U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL GONZALES AT OAS JUSTICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTO DOMINGO 001468

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR, WHA/OAS,L/LEI FOR TORRES, INL;
DEPT OF JUSTICE/CRIM ORJALES, TOLEDO, DEPUTY USAG BSWARTZ;
US MARSHAL SERVICE PLEASE PASS TO CHRIS DUDLEY;
DEA FOR OF,OFI,DO,DCO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/27/2016
TAGS: OVIP PREL PTER SNAR KCRM KJUS OAS DR TD VE
SUBJECT: U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL GONZALES AT OAS JUSTICE
MINISTERIAL IN SANTO DOMINGO APRIL 24-26

Classified By: Charge d'affairs Lisa Kubiske. Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Summary. On April 24 and 25, U.S. Attorney General
Alberto Gonzales attended the 6th Regular Meeting of
Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General of the Americas
(REMJA-VI),held in Santo Domingo. A hour-long conversation
with President Leonel Fernandez provided suggestions for
improving the U.S. image in Latin America and ruminations on
the Iraq war, while a shorter meeting with Attorney General
Francisco Dominguez Brito dealt with law enforcement
cooperation and the REMJA-VI mechanism. Senior Dominican
government spoke of concern with issues surrounding
criminality and rule of law, as suggested by a specific
request for a criminal indictment in the BanInternacional
bank fraud case. A bilateral discussion with Trinidad and
Tobago focused on the radical group Jamaat al-Muslimeen and
on T&T's deteriorating relations with Venezuela. End summary.



2. (SBU) On April 24 and 25 U.S. Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales attended the 6th Regular Meeting of Ministers of
Justice and Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA-VI),
held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In addition to
the business of the conference, the Attorney General had
lengthy meetings with Dominican President Leonel Fernandez
and Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito. The
Ambassador hosted a working lunch that brought the Attorney
General together with key Dominican cabinet members and law
enforcement officials. The Attorney General gave an
interview to the legal specialist of a widely read daily
newspaper.

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President Fernandez
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3. (C) During the evening of April 24, President Leonel
Fernandez received AG Gonzales for an hour at the
presidential palace. The Ambassador and U.S. PermRep to the
OAS Amb. John Maisto, DOJ deputy chief of staff, and poloff
accompanied. Throughout the call Fernandez was philosophical
and spoke freely about his views.

-- Justice Sector

Fernandez noted that improvement in the justice sector began
under his watch, with an increased emphasis on transparency,
building public confidence, and efficiency. He admitted
encountering difficulties in the fight against corruption,
which he found to be highly politicized, especially in the
judiciary. He said that if the ruling Dominican Liberation
Party (PLD) captured additional congressional seats in the
May 2006 elections, there would be an opportunity to appoint
politically untainted judges. (Note: Fernandez' comment
mirrors the popular perception that Mejia-administration
judicial appointees will not convict members of Mejia's
opposition Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) for
corruption-related offenses.) Upon questioning by the
Attorney General, Fernandez suggested that judicial
corruption is being countered by improved salaries and
benefits packages for judges.

-- Military to Military Relations

Fernandez described bilateral military relations as going
"very well" in general terms, though he noted "We're always
expecting more technology transfer, equipment, and training"
from the United States.

-- Regional Perception of the United States

AG Gonzales noted a U.S. concern that the United States is
perceived as caring only about Iraq. Fernandez commented
that the United States should break out of its historic, but
understandable, pattern of concentrating upon countries in
crisis ("A lot of good friends in the regon are somehow
being neglected"). Fernandez saidthe United States should,
instead, actively rewad good governance and democratic
stability throuh increased contacts. One example could be a

visit by President Bush to the Dominican Republic. The
Ambassador pointed out that President Bush had begun his
administration with a Latin American trip (i.e., to Mexico).
Fernandez countered that the U.S. national agenda had changed
following the attacks of September 11.

Fernandez hoped that the United States would make increased
use of "soft power" in the region, which he defined largely
as the awarding of scholarships, as well as cultural and
athletic exchanges. Fernandez provided examples of what he
viewed to be the successful projection of "soft power": the
current Cuban practice of awarding medical school
scholarships to students from developing nations, and Russian
scholarships to that still-functioning Cold War relic, the
Partice Lumumba University in Moscow. "Why can't the United
States have a program like this?" The Attorney General and
Ambassador Maisto noted that there are thousands of Latin
American students in the U.S., and the U.S. plans to do more.

-- Global War on Terror: Afghanistan and a "Mistake" in Iraq

Shifting focus, the Attorney General noted adverse comments
in the hemisphere on the global war on terror and criticisms
of Guantanamo. He inquired as to the impact in the Dominican
Republic.

