WHA/CEN DIRECTOR FOCUSES ON SECURITY DURING VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 001407 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR ECON KV GT SUBJECT: WHA/CEN DIRECTOR FOCUSES ON SECURITY DURING VISIT TO GUATEMALA REF: GUATEMALA 1370 Classified By: Ambassador Stephen G. McFarland for reason 1.4 (b & d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) During an October 22-25 visit to Guatemala, WHA/CEN Director Christopher Webster drew attention to the USG's programs address crucial security concerns in Guatemala. Webster briefed senior GOG leaders on the Merida Initiative, and heard from a variety of interlocutors about Guatemala's deteriorating security situation, rampant corruption, and struggle with increasing narcotrafficking. Private sector leaders urged that the USG do more to confront the rise of leftist populism throughout the hemisphere. Webster raised Guatemala's UN voting record and approach to international human rights issues at the Foreign Ministry. He also toured a forensic anthropology institute partially supported by the USG, as well as NAS and AID rule of law projects. End Summary. Meeting with Vice Foreign Minister -------------- ¶2. (SBU) WHA/CEN Director Christopher Webster visited Guatemala on Oct. 22-25. In meetings with Vice FonMin Lars Pira Webster outlined the purpose and elements of the Merida Initiative, and reminded him of the Nov. 6-7 SICA (Central American Integration System) conference on the Merida Initiative in El Salvador to which the GOG was invited. Pira conveyed the GOG's appreciation and support for the initiative. In response to Pira's observation that Mexico will receive much more assistance than Central American governments, Webster said Merida is intended to be a multi-year initiative, and that Central American countries would receive more funding in future years. Pira lauded CICIG's (the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala) efforts to combat organized crime and strengthen state institutions in the face of an increasing challenge from gangs and narcotraffickers. (See reftel report of Webster's discussion with the CICIG Deputy Commissioner.) Vice Minister of Government -------------- ¶3. (C) Vice Minister of Government Arnoldo Villagran emphasized to Webster the GOG's commitment to tackling corruption and enhancing transparency. Examples included recent congressional passage of a Freedom of Information Law and extensive personnel changes among the senior police leadership. Nonetheless, much remained to be done to root out corruption in the Ministry of Government and its dependencies, including the police and the prison system, he said. Villagran noted the Ministry of Government is working closely with the Superintendency of Banks to combat money laundering. Webster described the Merida Initiative in detail, and emphasized that the initiative's success would depend on the GOG's active participation. Webster also raised the need for the GOG to coordinate more closely with its neighbors in counternarcotics efforts, which would hopefully increase drugs seizures. Villagran said that traffickers' increased use of water routes, as well as widespread police complicity in trafficking, were continuing challenges that had not yet been overcome. "Can We Count on You to Fight Chavez?" -------------- ¶4. (C) Webster and Pol/Econ Couns met with private sector representatives Carlos Zuniga and Max Quirin, both of whom are members of the influential Coordinating Committee for the Chambers of Agriculture, Commerce, Industry, and Finance (CACIF). Zuniga said the private sector is deeply concerned by the spread of leftist populism in Latin America. With the by the spread of leftist populism in Latin America. With the FMLN poised for electoral victory, El Salvador would likely be the next to fall. The Colom Government would feel empowered by the FMLN's victory and turn further left. Quirin pointed out that, after the United States, Central American countries as a group are Guatemala's largest trading partner. The proliferation of radical leftist governments not only threatened individual liberties, but trade and economic growth as well. Zuniga said that at the Department he had been told that Chavez would fall on his own, but he had asked "when, and how much damage would he do in the meantime?" Zuniga and Quirin anticipated "having to fight the Cold War here again, and once again without U.S. support." ¶5. (C) Turning to the scourge of narcotrafficking, Zuniga said "we're having to fight someone else's war here." As Colombia and Mexico's institutional capabilities to combat narcotrafficking grew, traffickers were increasingly migrating to Guatemala, where rule of law remains weak. Merida Initiative funding levels are not commensurate to the scale of the problem, Zuniga said. Quirin added that while Guatemala's tax collection rate was low by regional standards, its income tax rate, at 31%, was among the