ARGENTINA: AMBASSADOR THANKS MOJ FOR LAW

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000602

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2024
TAGS: PREL KTIP SNAR PTER EFIN KCRM AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: AMBASSADOR THANKS MOJ FOR LAW
ENFORCEMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS COOPERATION IN FAREWELL CALL

REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 599


B. 08 BUENOS AIRES 1705


C. BUENOS AIRES 102


D. BUENOS AIRES 35



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




1. (C) Summary. On May 20, the Ambassador paid a farewell

call on Minister of Justice Anibal Fernandez and thanked him

for the Ministry of Justice's (MoJ) collaboration in

promoting human rights and addressing international crime,

including drug trafficking, trafficking in persons (TIP),

money laundering, and terrorism finance. The Minister

thanked the Ambassador for the USG's excellent cooperation in

law enforcement issues and noted the progress the Government

of Argentina (GoA) is making in fighting TIP and drugs. He

accepted the Ambassador's offers of additional training

opportunities in the area of bulk cash smuggling and

hostage-taking crisis management as well as proposed

counterdrug bilateral exchanges sponsored by Southern

Command. The Ambassador informed Fernandez that he would

soon sign in a low-profile ceremony with Central Bank

President Redrado an agreement to provide technical

assistance to Argentine regulators, focused on enhancing the

prevention and detection of terrorism finance.




2. (C) After the meeting, the Minister and Ambassador

jointly addressed the press where both underscored the

importance of working together to fight crime. The Minister

also used the press opportunity to defend a recent court

verdict to uphold the ruling Victory Front's (FPV) decision

to run symbolic candidates in the midterm elections. In the

press event, the Ambassador and Minister both made strong

statements against recent anti-Semitic violence (ref A). End

summary.



The GoA Makes Progress Against TIP...

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




3. (C) The Ambassador thanked Minister Fernandez for the

excellent human rights cooperation from the MOJ's National

Anti-Discrimination Institute (ref B) and its cooperation in

fighting TIP. He informed the Minister that the Department's

TIP report would be published in June, and that it would

likely note Argentina's progress to date. He said that the

report would also reiterate the need to prosecute, convict,

and sentence those involved in TIP crimes and to provide more

care options for those freed from trafficking situations.

The Ambassador recalled a previous conversation with the

Minister, where Fernandez had indicated that the judicial

sector needed to do more to convict human traffickers. He

offered USG support to assist GoA efforts to strengthen

judicial capacity to convict these crimes.




4. (C) The Ambassador then noted that the Department had

approved a proposal by TIP activist and 2007 International

Woman of Courage Award Winner Susana Trimarco to set up

specialized anti-trafficking units at the provincial level.

Minister Fernandez welcomed the news and asserted that the

MOJ gives Trimarco's anti-TIP foundation 100,000 pesos (about

US$27,000) every two months to pay for the foundation's

victim's assistance programs.




5. (C) Fernandez proudly informed the Ambassador that the

MOJ's specialized TIP units had conducted 177 raids, made 206

arrests, and rescued 287 TIP victims, including 90 minors.

He reiterated the need to train judges on the specifics of

the new anti-TIP law, and recalled a case where a judge tried

to prosecute a TIP victim who had been forced to abort a

child in the brothel where she was exploited.



...but Changing Cultural Attitudes an Uphill Battle

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




6. (C) Fernandez stated that the GoA's TIP public awareness

campaign would begin soon. Fernandez underscored the need to

change cultural attitudes that accept the sexual exploitation

of women and children as normal. He explained that the

sexual exploitation of women has long been glorified in

Argentine tango lyrics, and recalled one song that even

talked about police complicity with brothel owners. The



Minister recounted that in the Interior provinces, some

parents will voluntarily hand over their virgin daughters to

satisfy the demands of landowners.




7. (C) The Ambassador then noted recent press reports that

alleged TIP activity taking place in brothels in the

Kirchners' hometown province of Santa Cruz (reftel).

Fernandez claimed that federal and provincial authorities

were working together to collect criminal intelligence to

crack down on illicit TIP activity taking place in brothels.

Poloff noted that the press quoted provincial authorities

explaining that the brothels serve a purpose for lonely

workers and helped keep the number of rape crimes down. She

added that this suggests a need for greater awareness among

provincial authorities on how TIP and prostitution can

intersect and that prostitution is not the best way to

prevent rape.




8. (C) The Minister argued that the brothels in Santa Cruz

have helped prevent rape. He explained that most of Santa

Cruz's residents emigrated to the province where they work

primarily in the oil and gas industries. He said these

workers ""make a lot of money, and if they do not have a place

to spend the money, they are likely to rape women to satisfy

their desires."" When poloff noted that Argentine federal law

prohibited brothels, the Minister asserted that each province

has the right to decide whether brothels are legal or not,

and that brothels are legal in Santa Cruz. That said, there

should be good regulations of legal brothels to ensure there

is no trafficking underway.




9. (C) The Minister reiterated that the government has an

uphill battle in changing cultural attitudes, particularly in

the interior provinces. He then disclosed to the Ambassador

that he personally believed that the Aleh family, a prominent

family in Tucuman province, was behind the 2003 kidnapping of

Susana Trimarco's daughter, Marita Veron. Fernandez referred

to the Ale patriarch as Argentina's very own ""godfather"" who

in an effort to launder his money from illicit activities is

now President of Tucuman's soccer club, Club Atletico San

Martin. Fernandez said he felt sure they were involved in

the Veron kidnapping, but lamented that he ""can not prove it.""



