SPAIN: U.S. COAST GUARD COMMANDANT VISITS MADRID

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000595

SIPDIS

FOR COMMANDANT ALLEN
COMUSNAVEUR FOR ADMIRAL FITZGERALD
AFRICOM FOR MAJ STEWART

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/27/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER SMIG SNAR SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN: U.S. COAST GUARD COMMANDANT VISITS MADRID
TO EXPLORE SPECIFIC AREAS FOR BILATERAL COOPERATION

REF: MADRID 502

MADRID 00000595 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad W.
Allen visited Madrid from 12-13 May to meet with Spanish
naval and law enforcement counterparts to highlight the
importance we place on joint efforts between civilian and
military authorities to break down stovepipes in the fight
against terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and transnational
crime. The Commandant met with Spanish Chief of Naval
Operations Admiral Sebastian Zaragoza and the new Director
General of the National Police and Civil Guard, Francisco
Javier Velazquez. Commandant Allen's interactions with GOS
officials illustrated the commonality of interests we have
with Spanish law enforcement and military services in
confronting common and asymmetric threats. It is time to
pursue specific avenues to broaden and deepen our operational
cooperation with the Spanish government. END SUMMARY.


//MARITIME DOMAIN AWARENESS AND THE ROLE OF FUSION CENTERS//


2. (C) In his meeting with Admiral Zaragoza--a good friend of
the U.S. who has been CNO since 2004 and says he is in
"complete agreement" with U.S. naval strategy--Commandant
Allen provided a briefing on Coast Guard priorities and
explained the importance the U.S. places on Maritime Domain
Awareness (MDA),including steps taken in recent years to
obtain real-time information on the location of ships that
may pose a threat. Admiral Zaragoza said that the Spanish
Civil Guard and Navy (the former has responsibility for
coastal patrolling and protection while the latter has blue
water coverage) are both stretched thin and often overwhelmed
by the magnitude of trying to protect Spain's long coastlines
and patrol ship traffic in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic
Ocean. Zaragoza explained the Spanish are already working
with the Sixth Fleet in Naples, but would welcome other
platforms of assistance. Commandant Allen then described
U.S. initiatives to fight drug trafficking off the coast of
West Africa by providing ships for use by law enforcement
personnel from Cape Verde, building on similar successful
programs the U.S. has been involved with in the Caribbean;
not only staging foreign officers on U.S. ships, but also
basing U.S. officers on foreign vessels. Zaragoza told the
Commandant that although Spain does not have the equivalent
of a Coast Guard, he believed that there would be
opportunities for closer collaboration with both the Navy and
Civil Guard. Commandant Allen offered to deploy a Coast
Guard cutter to the Mediterranean from which Spanish Civil
Guard officers would stage counter-narcotics operations, and
we believe this is an opportunity well worth pursuing.


3. (C) Admiral Zaragoza then explained that he oversees two
commands, one with a conventional "fleet" deployment, and the
other that has responsibility for maritime search and rescue.
This command is called the Maritime Action Force and is
based in the southeastern Spanish city of Cartagena.
Zaragoza suggested that this command might serve as the
perfect platform to post a Coast Guard liaison officer, and
Admiral Zaragoza expressed interest in having one of his
Cartagena officers stationed at JIATF-S, much like the
Spanish Organized Crime Intelligence Center (CICO - under the
Ministry of Interior) already enjoys through one of its Civil
Guard officers posted in Florida. Commandant Allen agreed
that was a good idea and offered to discuss it with JIATF-S
Commander Admiral Nimmich, but also raised the possibility of
creating a liaison position for a Spanish naval officer at
Coast Guard Command in Miami. The Admirals agreed that so
called fusion centers were an effective and dynamic way to
counter the amorphous and evolving threat from terrorists,
narcotraffickers, human smugglers and organized criminals.
The meeting wrapped up with discussion of Embassy efforts to
arrange a visit to SOUTHCOM by Spanish Chief of Defense Sanz
(planned for May 19 but subsequently canceled due to
scheduling conflicts),and Commandant Allen told Admiral
Zaragoza that he had a standing invitation to visit Coast
Guard headquarters.

//NEW POLICE AND CIVIL GUARD DIRECTOR ALSO OPEN TO FURTHER

MADRID 00000595 002 OF 002


BILATERAL EXCHANGES//


4. (C) Francisco Javier Velazquez, the new "Unified
Commander" of the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard has
only been on the job for a few weeks since replacing Joan
Mesquida in late April. He thanked Admiral Allen for
visiting Spain and apologized that he was still getting up to
speed on the key issues, having come from a political rather
than a law enforcement background. Director Velazquez
stressed his commitment to the relationship the Civil Guard
has established with JIATF-S and specifically the liaison
officer deployed there. He pointed out that his two main
concerns were drugs crossing the Atlantic from Latin America
and illegal immigration coming up from Africa, and expressed
his eagerness to continue bilateral cooperation. In that
vein Admiral Allen invited the Civil Guard to send a
representative to the Coast Guard training facility in
Yorktown, Virginia to attend the 10-week International
Maritime Officers Course (IMOC). In return, Director
Velazquez suggested the USCG send an expert to Spain in the
near future to exchange ideas, lessons learned, and best
practices. Embassy Madrid's DHS/ICE attache then described a
visit we organized in November 2007 for Velazquez'
predecessor that took him to Key West, Miami, and Washington
and provided a first-hand look at U.S. immigration and drug
interdiction operations in South Florida. We offered to
organize a similar trip for both Velazquez and CICO Director
Maria Marcos Salvador. Commandant Allen said that he liked
the idea and stated he would follow up with his staff and ICE
Madrid to extend an invitation sooner, rather than later.
The meeting ended with a discussion of the Commandant's visit
to the EADS-CASA facility in Sevilla, where two Spanish
patrol planes purchased by the USCG were under construction.
Velazquez said the planes would be ready by the middle of
June.

//COMMENT//


5. (C) The Spanish government at the highest levels is
committed to the fight against terrorism, narcotics, and
organized crime. Our cooperation on these issues forms the
cornerstone of our bilateral relationship and we are looking
at ways to broaden and deepen joint efforts to combat the
rising threats to our common national interests. We fully
support the proposals for joint exchanges that came out of
Commandant Allen's Madrid meetings. The USG has understood
for several years the effectiveness of fusion centers such as
JIATF-S and SOUTHCOM in combating the nebulous and
constantly-changing threats, but the Spanish are only now
beginning to see its utility. Zaragoza's increasing
acceptance of use of the Spanish navy to deal with asymmetric
threats such as illegal immigration, illicit drugs and the
terrorist threat is particularly encouraging, and we should
seize the opportunity to implement exchanges as soon as
possible. We will continue to engage with the Spanish on
these issues and further encourage them to more closely bind
their own civilian and military operations and break down
stovepipes that hinder the effectiveness of their CT and law
enforcement efforts. Embassy Madrid stands ready to assist
in making connections between U.S. and Spanish counterparts
that will lead to formal exchanges between appropriate law
enforcement and military services, and we will build on the
themes covered during Commandant Allen's Madrid meetings
during the early June visit of COMNAVEUR Admiral Fitzgerald.
Aguirre