Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BUENOSAIRES102
2009-01-30 20:13:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

ARGENTINA: MINISTER OF JUSTICE READY TO COOPERATE

Tags:  PREL SNAR PTER EFIN KCRM ASEC KTIP AR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0102/01 0302013
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 302013Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2949
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000102 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2024
TAGS: PREL SNAR PTER EFIN KCRM ASEC KTIP AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: MINISTER OF JUSTICE READY TO COOPERATE
WITH USG ON ALL FRONTS

REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 0092

B. 08 BUENOS AIRES 1571

Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000102

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/29/2024
TAGS: PREL SNAR PTER EFIN KCRM ASEC KTIP AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: MINISTER OF JUSTICE READY TO COOPERATE
WITH USG ON ALL FRONTS

REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 0092

B. 08 BUENOS AIRES 1571

Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (U) Action request for State and DEA HQ Washington, para

18.


2. (SBU) Summary: Minister of Justice Anibal Fernandez
received the Ambassador January 28 in his office and answered
"yes" to virtually every offer of collaboration and
assistance, including new anti-terrorism training, an
enhanced Argentine regional counter-drug role in
collaboration with the DEA, and collaborative training
exercises sponsored by ICE focused on bulk cash smuggling.
Fernandez expressed an interest in visiting the DEA El Paso
Intelligence Center and responded favorably when the
Ambassador suggested that he couple such a visit with a trip
to Washington to meet new Adinistration officials in the
Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Responding to
the Ambassador's suggestion that the two of them strategize
about how Argentina and the United States should best
collaborate on law enforcement matters in 2009, Fernandez
said that he was ready to move ahead with more cooperation on
drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, and terrorism.
When the Ambassador also mentioned bulk cash smuggling, money
laundering and child pornography, Fernandez said fine.


3. (SBU) In a joint press stake-out after the meeting,
Ambassador Wayne conveyed the message that Argentina is an
important partner, a statement broadcast live and repeated
all day on television, as well as featured in print dailies
the next day. We think Argentina can be a good partner not
just bilaterally but also as a regional center for public
security issues. Security is the top concern of the
Argentine public in polls, and this is one area where the
Argentines have not hesitated to work with us even when
bilateral tensions were high. Argentina also has some high
quality law enforcement services capable of taking regional
leadership roles. End Summary.

The Press: First and Last Order of Business

--------------


4. (U) Ambassador, accompanied by Poloff and Judicial
Advisor, called on Minister of Justice, Human Rights, and
Security Anibal Fernandez on January 28 at the Ministry. As
is his standard practice, Fernandez included no staff in the
meeting. After the Ambassador and Fernandez exchanged
pleasantries over photo sprays and then television news film
crews, the meeting participants experienced the odd sensation
of seeing themselves "live" on one of the local news channels
shown on one of the six operating television screens in the
room.


5. (U) After the meeting, Fernandez and the Ambassador
appeared jointly and fielded questions from print,
television, and radio media arranged for by the Justice
Ministry, with Fernandez saying the conversation had focused
constructively on collaboration in addressing challenges such
as terrorism, narcotics trafficking, trafficking-in-persons
(TIP),and money laundering and bulk cash smuggling. The
Ambassador noted that President Obama previously had given
emphasis to the importance of hemispheric cooperation to
address public security (note: in a May 2008 speech in
Miami),and that Argentina would undoubtedly be seen as an
important regional partner in this effort.

Strategic Dialogue on Law Enforcement Opportunities
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) The Ambassador began the meeting by noting that
President Obama, speaking as a candidate in May 2008 in
Miami, had emphasized our shared hemispheric interest in
public security. Ambassador suggested in this context that
it might be useful for the Minister and Ambassador to engage
in some strategic thinking about new opportunities for
collaboration on law enforcement areas, possibly in more
detail at a future meeting. Fernandez responded favorably,
suggesting that his ideas were to focus on opportunities for
greater collaboration against terrorism, trafficking in
persons (TIP),and drug trafficking.


With a "Si" or a Nod
--------------


7. (SBU) Emphasizing that he was no "anti-American" and that
he was always willing to receive U.S. training and
collaboration if it met Argentine needs, Fernandez answered
"yes" to a variety of Country Team proposals for training and
collaboration, including:

-- Playing host to a sub-regional Anti-Terrorism Assistance
(ATA) course on the "Police Leader's Role in Combating
Terrorism;"
-- Expanding on 2008 training from Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) on bulk-cash smuggling to combine a new
training unit with a collaborative "operational" exercise at
a major port or airport;
-- Designating officers to participate in a hostage-rescue
training exercise facilitated by the Military Group; and
-- Agreeing to have the Argentine Federal Police (PFA) host
and manage, with full DEA support, the Southern Cone Center
for Drug Information (CDI) that had previously operated in La
Paz, Bolivia.


