Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BUENOSAIRES563
2009-05-12 15:16:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

Argentina: Hidden Camera Investigation Uncovers TIP in

Tags:  PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV SNAR AR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0563/01 1321516
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121516Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3705
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000563 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP
DEPT FOR WHA/BSC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV SNAR AR
SUBJECT: Argentina: Hidden Camera Investigation Uncovers TIP in
Kirchner's Province

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000563

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP
DEPT FOR WHA/BSC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV SNAR AR
SUBJECT: Argentina: Hidden Camera Investigation Uncovers TIP in
Kirchner's Province


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Argentine press recently reported a hidden camera
investigation conducted by anti-trafficking NGO La Alameda that
appears to show drug and human trafficking activity in brothels
located in the capital city of Santa Cruz, the home province of
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her husband,
ex-president Nestor Kirchner. The footage reportedly caught the
provincial police chief frequenting one of the establishments, a
charge that he denies. The Santa Cruz Governor vigorously defended
the integrity of his police chief, but acknowledged that trafficking
in persons (TIP) is a problem in the province. He vowed to fight
the mafias involved, but instructed his police chief to sue La
Alameda and file criminal charges against its leaders on slander
charges. The Catholic Church, meanwhile, backs La Alameda's claims.
The national Ministry of Justice has pledged to investigate, but
noted that primary investigative responsibility lies with the
federal judge residing in the province. The case highlights the
need for greater TIP training of provincial law enforcement
officers. Post will continue to encourage the GOA to offer anti-TIP
training to provincial authorities as a means to improve federal,
provincial, and local law enforcement efforts to fight this scourge.
END SUMMARY.

Hidden Camera Investigation Reportedly Finds TIP
-------------- ---


2. (SBU) On April 28, the local press, including Argentina's largest
circulation daily "Clarin," reported on suspected drug and human
trafficking activity in brothels located in Rio Gallegos, the
capital city of Santa Cruz, the home province of former president
Nestor Kirchner and the adopted home of his wife, President Cristina
Fernandez de Kirchner. The articles recounted the details of an
undercover investigation conducted by La Alameda, an
anti-trafficking NGO, in February of this year. According to the
press, three members of La Alameda visited the red-light district in
Rio Gallegos commonly known as "Las Casitas" ("The Little Houses").
These establishments, which purport to be pubs and discos, had been
previously denounced by the Catholic Church as brothels and drug

havens. Until La Alameda's investigation, however, there had not
been any evidence of illicit activities taking place there.


3. (SBU) Using hidden cameras, La Alameda filmed various "Casitas"
that appear to offer drugs and commercial sex in addition to wine
and spirits. The NGO identified at least 21 brothels in the area
and claimed that over 200 girls from different provinces of
Argentina, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica are
deprived of their freedom and forced to prostitute themselves
nightly. According to one worker interviewed by La Alameda,
provincial police officers usually arrive at 8 am to close the
establishments and thereby help maintain the ruse that they are
legitimate pubs and discos.

MOJ Vows to Investigate
--------------


4. (SBU) On April 29, representatives of anti-TIP NGOs, headed by
La Alameda, National Deputy Fernanda Gil Lozano, the Catholic
Church, and two rabbis, peacefully marched in Buenos Aires city and
handed a formal complaint to Justice Minister Anibal Fernandez
asking the MOJ to investigate the matter and rescue and assist TIP
victims. A copy of the complaint was also filed with Prosecutor
General Esteban Righi's Office. The complaint not only alleged that
the Santa Cruz "Casitas" were involved in drug and human
trafficking, but also claimed that provincial law enforcement
officials protect brothels either by omission or commission.
According to the press, MOJ officials pledged to investigate the
case but explained that primary responsibility for the judicial
investigation rests with federal judge Gerardo Camano.

Police Chief Caught on Tape?
--------------


5. (SBU) La Alameda's footage also caught on tape the image of a
man whom the press has identified as Santa Cruz's Police Chief
Alejandro Martin. According to La Alameda, the man on the tape can
be either him or Marcelo Romero, Private Secretary to Santa Cruz
Cabinet Chief Pablo Gonzalez, an official who keeps close ties to
Nestor Kirchner, who was a long-time governor of the province before
becoming president. Santa Cruz provincial authorities moved quickly
to dismiss La Alameda's accusations of police complicity or
negligence. Martin denied being the person on the tape, claiming he
was not in Rio Gallegos at the time of the investigation. Martin
and Santa Cruz Minister of Government Carlos Barreto subsequently
called a press conference accusing "Clarin" of distorting facts and
confusing the issue of prostitution with trafficking in persons
(TIP). Barreto admitted that TIP is a real problem controlled by
mafias, and vigorously denied police involvement. Santa Cruz

