JUDGES WARN THAT BRAZIL MUST DO MORE TO BATTLE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAO PAULO 000991 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA AND DRL NSC FOR TOMASULO SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD USAID FOR LAC/AA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2032 TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV OEXC OIIP KCRM BR SUBJECT: JUDGES WARN THAT BRAZIL MUST DO MORE TO BATTLE TERRORISM Classified By: Econ Chief James B. Story for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Sao Paulo Supreme Court justices are concerned about the possibility of growing ties between organized crime and terrorism in Brazil. During a December 5-7 visit to Sao Paulo by Greg West, Assistant United States Attorney and Organized Crime and Terrorism Section Chief for the Northern District of New York, judges told us that they are having difficulty convincing the GOB that terrorism is a growing threat and that the federal government must prepare for Brazil's being used as a safe haven for terrorist activities. Septel covers West's meetings on other judicial issues. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Noting the Sao Paulo Supreme Court Criminal Section's concern that Brazil does not have adequate legislation on combating terrorism, Justice Luis Carlos Ribeiro dos Santos, President of the Criminal Section, said that the Sao Paulo Association of Judges sent a set of recommendations on anti-terrorism legislation to the Brazilian Congress in 2006 (Note: Brazil does not have an anti-terrorism law. End Note.) Justice dos Santos further stated that the Criminal Section, which handles organized crime, has seen disturbing cases concerning the possible links between terrorism and criminal groups. Judge Jose Amado de Faria Souza noted the difficulty in convincing the GOB that terrorism should be of concern, even within Brazil. According to Souza, a "younger generation" of justices and public officials has close ties to many officers in the Brazilian armed forces who share their concern of a growing threat of terrorism to Brazil. He said that the "older generation" of justices and politicians does not want to admit that organized crime exists nor that it has any ties to terrorism. This group is more focused on issues such as public corruption and more traditional crimes such as theft and murder, Souza added. ¶3. (C) Justice Souza told West that in several cases he reviewed, surface-to-air missiles had crossed into Brazil through the Tri-Border Area (Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina) or from Colombia after criminal groups such as the Comando Vermelho in Rio de Janeiro purchased them for possible use against the police. Fellow judges said that with the porous nature of Brazil's large frontiers and the fact that the GOB does little to provide manpower to monitor the borders, smuggling drugs and weapons into Brazil is not difficult. (Note: Justice Souza offered to pass information to us on cases we may find of interest. Post is following up. End Note.) Comment -------------- ¶4. (C) Although we do not have independent verification of Justice Souza's account of heavy arms going to criminal organizations, we do know that criminal groups continue to seek and purchase more expensive and sophisticated weaponry to battle the police. While this is not necessarily to be associated with international terrorism, the activities carried out by these groups are certainly violent, of a large scope, and present a serious threat to local governments. Justice Souza's assertion that surface-to-air missiles are among the list of heavy weapons being smuggled into Brazil is disconcerting and could potentially pose a much larger criminal and terrorist threat. Post is working to verify this information and will report septel. End Comment. ¶5. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Brasilia. WHITE