Fernandez thought neither issue to be a "problem" in the
country, mainly because most people are not well informed.
"Speaking frankly and as a friend," Fernandez commented that
the "second Iraq war" had little to do with terrorism and
therefore was a "conceptual mistake." Fernandez said, in
comparison, the war in Afghanistan was a "natural reaction"
and "the right thing to do." Taking a long view, Fernandez
said, the Iraq war was a strategic mistake, as it eliminated
a military counterbalance to Iran. Responding to the
Attorney General's reply that genuine fear of Iraqi weapons
of mass destruction was the cause of the most recent
conflict, Fernandez said his opinion would have been the
same, even if WMD had been found. Fernandez said that the
general public concern over Iraq is strictly limited, rightly
or wrongly, to the high world price of oil as experienced
through the high price of gasoline.

-- Iran

Fernandez concluded that Iran is "bluffing." He urged the
United States "not to play into their game," suggesting that
that would only embolden others (i.e., North Korea and
Venezuela). He said, "The world is against Iran" and
predicted diplomatic victory for the United States on the
Iranian nuclear issue in the United Nations.

-- CAFTA-DR

Fernandez expressed surprise that both U.S. ambassadors
expressed concern about the lack of Dominican progress toward
CAFTA implementation and the specific apprehension that the
DR could miss its own July 1 deadline. Fernandez had been
told by his chief negotiator that negotiations were on track
and on time. "Well, then," he said, "if not July, then
August." The Ambassador warned against slippage and informed
the President of a North Carolina textile firm that had
recently decided to make a USD 100 million investment in
Nicaragua -- a lost opportunity for the Dominicans.

-- Narcotrafficking

The Attorney General praised international cooperation on
narcotrafficking. Fernandez said that rises in Dominican
crime rates are due to narcotraffickers and the drugs with
which they are paying their Dominican employees.

-- OAS General Assembly

Setting the state for the June 4-6 event, Ambassador Maisto
said that the OASGA theme of "governance and development for
a knowledge society" is truly important. It connects last
year's theme of "delivering the benefits of democracy" to the
biggest challenge facing democratically elected governments

in the hemisphere: governing democratically. Fernandez
agreed with this point and emphasized the technological
dimensions of the issue.

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AG Dominguez Brito
--------------


4. (U) Dominican Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito
expressed to AG Gonzales in the margins of the plenary
histhanks to the USG, especially to USAID, for assistance on
law enforcement administration and reform. He then discussed
philosophies of controlling narcotics and crime control and
the reorganization and institutionalization of the REMJA.


5. (SBU) Dominguez Brito noted the persistence of a domestic
drug problem, despite the effort to stop the inflow of drugs,
particularly at seaports and airports. He suggested that an
increased emphasis on street-level distributors, whom he
described as micro-traffickers, might be in order. Noting
that the average age of a "youth gang" participant had
increased, Dominguez Brito commented that the country should
revisit its anti-drug strategy with an eye toward dismantling
youth gangs before their relative power increases. In
relaying U.S. anti-crime strategies, AG Gonzales spoke
generally of "Project Safe Neighborhood," a USG initiative in
which federal authorities fight gun use and other crime on a
local level. Gonzales offered to share additional
information regarding this and other strategies.


6. (SBU) Dominguez Brito suggested the OAS justice
ministerial would benefit greatly from institutional changes.
He thought this best accomplished by the creation of a
triumvirate of the past, current, and future presidents, who
could meet to plan REMJA's substantive agenda. Dominguez
Brito suggested that the next REMJA meeting could be held
somewhere in the United States. AG Gonzales replied that he
would consider these suggestions and said that he also wants
to increase REMJA's effectiveness. Later, at the REMJA
plenary, AG Gonzales endorsed the idea of creating the
triumvirate.


7. (SBU) On the margins of other meetings, the Dominican
Attorney General relayed his concerns regarding two
extradition matters: the frustrated petition for extradition
from the United States of Sam Goodson (aka Shlomo Ben Tov),
rejected on appeal by a U.S. magistrate for insufficient
documentation of probable cause, as well as the extradition
request, pending in New York state, for Dominican national
Jeffery Pena Bencosme, accused of killing a policeman in
Santiago, Dominican Republic. .

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Am Embassy Working Lunch
--------------


8. (C) On the afternoon of the April 25, 15 senior Dominican
officials joined the Attorney General, the Ambassador OAS
PermRep and senior Embassy and DOJ staff at the Ambassador's
residence for a working lunch. The majority of Dominican
officials limited themselves to praising USG cooperation in
the areas of legal reform and law enforcement, Dominguez
Brito and Presidential Legal Advisor Cesar Pina Toribio asked
specifically for assistance in obtaining a U.S. criminal
indictment against U.S.- Dominican dual national Luis Alvarez
Renta, a prominent businessman charged in the penal case for
the 2003 fraudulent collapse of Banco Internacional
(Baninter). Both said that a U.S. criminal investigation and
subsequent indictment would assist in the collection of a
civil award of approximately USD 173 million won in federal
court in South Florida and would further facilitate
proceedings against Alvarez Renta in the Dominican Republic.