MOJ Accepts Counternarcotics Training and Exchanges

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




10. (C) The Ambassador thanked the Minister for the MoJ's

continued cooperation to fight drugs. He indicated that

Southern Command officials were interested in visiting

Argentina to meet with their Border Patrol and Coast Guard

counterparts and would like to invite the MoJ to send a

General-equivalent from each of these agencies to visit the

Joint Interagency Counterdrug Task Force in Key West, Florida

and other national counterdrug agencies in Washington, DC.

The Ambassador also offered a training program in managing a

hostage-taking crisis sponsored by the Embassy's Military

Group. The Minister accepted the offers and expressed

appreciation for these types of bilateral exchanges and

training programs.



...but Notes Challenges in Winning the War on Drugs

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




11. (C) Fernandez said that he does ""not want to delude

anyone that the government can win the battle against drugs""

but emphasized the GoA would persist in its efforts. Asked

by the Ambassador about efforts to control precursor

chemicals, Fernandez noted the recent arrest of Mario Roberto

Segovia, the so-called ""king of ephedrine"" and disclosed that

the MoJ is working on a case that would be finalized in the

next 30 days. He pointed to the challenging economics of

controlling drugs. He stated that a ton of ephedrine shipped

to China was worth $50; but a ton of methamphetamines was

worth $50,000 in the United States. He also noted the ease

with which one could convert over-the-counter drugs into

ephedrine. Fernandez said he knew who was producing

precursor chemicals in Argentina, and that producers would

soon have to re-register with the GoA to continue producing.




12. (c) The Minister added that Argentina signed an agreement

with the Bolivian government to enhance coordination to



control precursor chemicals. He claimed that President Evo

Morales was receptive to working together to fight drug

trafficking along Argentina's 720 kilometer border with

Bolivia. The Minister said he knew what company in Salta was

shipping significant quantities of precursor chemicals into

Bolivia for illegal drug processing and would crack down on

it as soon as the new regulations are issued. He claimed

that GOA agencies were now working together well and that MOJ

and the Drug Control agencies were collaborating effectively

on the new regulations. Under the proposed plan, officials

from the Federal Police and the Ministry of Health would both

have to verify all movements of precursor chemicals, he

stated.




13. (C) He also recalled his earlier personal battles with

Jose Ramon Granero, the head of Argentina's Drug Control

agency, SEDRONAR, and Gabriel Aboud, the National Director

for Controlling Precursor Chemicals, calling the latter

""nefarious."" He implicitly criticized Granero's resort to

the press to defend SEDRONAR saying, ""If Granero wants to

talk, great. If not, he should keep his mouth shut.""

Fernandez said he had been behind the move to eliminate

SEDRONAR's former sole authority over the importation of

pre-cursor chemicals, saying that it was now a matter for the

Ministry of Health and the federal police (though SEDRONAR

also participates in the new multi-agency pre-cursor

commission).



MoJ: ""The Year to Fight Money Laundering""

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




14. (C) The Ambassador expressed appreciation for the

Minister's support for a new training program on bulk cash

smuggling with a live exercise component. He also noted that

the USG has finalized an agreement with the GoA's Ministry of

Justice, Central Bank, Securities Exchange Commission, and

Insurance Regulator to provide technical assistance to

Argentine regulators, focused on enhancing the prevention and

detection of terrorism finance. The Ambassador explained

that he planned to sign the agreement with Central Bank

President Martin Redrado in a low-profile ceremony.

Fernandez welcomed the assistance, and agreed that the

ceremony should be kept low-profile. He stated that ""this is

the year to fight money laundering."" He indicated that all

government agencies are now required to declare suspicious

activity, and he assured the Ambassador that such activity

would be investigated. He asserted that the GoA will have ""a

strong response"" for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

(Comment: We presume he was referring to the FATF mutual

evaluation of Argentina scheduled in October/November of this

year).



Press

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




15. (C) After the meeting, the Ambassador and the Minister

gave a joint press conference and fielded questions from

print, television and radio media. Per ref A, both made

strong statements condemning recent anti-Semitic violence in

Buenos Aires. Fernandez said the meeting was an opportunity

to discuss joint cooperation in counternarcotics, TIP,

homeland security. The Ambassador thanked Minister Fernandez

for the MoJ's productive cooperation on law enforcement

issues. He noted that there is still much work to be done to

fight organized crime, and stressed the need for convictions

against criminals. When asked about a court's recent verdict

to uphold the ruling party's decision to run ""symbolic

candidates"" for the upcoming mid-term elections, the Minister

praised and defended the decision, noting the opposition

party's right to appeal. He went on to scold the opposition

for constantly complaining that Argentina's electoral system

is too complicated. Despite opposition claims that voters do

not know how to split ballots, he said, ""voters know how to

vote."" The Ambassador stressed that regular elections are

important to democracy and that Argentines will soon have the

opportunity to vote for the candidates that will represent

their interests best.



Comment

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




16. (C) In good times and bad, Minister of Justice Anibal

Fernandez has been one of the most accessible and

forward-leaning member of President Cristina Fernandez de

Kirchner's Cabinet. While other Ministers, such as Defense

Minister Nilda Garre, can be problematic or prickly to work

with, Minister Fernandez has welcomed USG training

initiatives on a wide range of law enforcement topics.

Although Minister Fernandez' high political profile as a

staunch defender of Kirchner interests has generated much

public skepticism about his role on security and justice

issues, the fact remains that law enforcement cooperation

with Argentina's security agencies under his authority has

been productive.

WAYNE


=======================CABLE ENDS============================