areas on both the west and east coasts of Mexico.
Lopez Meyer noted that there are many different processes
intertwined with the actual air evacuation of tourists and/or
citizens and they are merely in charge of a small part of it.
He emphasized that DGAC relies heavily on Mexico's Civil
Defense (Proteccion Civil) and military counterparts to
ensure those processes are completed beforehand. However, he
said if he had more details on what could be discussed and
come out of such a conference, he would be open to holding
it. He had no knowledge of any upcoming regional disaster
preparedness meeting in Mexico.


5. (C) Lopez Meyer emphasized that it is vital to get rid of
the diplomatic note requirement in cases of aviation
emergencies (ref B). He believes that if a natural disaster
occurs, an aviation accident or large security incident, he
has to be able to quickly call on his U.S. colleagues and
depend on them not being delayed. He believes the SRE will
not make it easy for this to happen and that we must
establish some emergency bi-lateral protocol in writing.
Econ Mincouns and Econoff told Lopez Meyer that more than a
year ago the SRE stated that they only needed notification by
e-mail or fax in emergency/immediate situations but they've
continued to require a diplomatic note.

MANPADS ASSESSMENT


6. (C) In a previous meeting with TSA, Lopez Meyer mentioned

MEXICO 00000787 002 OF 002


that he wanted all GOM Agencies to sign a document signaling
their agreement and participation in a joint MANPADS
assessment (Almost a year and a half ago, the GOM canceled a
joint MANPADS assessment for Mexico City two days before the
start date due to "political" sensitivities - ref D and E).
Lopez Meyer admitted that he had not collected signatures yet
but told his assistant to immediately schedule a meeting with
other GOM agencies on the subject. He believes that an
assessment in Cancun will not be possible due to the
rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Wilma. He also noted
that Mexico City may still be too politically sensitive at
this time but mentioned the possibility of joint assessments
at Tijuana and San Diego or even better at Ciudad Juarez and
El Paso. Lopez Meyer seemed interested in the possibility of
visiting a military training center near El Paso that
specializes in MANPADS defense. He said the assessment would
probably be easier to sell to other GOM agencies if the
Canadians also participated (TSA had offered this at a
previous meeting). He said that he wants to conduct an
assessment before the July elections but said it may be
politically easier to wait until after the elections.

IED TRAINING


7. (C) The TSA Rep asked Lopez Meyer for the official request
for IED (Improvised Explosive Device) training for personnel
who are in charge of responding to credible threats of
explosives found in baggage at airport checkpoints. Lopez
Meyer signed the DGAC's request and gave it to the TSA Rep.
Currently, in many Mexican airports, most security
authorities with the exception of military have no idea how
to respond to an IED threat. ATF and TSA jointly decided to
offer the GOM training in Mexico, hopefully with the use of
NAS funds. The Mexican Federal Preventive Police (PFP) and
other federal law enforcement entities will be the recipient
of the training.

UPCOMING TSA VISIT


8. (U) TSA Rep reminded Lopez Meyer that a TSA delegation
from Washington would be arriving the week of February 21 to
work on SPP related items and on Hold Baggage Screening.
Lopez Meyer scheduled his meeting with them for February 23
at 10 a.m. Lopez Meyer also noted to Econ Mincouns that he
hoped that current bilateral sensitivities regarding border
incidents and the proposed immigration legislation would not
get in the way of aviation cooperation. He noted that he
will continue working with all of our agencies.

COMMENT


9. (SBU) Lopez Meyer clearly does not want the DGAC to get
caught in the political crossfire. He remains sensitive to
our concerns but admits that he lacks influence over the SRE
on both the ICAO vote and on some security matters. He is
open to the idea of sponsoring a meeting between public and
private aviation officials on disaster preparedness but wants
to ensure that there is a clear purpose to the meeting and
wants to ensure that it doesn't encroach on the
responsibilities of Civil Protection or other Mexican
authorities.






Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity

KELLY