9. (SBU) In an exchange of ideas on the most pressing issues
facing both the United States and the Dominican Government,
AG Gonzales stressed that terrorism remained the single most
important justice-related issue facing the United States.
When he asked the 15 Dominicans present for their views, only
Dominguez Brito answered. The answer was immediate and

uncontradicted: criminality and rule of law issues were the
issues considered most critical for the Dominican government,
though the country needed to be ready to face terrorism as
well.

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Bilateral meetings - Trinidad and Tobago
--------------


10. (C) Terrorism featured much more prominently in a
bilateral meeting between the Attorney General and Trinidad
and Tobago's Attorney General John Jeremie.

-- Terrorism

The Attorney General, joined by the Deputy Assistant Attorney
General, DOJ Deputy Chief of Staff, and poloff, heard details
regarding the persistence of the Jamaat al-Muslimeen, an
indigenous Islamic terror group responsible for an attempted
coup in 1990. The 5000-member-strong group funds itself
through drug trafficking, gun running, and Islamic charities,
possibly with links to Pakistan. The criminal core of the
group is estimated at roughly 500 members. The Jamaat are
"number 1" in Jeremie's priority list.

According to Jeremie, there remains a palpable fear regarding
the group; a fear exacerbated by a 1990 amnesty for 113 of
the coup participants, as well as the general failure of
successive governments to control the group's activities.
Still, Jeremie asserts, the current government is "making
progress" in the war on terror with the arrest for incitement
of Jamaat leader and founder Imam Yasin Abu Bakr. Jeremie
suggested that the authorities had "broken the back of
Jamaat" with this arrest, but he conceded that much work
would still need to be done with the senior judiciary, whom
he described as "infected" by corruption.

Jeremie described current anti-terror laws as sufficient,
noting that the UN-modeled Terrorism Act contains a maximum
25 year term for incitement to violence. He made it a
point to thank Gonzales for the FBI's assistance in helping
stop a recent spate of bombings in Port of Spain. The
Attorney General replied, "We'd be happy to consider other
assistance."

-- Corruption and Extradition

For Jeremie, the fight against corruption is the area where
insufficient progress is being made, and the area where the
USG might best be able to help. He calls corruption a
"significant problem that has affected the very heart of
government." Though the USG has helped with indictments in
the case of a corrupt former Prime Minister, the USG has not
yet met the extradition request for ex-minister Brian Kuei
Tung, accused of fraud in a Piarco airport development
project. Jeremie gently contrasted this status with what
noted to be good relations with the British on mutual legal
assistance. Commenting on the intersection of corruption
and extradition, Jeremie said that extraditions were some of
the easier judicial processes the Trinidad and Tobago
government could undertake, as the lower magistrates are "not
as touched by corruption."

The Attorney General replied,"Let's see what we can do."

-- Venezuela

Acknowledging that there was probably nothing that the United
States could do in this area, Jeremie nevertheless relayed
his opinions regarding the deteriorating relationship with
the Chavez regime. Jeremie thought the turn of the
relationship came when Trinidad and Tobago,s Prime Minister
took a contrary position on Chavez, Petrocarribe oil
distribution scheme. That resulted in a personal
"falling-out" between the two men, the outgrowth of which was
Venezuelan support for the Jamaat. As an example of this
support, Jeremie sited a locally well-known picture of a
Jamaat leader climbing on board a Venezuelan tank. He
concluded by noting that the Trinidadian-Venezuelan

relationship had deteriorated to such a point that "the days
where we could broker the peace between you and Mr. Chavez
are long gone."


-- Regional Warrants

The Attorney General inquired as to the Trinidadian position
on the backing of warrants, a process by which one nations,
warrant would be enforceable in another state. After noting
that such a scheme was already in practice in Europe, Jeremie
found it to be "a difficult sell in practical terms" for
Latin America because of differing human rights situations in
the states in the region.

While the Trinidad government does back warrants for other
sovereign island states in the region, based largely on a
commonality of legal systems and "a certain amount of due
process," an OAS proposal for hemispheric warrant backing
would be "ahead of the curve."


11. (U) This cable was cleared by WHA/OAS. The Embassy sent
a copy of the draft to the Office of the Attorney General on
April 28 by secure e-mail (B Swartz) and has not received DOJ
comment.
KUBISKE