MEETING OF ATTORNEY GENERALS OF U.S., EL SALVADOR,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000273 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR CRIMINAL DIVISION E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM KHLS ES GT HO SUBJECT: MEETING OF ATTORNEY GENERALS OF U.S., EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, AND GUATEMALA Classified By: Ambassador Charles Glazer, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. During Attorney General Gonzales' visit to El Salvador on February 5, Salvadoran AG Felix Safie hosted a private dinner for Attorney General Gonzales and their counterparts from Honduras and Guatemala, Leonidas Bautista and Juan Luis Florido. The topic of the dinner was regional cooperation to fight gang violence. The group agreed to approach the Attorney General of Mexico and ask him to host a follow on summit for continued discussion of the topic. The meeting was very cordial, and all parties agreed that a robust regional effort is necessary to combat gang violence. End Summary. AG Safie-El Salvador -------------- ¶2. (C) As El Salvador already had significant time with Attorney General Gonzales to express views on the issue, Safie primarily deferred to his colleagues to share their opinions on the topic. He did act as a moderator though, keeping the agenda of anti-gang cooperation at the forefront. On the issue of judicial reform, Safie mentioned that the judicial system in El Salvador needs to be more transparent and that judges feel a sense of impunity because they can only lose their position through a full impeachment. He also mentioned that much of the progress the U.S. and El Salvador are making together on the gang problem could work as a model for cooperation between the whole region and U.S. AG Florido--Guatemala -------------- ¶3. (C) AG Florido thanked the work of the U.S. Mission in Guatemala, especially the DEA and NAS sections for their help. Florido admitted to the Attorney General that Guatemala had many problems with human rights in the past, but that the country has made significant progress since the end of the war period, including full judicial independence. Nevertheless, developing solid institutions is difficult, Florido argued. He said there were as many as 10,000 open complaints (denuncias) and that his office was overwhelmed with trying to figure out which cases to pursue. Sometimes, he acknowledged, it was the media that was able to dictate where they spent their investigative resources. ¶4. (C) Florido also cited corruption as a significant issue, with nearly 1/5 of the Guatemalan Congress under investigation because of alleged corruption. He acknowledged that many of the claims against these representatives could be frivolous, but had to be investigated. He said that this would remain an important issue, especially as election season nears. Florido said it was important they retain their investigative powers on these cases, and are pleased with the current level of autonomy they have to do their job. When Attorney General Gonzales asked him about the investigation of corrupt judges, he acknowledged very few were under investigation. On the issue of extradition, he said Guatemala believes it is an important tool, and mentioned the pending extradition of ex-President Portillo from Mexico as critical in their fight against impunity. On trafficking in persons, Florido said that Guatemala has good laws on TIP issues, but not enough capacity, nor enough information and resources to effectively combat the problem. He mentioned the seven official border crossings and many other informal crossing points are critical serving as the "southern edge" of the whole "problem." ¶5. (C) On this year's elections in Guatemala, Florido told Ambassador Glazer that no current candidates are showing Chavista or strong populist tendencies, but that ground is fertile for the exploitation Chavez's quick money could inject into the process in support of one of the candidates. He argued that Guatemala, for the large percentage of its population that is indigenous, shares more in common politically with Bolivia than some of its Central American neighbors. He also noted that Guatemala has a lack of strong parties like in El Salvador and Honduras, and that this lack of strong parties is a predominate factor in the Guatemalan political climate. All three participants said that Costa Rica is the most successful country in Central America, differing greatly from the northern three countries of region in the huge resources the Costa Ricans have been able to invest in education rather than in security. ¶6. (C) It was AG Florido who mentioned Mexico might be a good host for a follow-on meeting as the gang problem has a major effect on them as well, and Mexico is a country that all of the Central Americans respect and trust. Florido promised to call Eduardo Medina Mora immediately to propose the meeting. AG Bautista--Honduras -------------- ¶7. (C) AG Bautisita mentioned that he is very proud of the legal staff who work for the Fiscalia in Honduras, pointing out that his staff members, attorneys, and investigators are young, energetic, and competent. He cited a lack of resources as the principal hurdle to doing a better job. Bautisita also opined on the pervasive sense of corruption in Honduras, and argued that it is the responsibility of all citizens to help root out corruption. He shared that he still did not believe the public will existed to fully end the corruption endemic. ¶8. (C) Bautista focused on human rights aspects of gang violence, describing the horrific scenes of violence, often affecting minors, and described the horror his investigators often found at these awful crime scenes. He said the public institutions are caught in the middle of this problem and must react effectively to stop gangs, organized crime, and other transnational threats. He argued that with such an authoritarian history, Central Americans have constructed their democracy weakly in response, and thus the institutions have not yet been able to implement strong enough responses to the problem within what they see are the boundaries of a democratic system. In terms of cooperation, both Bautista and Florido were very positive about the idea of better sharing fingerprints at a regional level. Finally, Bautista invited his counterparts to a March 5-9 conference hosted in Tegucigalpa by the OAS to talk about transnational crime. He said that representatives from PANAMA and Colombia were being invited. Closing Remarks -------------- ¶9. (C) In a closing remark, Florido argued that just as criminals circulate freely between these three countries, information must be shared as easily and quickly. He said this would require major confidence but would lead to big finds. He also said that all parties must focus their efforts, especially on ties between gang violence, organized crime, and other transnational threats such as narcotrafficking and human trafficking. The Attorney General thanked his counterparts and re-iterated that he wanted to know what more the U.S. can do as a country to help on these difficult issues, not just on enforcement but also on prevention. He asked his colleagues, within the limitations of our different legal frameworks, to think about how we can all cooperate and help each other to win the fight against gangs. ¶10. (U) Participants: El Salvador: Attorney General Felix Safie Honduras: Attorney General Leonidas Bautista Guatemala: Attorney General Juan Luis Florido U.S.: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales Ambassador Charles Glazer Counselor to the Attorney General, Matt Friedrich DOJ Attache Stacy de la Torre Political Officer/Notetaker Patrick Ventrell ¶11. (U) At a second table, Assitant Attorney General (Criminal Division) Alice Fisher, Deputy Assistant Attorney General (Criminal Division) Bruce Swartz, and DOJ Deputy Director of Public Affairs Brin Roehrkasse had a working dinner with Deputy Public Prosecutors of El Salvador Romeo Barahona and Omar Cerna, as well as Chief Prosecutor of the Attorney General's Office Aquiles Parada. Glazer