SPAIN: HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING RESULTS FOR SOCOM

UNCLAS MADRID 001235 SIPDIS FOR KEVIN FAIRFAX AND RAQUEL GREEN DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE OSD FOR COL PAT MCCLELLAND E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PREL PGOV PHUM SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING RESULTS FOR SOCOM CONFERENCE ATTENDEES REF: SOVEREIGN CHALLENGE PROGRAM/KREZECZOWSKI E-MAILS ¶1. (U) Pursuant to provisions of the Leahy Amendment and Foreign Assistance Act, Post has carefully reviewed the human rights records of the following Spanish candidates who were intially invited to participate in the 4th Annual Sovereign Challenge Foreign Military Attache (FMA) conference, which was to be held November 17-20. Subject conference has now been postponed until spring, but it will be sponsored in spring 2009 by U. S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) at Hurlburt Field, Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. U.S. Embassy Madrid's Leahy Vetting Group has no credible information that any of the below named officers have been involved in gross human rights violations or drug trafficking violations. ¶2. (U) The following Attaches assigned to the Spanish Embassy in Washington, DC, have been invited to participate in the USSOCOM conference and vetted by agencies at Post: -- Brigadier General Rafael Vaquero Fernandez DPOB: 21 May 1954, Madrid Spanish Passport XF001116 Defense Attache -- Colonel Jesus Ubierna Paramo DPOB: 26 Dec 1952, Burgos Spanish Passport XF001181 Military Attache -- CN Jose Luis Martinez-Avial Areces DPOB: 13 Oct 1955, Pravia, Oviedo Spanish Passport XF001257 Naval Attache -- Colonel Jose Enrique Rodriguez Gonzalez DPOB: 03 Mar 1953, Guijon Spanish Passport XF003636 Air Attache ¶3. (U) The Spanish liaison at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has also been invited to participate and has likewise been vetted by all agencies at Post: -- Admiral Fernando Gea Guerrero DPOB: 24 Jan 49, Cartagena, Murcia Spanish Passport XF003248 ¶4. (U) Post appreciates the State Department's assistance in clearing these individuals for participation in subject conference once it is rescheduled. AGUIRRE