DEPUTY HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY JACKSON

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000667 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS SOUTHCOM FOR ADMIRAL STRAVIDIS STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CEN, WHA/PPC, H, PM, AND INL HOMELAND SECURITY FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY JACKSON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM KJUS MARR MCAP MOPS OREP OVIP PGOV PREL PTER, SMIG, SNAR, HO SUBJECT: DEPUTY HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY JACKSON DISCUSSES SECURITY WITH HONDURAN OFFICIALS REF: TEGUCIGALPA 0306 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Michael P. Jackson met separately with Minister of Internal Security Alvaro Romero, Attorney General Leonidas Rosa Bautista, and Minister of Defense Aristides Mejia on April 12, 2007 at the end of his two-day visit to Puerto Cortes and Tegucigalpa, Honduras with CODEL Thompson (septel). During the meetings, the Deputy Secretary discussed with the two ministers and Attorney General USG assistance for the Honduran police, judicial system, returning deportees, and anti-narcotics efforts. The Deputy Secretary expressed his support for continued police training including the provision of a police advisor for two years, the idea of specialized units to fight organized crime, improved coordination regarding returning deportees, and the establishment of a National Security Council in Honduras. Despite renewed political will, Honduras requires substantial donor contributions to fund pressing security requirements. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Michael P. Jackson concluded his two-day trip to Puerto Cortes and Tegucigalpa accompanied by CODEL Thompson, which included discussions at Puerto Cortes on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) and a meeting with President Mel Zelaya (septel),with a succession of three bilateral meetings between him and Minister of Internal Security Alvaro Romero, Attorney General Leonidas Rosa Bautista, and Minister of Defense Aristides Mejia the morning of April 12 in Tegucigalpa. The three separate meetings focused on problems with the Honduran police, including internal control, investigations, and the prison system; narcotics trafficking; returning deportees; and proposals to reform the police and national security apparatus. The Deputy Secretary discussed with them problems of mutual concern and offered support from DHS. -------------- -------------- MEETING WITH INTERNAL SECURITY MINISTER ALVARO ROMERO -------------- -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In the context of a growing narcotics problem in the country, including an expanding local market and financing of political campaigns, Internal Security Minister Romero expressed gratitude for USG assistance with vetted police units and FBI training and hoped for a return to the level of assistance in recent years. (NOTE: INL project funding from the USG for Honduras has decreased from USD 79,648 in FY 2005 to USD 50,000 in FY 2006 and no/no money for FY 2007. END NOTE.) In particular, given that the police force is expected to double during the Zelaya Administration from 8K to 16K members (currently it is up to 10K police officers), Minister Romero reiterated his request for a police advisor for two years to help manage the increasing numbers of officers, including background checks for new recruits, and the need for continued FBI training, both to which Deputy Secretary Jackson agreed in principle. (NOTE: DHS provides SIPDIS training to Government of Honduras (GOH) criminal investigators at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynn County, Georgia. END NOTE.) ¶4. (SBU) The Deputy Secretary also agreed with the Minister on the need to build high security prisons to combat overcrowding and fight crime that emanates from within the walls of current prisons, which are run by the police but in many respects are controlled by criminal elements. The Deputy Secretary explained how privatizing some prison functions has worked in the U.S. (NOTE: Since the GOH only spends USD 0.50 on each prisoner a day, in contrast to USD 66 in the U.S., which was brought up at the meeting, it is difficult to imagine how funds to build new prisons would be found. END NOTE.) The Deputy Secretary also promised to try to expedite the delivery of an electronic list of criminals and their offenses, who comprise about 10 percent of deportees returned to Honduras, in advance of their return directly to the Minister. (NOTE: In fact, ICE/DRO already provides this information to the GOH several days before criminal deportees arrive in Honduras. END NOTE.) ¶5. (SBU) The Deputy Secretary was impressed with the Minister's efforts to get a new Police Organic Law passed by the National Congress. (NOTE: The new law would help combat internal police corruption, including drug and polygraph testing, and improve enforcement such as enhanced authority for wire tapping and undercover work. However, over the last few days, the bill, originally crafted by DEA and supported by the Embassy, now is considered in jeopardy because of allegations by the human rights community that CONASIN, a public security advisory council, no longer would have authority to appoint and dismiss police commissioners. The GOH counters that under the current system, qualified professional law enforcement officers have not been appointed to key commissioner positions. END NOTE.) -------------- -------------- MEETING WITH ATTORNEY GENERAL LEONIDAS ROSA BAUTISTA -------------- -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Attorney General Rosa Bautista told the Deputy Secretary that the Public Ministry's ability to conduct SIPDIS investigations has been limited since the function was transferred out of the Public Ministry and back to the police in 2002. With few resources the police have to concentrate on prevention and have little time or expertise to investigate cases. The Deputy Secretary responded by suggesting the idea of small, specialized units akin to Department of Justice teams in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s, which had success in unraveling mafia networks. The Attorney General thought that interdisciplinary units including the police, prosecutors, and justice officials would be a good idea. He mentioned that the GOH has had recent success regarding the cataloguing and sale of seized assets, including the successful sale of an abandoned jet earlier this year, which has resulted in an increase in resources available to the Public Ministry. -------------- - MEETING WITH DEFENSE SECRETARY ARISTIDES MEJIA -------------- - ¶7. (SBU) In the Deputy Secretary's final meeting with the Defense Minister, the two discussed the possibility of establishing a new entity akin to the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) as allowed for in the Honduran constitution. This body would help coordinate operations and information sharing within the GOH. Deputy Secretary Jackson promised Minister Mejia more information on how the NSC works in the U.S., even though it coordinates only policy planning. (NOTE: Like the Police Organic Bill, there are human rights concerns with this proposal, especially since the body would be involved in operations, not just planning. END NOTE.) ¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: The Deputy Secretary, two ministers, and Attorney General all agreed during their meetings on the need to cooperate fully in addressing mutual problems of security between the two countries. The Deputy Secretary expressed in particular that cooperation was of utmost importance in order to fight transnational problems such as organized crime and potential terrorism originating in or passing through the region. While his discussions at Puerto Cortes with the CODEL on joint port security initiatives (septel) were positive, the prospects for improving internal security in Honduras, however, hinge on identifying outside funding sources. Despite CAFTA, Honduras remains one of the poorest and most dangerous countries in the Western Hemisphere, and although the Embassy and International Donors Group are working constructively with the GOH to improve economic conditions, including assisting the poor and combatting official corruption, public security agencies have few resources on which to draw. For example, as was revealed in the course of the investigation of the recent killing of a human rights attorney (reftel),police officers tend to let low-level assailants get away as long as they tell them about bigger crimes. There is no money to pay informants, and proposals for increased police authority and limited military involvement are being met with strong resistance from the human rights community with sentiments left over from the 1980s. Military participation in joint police patrols remains very popular as the military are widely seen to be more professional and disciplined than the police. As a result of the visits of Deputy Secretary Jackson and CODEL Thompson, there are renewed commitments to make improvements, but lack of resources and human rights concerns in Honduras make reforms difficult. END COMMENT. ¶9. (U) NOTE: The Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security did not have the opportunity to clear on this cable. END NOTE. FORD