BERROCAL STEPS DOWN AS MINISTER OF PUBLIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN JOSE 000263 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/AND, INL AND INR E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2018 TAGS: CS PREL PGOV SNAR MASS PINR SUBJECT: BERROCAL STEPS DOWN AS MINISTER OF PUBLIC SECURITY; ALLEGES FARC TIES TO COSTA RICA REF: A. 07 SAN JOSE 2073 ¶B. 07 SAN JOSE 1999 Classified By: CDA Peter M. Brennan for reasons 1.4 (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. Minister of Public Security Fernando Berrocal stepped down on March 30 after asserting that the FARC was connected to elements of the "political sector" in Costa Rica. Berrocal's comments came in the aftermath of a March 14 raid on a suspected FARC safe house. His departure came less than 24 hours before he was to testify on the issue before the National Legislature, fueling political and media speculation. In public and private, President Arias and Minister Arias reiterated that there were no Costa Rican links to the FARC, that the GOCR had nothing to hide, and that Berrocal's unfounded comments had gone too far. An exculpatory letter from President Uribe buttressed their arguments. This controversy may not die quickly; Berrocal has provided documents supporting his claims to President Arias who turned them over to the Legislature. Berrocal wants to testify as a "private citizen" in mid-April. For our part, we will engage the new Minister (Janina del Vecchio, septel) to continue the successful partnership developed with Berrocal and his ministry. We will also urge the GOCR to harden the permissive environment which has tolerated FARC supporters and activities for too long. END SUMMARY. ========================================= BERROCAL IS OUT, BUT HE DIDN'T GO QUIETLY ========================================= ¶2. (SBU) On March 30, Fernando Berrocal stepped down as the Minister of Public Security, in a not-so-amicable political divorce from the President and his brother, Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias. According to Casa Presidencial, the GOCR did not want to "politicize" the "sensitive" FARC-Costa Rica issue by having Berrocal testify on the matter before the Legislature the next day. Berrocal insisted to the media that he neither resigned nor was asked to resign. He said that he and President Arias had agreed that he should leave office "for reasons of state." ¶3. (SBU) Berrocal ignited this political firestorm on March 15, by asserting publicly that information obtained from the laptop computer of deceased FARC leader Raul Reyes linked members of the "Costa Rican political sector" to the FARC. Led by the PUSC party (part of the Arias administration's own pro-CAFTA coalition),incensed legislators summoned Berrocal to appear on March 31 and to "name names." Berrocal's comments followed a raid on an alleged FARC safe house near San Jose on March 14, where $480,000 of FARC cash was found. As the media has widely reported here, the stashed cash was described in detail by information obtained from Reyes' laptop, and discovered in the home of long-time FARC collaborators Francisco Gutierrez and Cruz Prado. ¶4. (U) Since his departure, Berrocal has written two letters to President Arias, which he released to the media and posted on the internet. In the first letter (dated March 31),which also ran as an Op-ed in leading daily La Nacion, Berrocal asked to exercise his "constitutional right" to speak to the Legislature, anyway, as a private citizen. In the second letter (dated April 1 and published April 3),Berrocal said he had documents from the Drug Control Police (PCD),the intelligence service (DIS),the National Police of Colombia, and other sources which he planned to share with the Legislature. Berrocal's document package is to be reviewed by a special commission (see below). ¶5. (U) The second letter, titled "The Country Must Know", described the FARC as having made Costa Rica a "safe haven" for their operatives, and stressed that the FARC and narcotrafficking were one and the same, at least since 2000. While Costa Rican contact with the FARC before that date was part of the country's long tradition of offering asylum and political refuge, contact after the FARC turned to narcotrafficking reflected "unacceptable indifference," "ingenuity" or "virginal complicity," according to Berrocal. His letter insisted that he never claimed to have a specific "list" of Costa Rican politicians with links to the FARC. ============================================ ARIAS BROTHERS: BERROCAL WENT TOO FAR, AGAIN ============================================ ¶6. (C) During his April 1 meeting with visiting WHA DAS Kirsten Madison, President Arias denied there was any list of Costa Rican politicians associated with the FARC, despite Berrocal's assertions. Arias said