Colombian MFA Sounds Alarm about Citizenship Fraud

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 003404 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR CA/EX, CA/VO, CA/FPP, AND WHA/AND E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CMGT CVIS PINS KFRD SMIG CO SUBJECT: Colombian MFA Sounds Alarm about Citizenship Fraud ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On October 15, 2009 AmEmb Bogota's consular Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) met with the head of the passport office at the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),Mauricio Acero. Acero requested the meeting to alert FPU to a fraud trend whereby foreign nationals fraudulently obtain Colombian civil documents which are then used to request passports. Investigations by the MFA have led to the revocation of fraudulently-obtained passports of 24 individuals, while 340 cases remain under investigation. The cases most frequently involve people of Lebanese descent, but also Syrians, Palestinians, Jordanians, Venezuelans, and Cubans. END SUMMARY. -------------- Citizenship fraud begins with civil documents -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Acero highlighted that Colombia's civil documents system is ripe for fraud as the requirements for obtaining birth certificates are lenient. Once an individual is in possession of a Colombian birth certificate they can obtain a national identification number, which is then used to get a passport. With a valid national ID, the MFA is required by law to issue a passport. Acero requested that Embassy personnel voice concern about gaps in citizenship procedures in the course of high-level contacts with the Colombian government. -------------- Fraud indicators -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The perpetrators of citizenship fraud, according to Acero, tend to be male and between the ages of 20-25. They often use a baptism certificate to establish their place of birth (instead of the customary hospital certification of birth) and claim to have been born at home. Often the two mandatory witnesses of the birth will be indigenous. The birth certificate, national identification card and passport will often have issuance dates in close proximity. In the case of Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians, and Jordanians the subject's first (paternal) last name will be Arab and the second (maternal) last name will be Spanish. Through a series of legal procedures, the paternal last name is dropped over time. The cases tend to come from Maicao, San Andres, Barranquilla, and Ipiales. -------------- Motivations to commit citizenship fraud -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Acero told FPU that Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians, and Jordanians are motivated to obtain Colombian citizenship to hide criminal records, avoid military service in their home country, provide a better future for their children, and for ease in international travel. The motivations for Cubans and Venezuelans, on the other hand, are less clear. Acero hypothesized that some Cubans might wish to escape the regime while others might be using BOGOTA 00003404 002 OF 002 a Colombian identity as a cover for Cuban intelligence operations. As for Venezuelans, he said that the motivations are still unclear. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) FPU spoke with other agencies at Post about the trend. They noted that this is an on-going issue and concurred that the motives tend to be to hide criminal backgrounds. ¶6. (SBU) While Acero did not point to specific malfeasance involving U.S. visas, FPU appreciated the information and is on the look-out for the fraud indicators highlighted. FPU requested the names of the 340 individuals under investigation for citizenship fraud. The request is under consideration by the MFA. BROWNFIELD