ARGENTINA: KIRCHNER ALLY ADMITS RECEIVING CUBAN

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001715 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL VZ CU AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: KIRCHNER ALLY ADMITS RECEIVING CUBAN FUNDS TO FINANCE 2005 COUNTER-SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 1672 ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 1550 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (SBU) Argentine journalist Gerardo Young alleges in his new book that street activist ("piquetero," literally meaning "picketer") Luis D'Elia successfully evaded security at Argentina's Ezeiza international airport in late October 2005 to bring in USD 1 million from Cuba to finance the "counter-summit" to the November 2005 Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata attended by President Bush. At the time, D'Elia did not have a formal government position, but he was a government ally who, a few months later, was named Under Secretary of Land and Housing, a portfolio created for him by former President Nestor Kirchner, according to local press. Although D'Elia no longer holds a government post, he has an office in the GOA's new National Commission of Land and Housing (former Undersecretariat for Land and Housing),where he conducts daily meetings and acts as de facto chief managing a government budget of 14,500,000 pesos (approximately USD 4.2 million),according to a March 2008 article from leading daily La Nacion. ¶2. (SBU) The December 6 and 13 editions of the Argentine weekly magazine, "Noticias," provide details on Young's new book about D'Elia called "Black against White." (Comment: This title is a play on words, as in the past D'Elia, identifying himself as black, has made strident remarks against the opulent, urban, "white" class.) According to Young, D'Elia and Kirchnerista deputy Miguel Bonasso traveled to Cuba in October 2005 to get funding to mobilize 80,000 of Argentina's poor to participate in the "counter-summit." (He actually succeeded in transporting 30,000 to 40,000 to Mar del Plata, according to "Noticias" December 6 article). On October 23, 2005, D'Elia, accompanied by Bonasso and various Cuban military officials, returned to Buenos Aires on a 12-passenger Air Jet rented by Venezuela, Young asserts. ¶3. (SBU) In a December 13 interview in "Noticias," D'Elia admits that he received USD 1 million from Cuba but denies that he brought the money into the country and when pressed on who transported the cash speculates that it could have been a diplomat. He also asserts that he did not keep any of the money for himself, using all of it to pay for 2,000 buses to transport the demonstrators and to distribut to militants of his piquetero group, Federation of Land and Housing, and to other participating social organizations. Young charges that D'Elia gave USD 50,000 to 100,000 to leaders of various social organizations in exchange for their promise to assist in mobilizing thousands of Argentines to Mar del Plata. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Although the allegations of foreign influence and money laundering are similar to those levied in the 2007 Antonini Wilson "valijagate" case (reftels),to date, Young's findings have not generated the same media frenzy. But if the allegations are true, the case underscores the willingness of some in the GOA to accept or to turn a blind eye to third country support for foreign cash to bankroll government allies. This includes paying piqueteros to participate in government-sponsored rallies and protests, such as the counter-summit in 2005 and the pro-government rally against the rural sector in July. As the Kirchners' popularity wanes, their need to rely on professional picketers to demonstrate support for their political agenda, and hence their need for easy cash at their disposal, will likely continue. WAYNE