TERRORISM FINANCE DESIGNATIONS DELIVERED

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000674 SENSITIVE SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO TREASURY:SSENICH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ETTC PREL PTER KTFN UNSC PINR KU IZ SY BA, QA, CVIS, KVPR SUBJECT: TERRORISM FINANCE DESIGNATIONS DELIVERED REF: A. STATE 3749 ¶B. STATE 7443 ¶C. STATE 22757 ¶D. STATE 61363 ¶E. STATE 62052 ¶F. STATE 65133 ¶G. STATE 65511 ¶H. STATE 68510 ¶I. STATE 80168 ¶1. (SBU) Econoff and Poloff met with Carlos Cordero, Department of Disarmament, Terrorism, and Organized Crime, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Costa Rica on August ¶7. Econoff demarched the MFA on several terrorism designations, consisting of both Executive Orders and UN designations (Reftels A-I). ¶2. (SBU) Cordero explained that the MFA reviews and then passes all designations to DIS (the Costa Rican national intelligence service). For designations that are sanctioned by the UN, DIS will investigate the designations by engaging with Interpol. For designations that are sanctioned only by the USG, DIS accepts the designations but does not investigate. Cordero explained that an "Executive Order is a national mechanism; thus, (GOCR) cannot take measures on this basis." Econoff suggested to Cordero that any US designation with affiliation to a UN designated organization should be included in DIS's investigations with Interpol. Cordero said that he would take the matter into consideration. ¶3. (SBU) Commenting on the terrorism finance bill first in the current queue in the National Assembly, Cordero said that the bill would comply with Egmont Group requirements plus other international terrorism standards. Currently, the bill is in the Committee for Narcotrafficking, chaired by Frederico Tinoco (PLN). It was approved unanimously in the committee and now awaits plenary debate. The bill targets three areas of the existing criminal code: financing, recruiting, and inciting terrorist acts. Most importantly, the bill will fix a gaping hole in the current legal code by establishing penalties for acts of terrorism. (The FARC financing case which developed in March following the Colombian raid on Raul Reyes's camp in Ecuador, for example, is not actionable in Costa Rica under current law, since terrorism financing per se is not a crime) With a finish to the CAFTA implementation legislation on the near horizon, the bill needs to move forward as Costa Rica is now in "extension status" with the Egmont Group. CIANCHETTE