Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BUENOSAIRES831
2009-07-16 13:24:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

(C/NF) ARGENTINA: INTELLIGENCE CHIEF IN SANTA CRUZ

Tags:  PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV SNAR ASEC ELAB AR 
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VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0831/01 1971324
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 161324Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4074
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000831 

SIPDIS, NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2029
TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV SNAR ASEC ELAB AR
SUBJECT: (C/NF) ARGENTINA: INTELLIGENCE CHIEF IN SANTA CRUZ
LINKED TO TIP RING

REF: (A) BUENOS AIRES 0563 (B) BUENOS AIRES 0300

Classified By: Classified By: Charge d' Affaires Tom Kelly for reasons
1.4 (B) and (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000831

SIPDIS, NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/16/2029
TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV SNAR ASEC ELAB AR
SUBJECT: (C/NF) ARGENTINA: INTELLIGENCE CHIEF IN SANTA CRUZ
LINKED TO TIP RING

REF: (A) BUENOS AIRES 0563 (B) BUENOS AIRES 0300

Classified By: Classified By: Charge d' Affaires Tom Kelly for reasons
1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C/NF) SUMMARY. Local press recently linked Wilfredo
Roque, the chief of the Santa Cruz provincial office of
Argentina's intelligence agency, SIDE, to a trafficking in
persons (TIP) ring led by Alejandro Guerrero and his wife
"Yani." A local TV show aired footage showing Roque's right
hand man, Oscar Mazzochi, together with Guerrero, while the
latter recruited women and children in shantytowns of the
federal city to work in the red-light district of Rio
Gallegos, the capital of Santa Cruz, the home province of
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her husband,
former president Nestor Kirchner. Once the allegations
surfaced, Santa Cruz Governor Daniel Peralta ordered an
administrative investigation into Mazzochi's alleged
involvement in trafficking activities. Mazzochi and two
other provincial police officers have been arrested so far,
and the Governor has promised he will investigate any law
enforcement officials connected with these illegal
activities.


2. (SBU) Meanwhile, federal Judge Ana Alvarez directed border
patrol agents to raid 29 brothels operating in a Rio Gallegos
red-light district and ordered them closed. The judicial
order came after local press publicized the anti-trafficking
NGO La Alameda's undercover investigation and subsequent
judicial complaint denouncing drug and human trafficking
activity in the area known as "Las Casitas", or "The Little
Houses" (ref A). Although the Ministry of Justice's anti-TIP
coordinator told poloff that no trafficking victims were
found, La Alameda maintains that local police who are
allegedly providing protection to the brothels were tipped
off about the raid, giving them plenty of time to warn
brothel owners. La Alameda also claims that the provincial
government did not offer comprehensive assistance to

potential trafficking victims, making it difficult for them
to denounce those that exploit them. For now, the brothels
remain closed, although Governor Peralta and other provincial
officials claim that these establishments simply enable
individual prostitutes to offer commercial sex voluntarily.
END SUMMARY.

Press Links Provincial Intelligence Chief to TIP
-------------- ---


3. (SBU) On June 6, independent newspaper "Perfil" linked
Wilfredo Roque, the chief of the Santa Cruz provincial office
of Argentina's intelligence agency, SIDE, to a trafficking in
persons (TIP) ring led by Alejandro Guerrero. Investigative
journalism TV show "American Documentary" ("Documentos
America") aired footage showing Roque's right hand man, Oscar
Mazzochi, together with Guerrero, recruiting women and
children in the shantytowns of Buenos Aires City to work in
the red-light district in Rio Gallegos, the capital city of
Santa Cruz, which also happens to be the home province of
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her husband,
ex-president Nestor Kirchner. They are known as "Las
Casitas" or "The Little Houses." The Catholic Church and
other civil society groups claim they are brothels and drug
havens operating under the guise of discos and pubs.
"Perfil" claims Mazzochi currently works with Roque, and that
Guerrero has worked closely with Roque in the past.


4. (C/NF) A childhood friend of former President Nestor
Kirchner, Roque was Kirchner's police chief when Kirchner was
Santa Cruz Governor. He held this position for 16 years
until he was forced to resign in 2007, after then National
Deputy Daniel Varizat, a Kirchner ally, ran over six persons
in an attempt to escape a teacher's strike in the province.
Local newspapers report that during Roque's tenure, he
implemented a hiring and promotion freeze for over 12 years,
which prompted provincial police officials to supplement
their incomes by offering protection to illegal gambling
establishments and brothels. According to "Perfil" Roque's
right-hand man, Oscar Mazzochi, worked as a non-commissioned
police officer in the Special Laws Unit, an office tasked
with monitoring the activities of the brothels in Rio
Gallegos. Mazzochi has frequently been linked to corruption
cases and has been accused of offering police protection to
"Las Casitas." "Perfil" quoted an unnamed police source, who
said that Mazzochi had long cooperated with TIP ringleader
Guerrero and that then Police Chief Roque had always endorsed
Mazzochi's activities. When Mazzochi retired in 2004, he
moved to Buenos Aires City where he reportedly served as a
liaison between Roque and Guerrero to traffic women and
children from the shantytowns of Buenos Aires City to Santa
Cruz province where they would be forced into prostitution.



