TERRORISM FINANCE: VENEZUELA-BASED HIZBALLAH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000486 SIPDIS EEB/ESC/TFS (DBENDANA) E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2019 TAGS: ETTC KTFN PTER EFIN PREL PINR UNSC KCRM KJUS KHLS, EUN, VE, LE SUBJECT: TERRORISM FINANCE: VENEZUELA-BASED HIZBALLAH TERRORIST FINANCIERS (EU RESPONSE TO U.S. DOMESTIC DESIGNATION) REF: A. 2008 STATE 68510 ¶B. SNYDER-JALLORINA EMAIL 10/22/2008 Classified By: USEU Econ Minister-Counselor Peter H. Chase for reasons 1.4 (b),(d),(e). ¶1. (C) Per recent conversations with sanctions contacts, the EU remains interested in any follow-up information the USG could provide related to Ref A demarche on the autonomous designation of Venezuela-based Hizballah terrorist financiers. Ref B informally reported the October 2008 formal EU French Presidency response to Ref A; this cable submits the text front channel (repeated in entirety below). USEU would welcome any further instructions on how to respond to the EU. In discussing subsequent U.S. designation demarches, namely the Hizballah-linked Waad Project designation, EU Member States are wondering whether the U.S. will respond to their invitation to provide further information supporting a designation. ¶2. (SBU) The relevant extract from the French Presidency demarche reply states: "concerning the request on the two persons and entities based in Venezuela presumably supporting Hezbollah, the Presidency would appreciate if any additional information could be communicated to the delegations in order to allow a thorough examination in the framework of the criteria of the Common Position 2001/931/CFSP. In this context, elements concerning the exact legal base for the designation of these people and entities would be extremely useful." ¶3. (C//NF) NOTE: The question of legal basis is a growing sticking point for EU autonomous adoption of U.S. domestic terrorist designations. For example, a Council Secretariat legal service contact noted that the EU autonomous designations must be made on the basis of a decision by a competent authority. Common Position 2001/931/CFSP Article 1.4 defines this as a decision by a judicial or equivalent competent authority, deciding to investigate, prosecute, or convict the designees. Contact noted that the further we move from the strict definition of competent authority by Article 1.4, the greater the risk that an EU court would examine whether such authorities' decisions can be used as the basis for an EU designation. The EU court has not, to date, tested whether the U.S. executive orders or FTO designations are acceptable as competent authorities. END NOTE. -------------- -------------- Text of Combined EU Response to Various U.S. Demarches: LET, RIHS, Gulf-based AQ, and Venezuela-based Hizballah -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) USEU translation in English; original in French follows): Begin USEU English Translation Brussels, 9 October 2008 Madam, Following your letters of 11, 19 and 27 June requesting the European Union to take position on a number of recent designations by the United States of persons and entities suspected of supporting terrorism, I would like to inform you of the following considerations, subsequent to a discussion inside the competent Council working group charged with these issues. Concerning the four people linked to the LET, the three people linked to the Gulf-based Al Qaida, and the Kuwait-based entity, it appears to be persons and entities who are susceptible to belong to the list established following the resolution 1267 of the UN Security Council. The constant practice, when dealing with the implementation BRUSSELS 00000486 002 OF 002 of the resolution 1373 of the UNSC through the European listing of terrorist persons and entities has always been to keep the two sanctions regimes distinct. In this context, the working group considered that these requests were not in its field of competence. On the other hand, concerning the request on the two persons and entities based in Venezuela presumably supporting Hezbollah, the Presidency would appreciate if any additional information could be communicated to the delegations in order to allow a thorough examination in the framework of the criteria of the Common Position 2001/931/CFSP. In this context, elements concerning the exact legal base for the designation of these people and entities would be extremely useful. The Presidency thanks the U.S. Mission, Sincerely Yours End English translation; Begin French text: Bruxelles, le 09 octobre 2009 Madame, Faisant suite a vos lettres des 11, 19 et 27 juin dernier demandant a l'Union europeenne de prendre position sur une serie de designations recentes par les Etats-Unis de personnes et entites soupconnes de soutenir le terrorisme, je souhaite vous informer des considerations suivantes, suite a une discussion du groupe de travail competent du Conseil saisi de cette question. Concernant les quatre personnes lies au LET ainsi que les trios personnes lies a Al Qaida basees dans la region du Golfe et l'entite basee au Koweit, il semble qu'il s'agit de personnes et entites susceptibles de relever de la liste etablie en vertu de la resolution 1267 du Conseil de securite des Nations Unies. La pratique constante s'agissant de la mise en oeuvre de la resolution 1373 du CSNU au travers de la liste europeenne des personnes et entites terroristes a toujours ete de maintenir la distinction entre les deux regimes de sanctions. Dans ce contexte, le groupe de travail a estime que ces demandes n'avaient pas vocation relever de sa competence. S'agissant par cotre de la demande relative aux deux personnes et aux deux entites bases au Venezuela presumes soutenir le Hezbollah, la Presidence souhaterait que soit porte a la connaissance des delegations toute information complementaire permettant un examen approfondi au regard des criteres de la position commune 2001/931/PESC. Dans ce contexte, des elements sur la base juridique exacte de designation de ces personnes et entites seraient de la plus haute utilite. La Presidence remercie la Mission des Etats-Unis aupres de l'Union europeenne et saisit cette occasion pour lui renouveler les assurances de sa tres haute consideration. Presidence du groupe PC 931 End French Text. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED MURRAY .