Governor Daniel Peralta also came to the defense of his police
chief, accusing La Alameda of tarnishing the reputation of Martin
and the provincial police force at a time when "there have been
positive results to fight this crime." He denounced La Alameda's
investigation as "politically motivated," designed to damage Santa
Cruz's relationship with the federal government. He also instructed
the Provincial Police Chief and the Provincial Prosecutor to file a
criminal complaint against La Alameda.

Catholic Church Backs La Alameda's Claims
--------------


6. (SBU) According to the press, Santa Cruz bishop Juan Carlos
Romanin backs La Alameda's claims and noted that there are many
similar red-light districts that are sexually exploiting women and
girls in Patagonia, mainly in tourist and coastal cities in Santa
Cruz and Tierra del Fuego provinces, including El Calafate, Pico
Truncado, Perito Moreno, and Ushuaia. At the same time, Romanin
acknowledged that Santa Cruz Governor Peralta and Tierra del Fuego
Governor Fabiana Rios recognize the problem and are working to fight
TIP.

Santa Cruz Government Minister: Brothels Help Keep Rape Numbers
Down
-------------- --------------


7. (SBU) In the days following the initial report of La Alameda's
investigation, Barreto said that "Las Casitas" had been operating in
Rio Gallegos for over 30 years and that they had offered solace to
"rural workers who migrated to the city all alone." He asserted
that older Rio Gallegos residents would agree that the
establishments serve their purposes, and help keep the numbers of
rape down. He again denied that the man caught on La Alameda's
footage was Police Chief Martin, but said that the real person on
the tape "may just have been there to have a drink, like any of us."
Meanwhile, Governor Peralta justified prostitution as a culturally
accepted practice. These comments prompted La Alameda on May 4 to
ask the courts to investigate Governor Peralta and Minister Barreto
for possible connections to the "Casitas" and their illicit
activities.

An Old TIP Case Sidelines One Politician
--------------


8. (SBU) Meanwhile, on May 8, "La Nacion" reported that Civic
Coalition (CC) leader Elisa Carrio had succeeded in blocking Vice
President Cobos's proposal to add Hector Gutierrez, the mayor of
Pergamino to the list of congressional candidates backed by the CC
and Cobos and the Radical Party (UCR) in Buenos Aires province.
Gutierrez had been identified as a patron of the "Spartacus"
brothel, where 15 Paraguayan adolescent TIP victims were discovered
in 2007. The newspaper reported that prosecutor Mario Gomez had
dropped TIP charges pending against Gutierrez but was still
investigating some of his city officials for providing the teenagers
with health certificates.

Comment
--------------


9. (SBU) On May 8, La Alameda President Gustavo Vera told poloff
that the federal judge assigned to the case is unlikely to order a
full investigation into the case unless local and international
media keeps up the pressure on the GOA. As most criminal cases
languish in Argentina's notoriously slow judicial system, many
anti-TIP activists believe the only recourse they have is to take
their case to the media and shame government officials in the court
of public opinion. This modus operandi, however, can impede GOA
investigations, as it is unclear whether such evidence can be used
in a court of law. La Alameda has offered the Political Section and
our Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) colleagues useful
insights into forced labor in Buenos Aires province as well as
alleged forced and child labor in the cultivation of garlic and
onions in Mendoza province. According to our ICE colleagues,
however, La Alameda's capacity to investigate and provide solid
evidence that can be used in a U.S. court of law has so far been
limited.


10. (SBU) This case illustrates some of the challenges in Argentine
federal efforts to implement the one-year old anti-TIP legislation
on the provincial level. Although the promotion, facilitation, or
exploitation of persons into prostitution is illegal in Argentina
and the law prohibits all locales that incite prostitution, judicial
confusion over the legality of brothels remains. So long as this
legal ambiguity exists, some provincial authorities will continue to
claim that establishments such as the "Casitas" simply enable
individual prostitutes to offer commercial sex voluntarily. Greater

GOA efforts to clarify the legal status of brothels are clearly
needed. In addition, anti-TIP training should also be extended to
provincial law enforcement agencies to strengthen their capacity to
identify and investigate potential TIP activity in coordination with
federal authorities.

WAYNE