DRUG CARTEL PRODUCED VIDEOTAPE ALLEGES CORRUPTION AT HIGHEST

106172 2007-04-27 21:07:00 07MONTERREY472 Consulate Monterrey SECRET//NOFORN VZCZCXRO9981 PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM DE RUEHMC #0472 1172107 ZNY SSSSS ZZH P 272107Z APR 07 FM AMCONSUL MONTERREY TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2047 RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 2813 INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 7214 S E C R E T MONTERREY 000472 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR INL; DS/IP/ITA; DS/IP/WHA; DS/ICI/CR E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/27/2017 TAGS: SNAR PGOV ASEC MX SUBJECT: DRUG CARTEL PRODUCED VIDEOTAPE ALLEGES CORRUPTION AT HIGHEST LEVELS OF MEXICAN GOVERNMENT CLASSIFIED BY: Luis Moreno, CG, Monterrey, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (SBU) During a private meeting on April 27, the Consul General asked Nuevo Leon Governor Natividad Gonzalez Paras about recent public statements made by the State Assistant Attorney General, Aldo Fasci Zuazua. Without being solicited, Fasci told reporters on April 24 that photographic or video evidence may surface linking State and Federal Governments to organized crime, and that the public should disregard this evidence as a smear tactic on the part of drug cartels. Public discussion ensued and focused on the question of why Fasci would make such a statement unless he already knew that the evidence existed. On April 25, State Attorney General Luis Carlos Trevino publicly recanted Fasci's statement and said that the Assistant Attorney General had not been speaking on behalf of the Nuevo Leon State Government. ¶2. (S) During the CG's meeting, Governor Gonzalez confided that he had seen "the video" to which Fasci was alluding. During a recent drug cartel raid, the Nuevo Leon State Police had recovered a video hidden within a stash of money. The Governor said that the video showed an unidentified man, wearing only a bloody undershirt and underwear, saying that Governor Gonzalez's Chief of Staff, Rogelio Cerda, was a corrupt official in the pockets of the drug cartels. According to the Governor, the unidentified man also said that some of the highest ranking members of the Mexican government are on the narco-traffickers' payroll, and specifically mentioned Mexican Secretary of Defense, Gen. Guillermo Galvan, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon. Governor Gonzalez stated that the unidentified man making these allegations appeared calm, with his legs casually crossed, and so the Governor thought that the videotape was "staged." When asked where the tape was, Governor Gonzalez said that he had shown it to President Calderon in Mexico City and that the President had immediately called Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha and told him to launch an investigation. ¶3. (S) COMMENT. Unfortunately, without seeing the alleged videotape, it is difficult to ascertain the validity of the Governor's statements, particularly about it being "staged" because the video clearly was not meant to be found in a stash of money in a narco safe house. While Post law enforcement officials have long believed that certain individuals in Governor Gonzalez's cabinet are corrupt, including Chief of Staff Rogelio Cerda and Secretary of Public Security Antonio Garza, without knowing the identity of the man in the videotape, it is difficult to determine the weight his allegations should be given. Governor Gonzalez has indicated his strong willingness to fight corruption and narco-violence in the State, and is pushing for the establishment of a vetted State Police unit, an endeavor Post feels would help mitigate the rising insecurity in Nuevo Leon. Post will continue to maintain an open line of communication with Governor Gonzalez about this issue. END COMMENT. MORENO