5. (SBU) "Perfil" further claims that Roque's association
with Guerrero goes back to at least 1998, when Guerrero and
his former wife, "Yani," were accused of facilitating
prostitution. They reportedly enticed women and girls from
northern Argentina with false promises of jobs as waitresses
in Santa Cruz, only to confiscate their documents and force
them into prostitution in "Las Casitas." Press reports
describe "Yani" as the Madam who managed the brothels in "Las
Casitas." Roque allegedly had several telephone
conversations with "Yani," identifying himself only as "Mr.
5." The judge presiding over the case never questioned Roque
and subsequently closed the case due to lack of evidence.


6. (SBU) When investigative journalism TV show "American
Documentary" ("Documentos America") aired footage showing
Mazzochi and Guerrero side-by-side recruiting women and
children in the Buenos Aires city shantytown of Villa 31 to
"work" in Santa Cruz, Governor Daniel Peralta ordered an
administrative investigation into Mazzochi's alleged
involvement in trafficking activities. Mazzochi and two
other provincial police officers have been arrested, and the
Governor has promised to suspend, investigate and fire any
law enforcement officials in his province connected with
these illegal activities. That said, post is unaware of any
investigation into current Santa Cruz police chief Alejandro
Martin or Marcelo Romero, Private Secretary to Santa Cruz
province's Cabinet Chief, each suspected to be the man caught
frequenting one of the brothels in hidden camera footage
obtained by anti-trafficking NGO, La Alameda (ref A).

Judge Orders Raid and Closure of Las Casitas...
-------------- --


7. (C/NF) On June 7, substitute federal judge Ana Alvarez
directed border patrol agents to raid "Las Casitas" and
ordered the closure of the establishments. According to the
press, this is the first time these establishments have been
closed in 50 years. The judicial order came after local
press publicized La Alameda's undercover investigation and
subsequent judicial complaint denouncing drug and human
trafficking activity in "Las Casitas" (ref A). La Alameda
claims that these establishments were operating with licenses
as night clubs or cabarets. The Border Patrol raided 29
brothels and arrested 200 persons, 120 of whom were deemed
voluntary prostitutes by local authorities after being
examined in a Rio Gallegos hospital. Although the Ministry
of Justice's anti-TIP coordinator told poloff that no
trafficking victims were found, La Alameda claims that the
Santa Cruz government offered the trafficking victims very
little protection or assistance, making it difficult for them
to come forward and testify against their traffickers. In
addition, La Alameda asserts that local police, who allegedly
protect the brothels, were tipped off within hours after the
judge ordered the raid, giving them plenty of time to warn
brothel owners. Despite La Alameda's efforts, no TIP charges
have been filed against anyone in the Las Casitas case.

...But Will It Last?
--------------


8. (SBU) Santa Cruz regional daily "Tiempo Sur" reports that
the public is evenly divided over the closure of "Las
Casitas." In an online poll conducted by the paper, only 46%
supported the decision to close "Las Casitas", while 50% were
against. Supporters of the raid argue that many women in
these establishments are forced to work and that these places
are havens for other illicit activities, such as drug
trafficking. Opponents claim that the women "chose to work"
in Las Casitas and that the red-light district made
prostitution socially discreet and safe, a sentiment shared
by Governor Peralta who has called the area "a part of the
local culture." In fact, a small number of women who worked
in "Las Casitas" have protested the forced closure demanding
their jobs back.


9. (SBU) On July 3, Judge Alvarez allowed the owners of "Las
Casitas" access to the establishments to secure their
property after several locales were reportedly burglarized.
Gustavo Vera told poloff on July 8 that the brothels remain
closed. He explained that Judge Alvarez has kept the
investigation into TIP activity open, but has recused herself
from the prostitution aspect of the case, referring it to the
provincial judicial system which has jurisdiction over
prostitution cases. Vera claims, however, that the
provincial judge assigned to the case send it back to
Alvarez, arguing that the case should be handled by a federal
court as it represented a case of human trafficking for the
purposes of sexual exploitation.
Comment
--------------


10. (C/NF) This is not the first time we have heard of a
potential connection between human trafficking networks and
individuals linked to Argentina's intelligence agency, SIDE.
In 2007, an investigative journalist for Mexican television
station Televisa told poloff that former SIDE agent Raul
Martes was involved in trafficking Argentine women to Mexico.
Post, however, has been unable to confirm that a Raul Martes
ever worked for SIDE. Nevertheless, post will add the names
of Roque, Guerrero, and Mazzochi to post's human rights
vetting database.


11. (C/NF) Post is not in a position to determine whether any
of the women working in "Las Casitas" were trafficking
victims. This case illustrates some of the challenges in
Argentine federal efforts to enforce anti-TIP legislation in
the provinces. 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. Judge Alvarez's decision to close Las
Casitas appears to address this issue. This, however, has
not stopped some provincial authorities, including Governor
Peralta, from claiming that establishments such as the
"Casitas" simply enable individual prostitutes to offer
commercial sex voluntarily.


12. (SBU) This case also demonstrates the need to develop
protocols to deliver psychological, medical, and legal
assistance to potential trafficking victims to ensure their
needs are met prior to interviewing them. As mentioned in
ref B, this is extremely challenging as Argentina's Criminal
Procedural Code stipulates that law enforcement officials can
only detain people for a maximum of ten hours without filing
charges or a judicial order. In addition, law enforcement
officers can only interrogate witnesses at crime scenes.
After that, judges with jurisdiction over the case are in
charge of summoning witnesses for questioning. Post and
local implementing partner "Unidos por la Justicia" plan to
address these procedural questions during a training workshop
with federal judges and prosecutors in a workshop on TIP
investigation methodologies in September.
KELLY