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