highest in the region. In order to secure adequate funding for rule of law institutions, Guatemala needed to broaden its tax base, rather than asking the minority participating in the formal economy to pay more. ¶6. (C) Webster responded that the USG was working to isolate Chavez and Morales, and had decertified Venezuela for unsatisfactory counternarcotics efforts. The USG was taking action, but did not want to over-react. Behaving in an imposing way would play into the hands of those who accuse the U.S. of imperialism in the region. The falling price of oil would undercut Chavez's ability to influence the region. Webster discussed Ortega's attacks on civil society and political freedoms in Nicaragua, and wondered whether El Salvador's Funes would govern independently of the FMLN. Regarding Honduras, the USG had pointedly reminded Zelaya of the benefits Honduras derives from a strong relationship with the U.S., and had suggested that it was not in Honduras' interest to take actions that would jeopardize these benefits. FAFG Visit -------------- ¶7. (U) During Webster's visit to the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG),Executive Director Fredy Peccerelli explained the Foundation's mission to facilitate "transitional justice," and provided a tour of its new DNA laboratory. He stated that the Foundation's primary objectives are three-fold: to rewrite the historical record to reflect the reality of events that occurred during the internal conflict; to bring closure and dignity to the families of the victims; and to provide forensic evidence for the administration of justice. Peccerelli emphasized the importance of ensuring objectivity by having an independent, scientific NGO investigate crimes largely commited by the state. He estimated that 93 percent o conflict-era crimes were committed by GOG forces, and seven percent by guerrilla forces. Established in 1992 as an independent NGO, the Foundation has conducted close to 1,000 forensic investigations, including 140 ongoing investigations, which have produced scientific evidence for use in legal proceedings. ¶8. (C) Peccerelli estimated that, according to the Historical Clarification Commission, there were 669 massacres (defined as five or more victims) and 200,000 victims (160,000 killed and 40,000 disappeared) during the 1960-1996 internal conflict. Eighty-three percent of the victims were Mayans and 17 percent were Ladinos. He noted that in 2006 and 2007 the Foundation had received financial support from the National Reparations Program under an agreement with the GOG, but the Colom government had reneged on that agreement. Most of the funding for its exhumations work, he said, now comes from the Swedish and Dutch governments, as well as from USAID. Funding for its new state-of-the-art DNA laboratory, which was officially inaugurated November 4, comes from the Dutch government (1 million euros) through the UN Development Program (UNDP) and from DRL (USD 652,595 this year and an additional USD 450,000 for next year) through NGO Creative Learning. NAS and AID Projects in Villa Nueva -------------- ¶9. (U) Webster toured the NAS-funded model police precinct and the USAID-supported 24-hour court in the high-crime Guatemala City suburb of Villa Nueva. Initiated in 2004, the model police precinct, which employs a community policing model police precinct, which employs a community policing approach, is the center-piece of a top-to-bottom reform of all parts of the Guatemalan justice sector in Villa Nueva. The model precinct integrates the operations of public prosecutors, judges, and police into a single, efficient system. After three years of operation, there has been a substantial decrease in the crime rate within the jurisdiction, a greater number of criminal investigations, and implementation of basic patrolling techniques oriented towards integrating police officers into the community. ¶10. (U) The USAID-supported 24-hour First Instance Criminal Court ensures that suspects can be arraigned regardless of the hour of day or night, and enhances transparency and efficiency in the justice sector. The 24-hour court has the authority to hold hearings with detainees, order pre-trial detention or bail, and order arrest and search warrants, allowing individuals to be charged within six hours of being detained, as required by Guatemalan law. The 24-hour court has reduced arbitrary pre-trial detention and the number of cases dismissed for lack of merit (now only eight percent). Webster also toured the NAS Air Support program facilities, part of a NAS program involving an interagency task force comprised of the Guatemalan National Civil Police, Air Force, and Army. Through the NAS program, the USG has provided four Huey helicopters to the Guatemalan Air Force for counternarcotics operations, and has so far trained six Air Force pilots. ¶11. (U) WHA/CEN Director Webster cleared this message prior to transmission. McFarland