8. (SBU) On the issue of expanding collaboration against drug
trafficking, Fernandez said that he was interested in signing
a new Memorandum of Understanding with the United States to
formalize the process. He mentioned that Argentina had
recently signed such agreements with Spain, Peru, and most
recently Bolivia (the last one a "very strong" agreement, he
said). In addition, Fernandez said later that he would like
to visit El Paso to see the DEA's El Paso Intelligence Center
(EPIC). Fernandez agreed when the Ambassador suggested that
we should work to link such a visit with a trip to Washington
to meet Administration officials at Homeland Security and the
Department of Justice.

Terrorism Financing, Money Laundering and Cash Smuggling
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) The MOJ also accepted the Ambassador's offer to
participate in a signing ceremony and then have officials
from his Ministry participate with other key government
offices in a terrorism-finance training exercise to be
partially funded by the U.S. Treasury. Fernandez went on to
describe new regulations that allowed his Ministry to request
assistance from the federal tax authority, AFIP, to
investigate questionable accounts possibly linked to money
laundering. He also claimed that much of Argentina's money
laundering was about evading taxes rather than other more
sinister criminal enterprises. On bulk-cash smuggling,
Fernandez admitted that Argentine regulations weren't strong
enough. The principal violation that could be hung on those
caught was for "failure to declare" their cash, which, though
not a serious crime, could result in one-half of the money
being seized. Fernandez said that the case of
Venezuelan-American Antonini-Wilson fell into this category,
and that he could still return to Argentina to claim one-half
of the USD 800,000 with which he was caught at the Buenos
Aires Aeroparque airport in August 2007. Fernandez said he
wanted to tighten Argentina's regulations on cash smuggling.

Precursor Chemicals, Paco, and Cocaine
--------------


10. (SBU) Asked by the Ambassador about progress in
addressing pre-cursor chemicals, Fernandez repeated his
November case (reftel B) that ephedrine was largely under
control. He also said that he believed that little remained
unaccounted for, though the Ambassador noted that some
experts believed several tons were still "out there" in
Argentina. He said that the 2008 decree sharing authority
over pre-cursor chemicals among his Ministry, the Ministry of
Health, and the Drug Policy Agency SEDRONAR would be put into
practice when a regulation was issued in February, 2009 and
that between then an dApril an effective monitorign system
would be put in place.


11. (SBU) Fernandez said that the cheap and potent drug
"paco," had been confirmed by testing offices to be akin to
"crack cocaine" but could not be a derivative of local
cocaine processing. Fernandez further asserted that there
was no real cocaine production in the country because it
would be too costly to transport coca leaves into Argentine
to process. He said he believed most cocained entered in a
highly concentrated form. (Comment: Fernandez did not
address the economics of converting cocaine base to HCL in
Argentina. Moreover, DEA testing of limited samples has
suggested paco is indeed a crude, low-quality form of cocaine
base. End Comment.) Fernandez said that he was encouraging
the judicial system to establish a judge dedicated to paco to
ensure that the production or trafficking of this drug was
thoroughly investigated and addressed.

Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
--------------


12. (SBU) Fernandez suggested satisfaction with progress
toward implementing the 2008 anti-TIP law, but confessed that
many judges and prosecutors had yet to fully understand the
issues or their importance. He referred again to his
Ministry's efforts to set up mechanisms to allow victims to
receive psychological counseling prior to police questioning,
saying this was good for the victims and for the development
of cases. Without the counseling, victims feared that they
would be subject to penalties or prosecution themselves.
Fernandez said that overall the Federal Government was making
good progress, and that key provinces including Misiones,
Corrientes and Formosa (along the northern borders) were also
taking the issue seriously. Asked by the Ambassador whether
the USG could usefully offer training for judges and
prosecutors, Fernandez said that within a couple of months,
following further organization in the country based on the
new law, he might be able to offer some better idea on the
who and how of training.

