VP ESPADA JOINS EMBASSY'S AIRPORT SECURITY WORKING

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001180

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EEB/TRA AND WHA/CEN, DHS PLEASE PASS TO TSA/VICTOR
GUARDIA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR ECON PGOV GT
SUBJECT: VP ESPADA JOINS EMBASSY'S AIRPORT SECURITY WORKING
GROUP

REF: GUATEMALA 351


1. (SBU) Summary: Guatemala's Vice President Espada paid an
unexpected visit to the August 26th meeting of the USG-GOG
airport security working group. Espada highlighted the
improvements made in airport security under the leadership of
Director General of Civil Aviation Jose Carlos Suarez
(reftel). He complimented the work of the working group,
noting that it was an example of intergovernmental and
bilateral coordination that other GOG entities should
emulate. Each GOG agency made a short presentation regarding
the projects they were working on to improve airport security
and Director Carlos discussed plans for regional airport
renovation and potential privatization of the country's
international airports. End Summary.


2. (SBU) VP Espada attended the August meeting of the USG-GOG
airport security working group and discussed the importance
that Guatemala must place on improving its overall security
situation as a means to increase tourism and deter
nacrotrafficking. Vice Minister of Government Villagran and
Chief of National Defense (Estado Mayor) Illescas joined
Espada at the meeting and pledged their support to improve
airport security. The working group was created by the
Embassy and the Director of Civil Aviation in June 2008 to
provide coordinated USG advice and support to improve
physical security at airports, enhance GOG interagency
coordination, provide USG-led training and capacity building,
and increase information sharing between the GOG and USG.
The working group is led by the Civil Aviation Directorate,
and is made up of officials from the Ministry of Government
and its Airports and Ports Police unit, the Directorate of
Immigration, and the Tax and Customs Superintendence. USG
participation is coordinated by the Political/Economic
Section with engagement from the Narcotics Affairs Section,
Regional Security Office, Military Group, Drug Enforcement
Agency, and DHS/Immigration and Customs Enforcement.


3. (SBU) During the meeting, the Director of Immigration
mentioned that the working group helped facilitate the
creation of a secondary holding area for questionable inbound
and outbound passengers. The process also resulted in
improved GOG coordination with the airlines. The Tax and
Customs Superintendence (SAT) presented its project to
control merchandise and contraband in Guatemala City's La
Aurora Airport and to develop a model to identify potentially
problematic travelers. The SAT also discussed their
successful pilot inspection of an airplane to search for
illegal goods. The Airports and Port Police (DIPA) mentioned
that their force was focused on identifying potential money
launders, fraudulent document holders and drug couriers at
the airport. DIPA stated that additional agents were
required; the Embassy's Narcotic Affairs Section (NAS) was
later able to successfully negotiate an increase in staffing
with the Minister of Government. During the meeting, NAS
mentioned its plans to expand DIPA's presence into other
regional airports and provide continued training to all DIPA
agents in the coming year. U.S. Drug Enforcement Agents
noted that they have trained a unit of seven vetted
investigators at the airport who work closely with their DIPA
counterparts.


4. (SBU) The meeting ended with a presentation by Civil
Aviation Director Carlos regarding future plans for airport
expansion throughout Guatemala. The airport in Puerto
Barrios is located on the Caribbean coast and boasts a
QBarrios is located on the Caribbean coast and boasts a
206-meter runway that was abandoned by the military four
years ago. Lack of a proper terminal, tower, and regularly
scheduled service, however, have limited the ability of the
airport to support the increasing number of cruise ships that
arrive in the port every year. The same is the case for the
San Jose airport on the Pacific Coast. The San Jose airport
remains embedded on an active airforce base and requires a
large investment to build a new terminal. While no funds are
currently budgeted to build terminals in Puerto Barrios or
San Jose, a $2.5 million program managed by the Central
American Corporation of Aerial Navigation Services (COCESNA)
will install new radar, meteorological and radio equipment in
the Guatemala City (La Aurora),Flores (Mundo aya),
Retalhuleu, Puerto Barrios, and San Jose twers. The funds
will be provided by COCESNA from fees it collects for all
overflights at 19,500 feet or higher in Central America. A
portion of those fees are annually distributed to each member
nation.


5. (SBU) The regional airport renovation project would
provide Guatemala with an opportunity to expand its air

service offerings to tourist sites throughout the country as
well as provide increased radio and secondary radar coverage
of air traffic in Guatemala. Carlos would like to add a
primary radar site in Playa Grande, located in the
north-center of the country along the border with Mexico.
(Note: primary radar detects all airplanes, secondary radar
only detects planes with transponders that have been
activated.) The GOG has initiated discussions with Taiwan
about potentially financing the purchase of a $6 million
primary radar system. Guatemala City has the only primary
radar system in the country and the facility in Playa Grande
would increase the ability of the GOG to monitor airplanes
that fail to install or activate transponders along a portion
of the country known for narcotics-related flights.



5. (SBU) Civil Aviation Director Carlos mentioned that Vice
President Espada is very interested in finding an
international company to run Guatemala's international
airports as a concession. Currently, only the airports in
Guatemala City and Flores serve international traffic, but
the airports in Puerto Barrios and San Jose might be able to
host international flights if renovations are funded. A
number of potential investors have visited from Europe,
Argentina, Korea and Mexico, but to date these visits have
been exploratory in nature. The European group specifically
mentioned that the cost of running La Aurora Airport in
Guatemala City, especially given the high electricity rates,
would not make the deal profitable even with the volume of
passengers predicted to increase to 4 million in 2018. The
working group expressed its desire to move forward with as
many items as possible, especially dealing with secure areas,
before operations could be turned over to a private entity.


6. (SBU) Comment: The Embassy has helped spur key airport
security improvements in Guatemala through the coordinated
efforts of USG entities at post and visits from the TSA and
FAA Representatives for the region. We look forward to the
planned November TSA airport survey of La Aurora airport and
the December reciprocal visit of Guatemalan aviation
officials to the FAA Annual Safety Forum in Washington. Vice
President Espada's participation in the August USG-GOG
airport security working group meeting demonstrates the
importance the government places on the support we provide,
especially in improving airport security. End Comment.
McFarland