BELIZE: FORMER AMBASSADOR CAUGHT SMUGGLING CASH

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000131 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR WHA/CEN - J. Mack E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR PREL ECON BH SUBJECT: BELIZE: FORMER AMBASSADOR CAUGHT SMUGGLING CASH ¶1. (U) A former Belizean Ambassador to Guatemala is facing accusations of using his diplomatic credentials to facilitate international money laundering after he was caught trying to enter Panama with a huge amount of undeclared U.S. cash. Moises Cal had also served in the Foreign Ministry as Ambassador to the Central American Integration System and was the governing party candidate for the Belmopan constituency, in addition to being the older brother of the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Cal reportedly made over a dozen short trips to Panama in recent months and is also accused of attempting to bribe Panamanian customs officials who discovered the cash. ¶2. (SBU) Cal attempted to enter Panama using the diplomatic passport he was issued while he was an Ambassador. When he won the nomination last December to be the Peoples United Party (PUP) candidate for the upcoming general election he was required to resign from the Foreign Ministry, but apparently no one thought to ask for his diplomatic passport back. As the story of his troubles in Panama developed, Cal withdrew as a candidate and returned the diplomatic passport to the Foreign Ministry. (NOTE: We have confirmed that MFA sent the passport to the Passport Office for cancellation. Two valid U.S. visas in the passport were also cancelled. END NOTE.) ¶3. (SBU) Ambassador Dieter had lunch with Foreign Minister Courtenay and a meeting with Governor General Young on February 20. Both raised the Cal issue without prompting and were clearly concerned about the scandal. The FM said that his ministry had been called by Panama to check on Cal's diplomatic status; when told that Cal was no longer with the Ministry the Panamanians apparently released him on the promise that he return the next day for questioning. Instead, Cal took the next flight back to Belize to avoid further investigation. The amount of cash Cal had on him is not clear: the FM said he was told by Panama US$130,000, but he had also heard US$250,000; press reports put the amount as high as US$1 million. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The case is a black eye for the PUP, for the government and for the MFA and is already being turned into an election issue by the opposition. Since Cal's unexplained recent wealth was apparently widely known in Belmopan it is hard to imagine how the PUP overlooked that when he was selected as a parliamentary candidate. The question now on everyone's mind is: "Whose money was he laundering?" How the government follows up this case will tell us a lot about the GoB's commitment to good governance and fighting money laundering. END COMMENT. HILL