Child Pornography
--------------


13. (SBU) Ambassador also encouraged Minister Fernandez to
consider whether the United States might provide help in
addressing what appeared to be a gap in Argentine law
enforcement: that, while trafficking or producing child
pornography was a crime in the country, it was not illegal to
possess the materials. Fernandez said he did not think that
this was the case, saying that he believed the GOA has
sufficient authorities to prosecute those in possession of
child pornography. He suggested that Embassy officials meet
with the Ministry office focused on this crime to get a more
detailed reply. (Comment: Information we have received from
numerous lawyers and judges as well as specific anecdotes
familiar to the Embassy have led us to believe that there are
not in fact legal grounds in Argentina to penalize possession
of child pornography. We will follow up on the Minister's
suggestion and press for details on his Ministry's activities
in this area before developing a new pitch. We believe it
remains a problem in the country. End Comment.)

Crime: The Unappreciated Good News
--------------


14. (SBU) Fernandez also gave a detailed case that reported
crime in Buenos Aires city was decreasing despite alarmist
popular perceptions that it was getting worse. Pulling out a
draft statistical analysis he said he was preparing for the
President, Fernandez said that armed robbery, car theft, and
murder were all relatively low and that the trends were
either flat or in decline. Partial statistics for 2008,
compared against the same periods in previous years, showed
58 fewer stolen cars for example, a decline that had occurred
despite the addition of one million new cars to the road
(over what period we are not sure). Many of the cars that
were reported stolen, he said, appeared to be insurance
frauds, with frustrated owners of rare makes and models
resorting to a phony theft when unable to find needed spare
parts.


15. (SBU) He said that Buenos Aires city totals of 312
reported armed robberies per month were strikingly low for a
city of its size, and that the annual murder rate of 3.9 per
100,000 inhabitants was much lower than many large U.S.
cities. The success in Buenos Aires was in part the result
of the city's reliance on experienced federal police, he
said, where typical officers were older with years of

valuable experience. He contrasted this to a much worse
situation in Buenos Aires Province, where the much younger
average age of provincial police officers might be related to
both the higher crime rates and scandals among police
officers (including alleged police links to the kidnap of a
businessman resolved over the past weekend).

Airport Badges
--------------


16. (SBU) In a final offer of cooperation, Fernandez also
told the Ambassador that his Ministry was ready to approve
the issuance of six airport badges needed urgently for pilots
and support crew for the Defense Attache's C-12 aircraft. As
always, Fernandez's lack of staff at such meetings causes us
concern, as we hope for follow-through, but he seemed
committed on this several month-old issue and gave us the
name of the official to contact.

Comment: GOA Shows There's No Drama with the Obama
Administration
-------------- --------------


17. (C) Although we requested the meeting to coordinate on a
broad range of law enforcement objectives, Fernandez seemed
pleased to emphasize both privately and publicly how
committed the GOA was to working effectively with the new
Administration in Washington. As was the case with the
Ambassador's recent meeting with Interior Minister Randazzo
(reftel A),the goal in part was clearly to emphasize that
the press attention to President Fernandez de Kirchner's
misstep in finding herself in Havana on the U.S. inauguration
day was not a serious thing and that Argentina would not miss
the opportunity to improve ties with a U.S. Government that
is suddenly much more popular in Argentina. Beyond the
public appearances, however, Fernandez is gradually
establishing a track record of delivering on key issues we
put before him. We continue to have concerns about the depth
of the follow-through on some challenges, but the Minister
when pressed will often take the next step we suggest. End
Comment.


18. (C) More broadly, we believe it is in the U.S. interest
to work with Argentina as a potential partner on a regional
or hemispheric public security agenda. First, despite
problems in its law enforcement and judicial system, it
possesses some very high quality law enforcement units and
services. Public security, especially crime and drugs, is a
top public concern acccording to many opinion polls, and the
government stands to gain by showing a regional leadership
role. Also, even when bilateral tensions were high,
practical cooperation on fighting drugs and terrorism
continued.

Action Request
--------------


19. (C) Per the conversation reported para 8, we encourage
DEA and State to facilitate a visit by the Minister to El
Paso and to coordinate high-level meetings for the Minister
with counterpart agencies in Washington if he is able to
travel there. We should offer Fernandez a draft Memorandum
of Understanding outlining new areas of counter-drug
cooperation, attach some additional resources to that
document, and consider what additional "asks" we might direct
to the Minister during such a visit. In addition, Embassy
believes the Minister would find of interest and that we
would benefit from his visiting Joint Interagency Task
Force-South (JIATF-South) in Key West en route to or from
Argentina.
WAYNE