that Berrocal is welcome to testify to the Legislature as a private citizen, but not as Minister. Minister Arias and the President echoed a similar message all week, in press releases, press conferences and interviews. Both reiterated that the there were no Costa Rican political links to the FARC, that the GOCR had nothing to hide, and that Berrocal stepped down because the GOCR did not share his "unfounded" views, which "raised false expectations," and "jeopardized current and future investigations." Minister Arias has also stressed publicly that Berrocal was set to leave government on May 1, anyway; all the Arias administration did was accelerate his departure by a few weeks. ¶7. (U) On April 2, President Arias told a press conference that he had called Colombian President Uribe, generating a letter from Uribe denying that any material discovered from the Reyes's laptop "up to now" linked the FARC to Costa Rican politicians. Arias' comments and the text of the Uribe letter have received wide media coverage. So have comments by Colombian VP Santos, insisting to a Costa Rican journalist that the FARC is a "real threat" to Costa Rica, suggesting that the GOC may discover additional information about FARC-Costa Rican ties in the future, and labeling the FARC a threat to the entire continent. Meanwhile, the GOCR dispatched a delegation including VP (and Justice Minister) Laura Chinchilla, FonMin Bruno Stagno and Attorney-General Francisco Dall'Anese on a fact-finding mission to Bogota April 4. =============== THIS AIN'T OVER =============== ¶8. (SBU) This controversy may not die quickly. The special legislative commission formed to investigate Berrocal's allegations and hear his testimony intends to meet. Berrocal has announced he would be available to appear before the Legislature in mid-April. A skeptical media has focused on the "up to this point" caveat of Uribe's letter, while opinion polls taken the week of March 31 depict a suspicious public. Over 75 percent in one poll believe Berrocal's exit was wrong and do not believe they have the full story yet about his departure. Over 90 percent believe the Attorney-General should fully investigate the entire affair. ¶9. (C) PUSC and opposition PAC legislators have been asking in public and private for more information, while Berrocal's predecessor as minister, Rogelio Ramos, has asked to meet with the Embassy. (A PUSC party member, Ramos's activities while minister have been regularly questioned by Berrocal, the media and others.) President Arias publicly acknowledged that Ramos came to see him the day before Berrocal was sacked. Ramos has threatened to us that if the GOCR (or we) criticize his performance, he will publicize dirt he has on the Arias Administration. ======= COMMENT ======= ¶10. (C) Both sides have mishandled this affair. Berrocal's poorly-timed and unsupported allegations of FARC links to Costa Rica apparently were the last straw for the Arias brothers. The ex-minister's talk-first, think-later approach on sensitive law enforcement and counter-narcotics issues had gotten him in trouble before. On the other hand, if the Arias administration team hoped the furor would fade quickly and quietly, they have thus far been proved wrong. ¶11. (C) There may be some truth on both sides, however. Berrocal is correct, in our view, to highlight the permissive, it-can't-happen-here atmosphere that has allowed FARC ties to continue for years, including direct contact with left-of-center political elements in the country. The brothers Arias were probably also correct in assuming that the political distraction from Berrocal's testimony would be harder to manage than the fallout from his hasty departure. At least one PUSC legislator reportedly was conditioning his continued support for CAFTA on the GOCR not permitting Berrocal to testify as minister and/or his removal from office. ¶12. (C) We will quickly engage with new Minister del Vecchio to maintain the excellent counter-narcotics and law enforcement cooperation set in motion by Berrocal. It took some time to overcome his skepticism about confronting the international drug trade, but he became a full and successful partner in the end. We will also urge the GOCR to stand firm against the FARC. Gutierrez and Prado may have violated Costa Rican money laundering laws, for example, in their house purchase. Vice Minister of Public Security Lascarez told us (during DAS Madison's visit/call last week) that he felt this provided grounds for prosecution. Media reports over the April 5-6 weekend suggest Bogota may ask for extradition of the couple. New terrorism financing legislation, which might have been more easily used against them, has not been passed, however. This affair strengthens our regularly-repeated argument that the GOCR needs to improve its counter terrorism laws. BRENNAN