NEW MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT OUTLINES AMBITIOUS

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 000045

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR SNAR ASEC GT
SUBJECT: NEW MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT OUTLINES AMBITIOUS
AGENDA, REQUESTS USG ASSISTANCE

REF: GUATEMALA 17

Classified By: Pol/Econ Counselor Drew Blakeney for reasons 1.4 (b&d).


1. (C) Summary: Newly sworn-in Minister of Government
Salvador Gandara, with whom the Embassy has long had a good
relationship, outlined an ambitious agenda to the Ambassador
January 9. He said he planned to increase the tempo and
efficiency of police operations, including against major
narcotics traffickers, while at the same time pushing forward
much needed institutional reform. Many members of the rule
of law institutions under his direction are corrupt or
complicit in serious crimes, Gandara said. He committed to
fully implementing the Organized Crime Law, including use of
wire taps, undercover operations, and controlled drugs
deliveries. He said he would need USG assistance to succeed
in improving Guatemala's security environment. Participating
Country Team members outlined ongoing and upcoming USG law
enforcement assistance programs, and committed to help the
new Minister. End Summary.


2. (C) On January 9, the Ambassador met with newly sworn-in
Minister of Government Salvador Gandara (reftel). Also
participating in the meeting were Jorge Paiz, an advisor to
the Minister, and representatives of DEA, NAS, Pol/Econ, AID,
and the FBI. Paiz, Gandara said, would serve as his liaison
to the Embassy. Gandara deplored the current state of the
National Civilian Police (PNC),saying he did not know which
officers he could trust. He was deeply concerned by criminal
penetration of the PNC, and asked whether the Embassy could
sweep his office for microphones. Also deplorable was the
government's lack of law enforcement intelligence. PNC
officers were being sent out onto the streets without being
told what to look for, or where. The relatively new General
Directorate for Civilian Intelligence (DIGICI) needed to
start producing actionable intelligence, and to do mapping of
where the most serious crimes are being committed, so that
additional resources could be targeted on those areas.


3. (C) Gandara said he would seek to expand the PNC, but
would also rationalize the use of existing human resources.
He had announced to the PNC during his introductory address
that officers "caught running errands or with girls in the
back of their trucks would go to the clink." Too many
officers were performing secretarial, bodyguard, and other
non-police functions, he said.


4. (C) Two jobs await him, Gandara said: One is to increase
and improve law enforcement operations in the short-term, and
the other is to reform the rule of law organs under his
direction over the longer term. Regarding the second task,
Gandara turned to the assembled Country Team members and
exclaimed, "Help!" The FBI representative described the
Trans-national Anti-Gang initiative and the Central America
Fingerprint Exploitation system (CAFE). He encouraged
Gandara to continue to purge the PNC and to establish vetted
units that would focus on the most seious kinds of crime,
and work closely with designated prosecutors. The DEA
representative discussed his agency's support for the UNILAT,
an inter-agency law enforcement organ that focuses on
narcotics-related cases, from money laundering to homicides,
and serves as DEA's primary point of contact for extradition
requests and search warrants. Hobbling GOG counternarcotics
Qrequests and search warrants. Hobbling GOG counternarcotics
operations, however, was the lack of implementation of the
Organized Crime Law, which contains provisions for use of
wiretaps, undercover agents, and controlled drug deliveries,
the DEA Agent observed. The Ambassador stressed the need for
the GOG to implement rapidly these elements of the Organized
Crime Law and pointed out that CICIG -- which the USG
supported -- needed these tools as well. (Gandara committed
to pushing the President and President of Congress for
passage of needed implementing legislation.) An AID officer
described AID's crime prevention programs in Villa Nueva and
AID's willingness to work with the GOG to replicate them, as
well as a new AID program under the rubric of the Merida
Initiative to strengthen municipal governments in areas
threatened by narcotrafficking.


5. (C) Gandara said he wanted to immediately implement the
Organized Crime Law as well as all USG assistance programs on
offer. Specifically, he said he would replicate NAS' Model
Police Precinct in Villa Nueva (which Gandara helped design
when he was Mayor of Villa Nueva),as well as AID's crime
prevention programs, including community-based policing and

youth-at-risk outreach centers. The Ambassador encouraged
Gandara to work closely with Carlos Castresana, head of the
International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala
(CICIG),and to draw on CICIG's resources and expertise.


6. (C) President Colom had authorized him to arrest any
political figure -- no matter how influential -- who was
complicit in narcotrafficking, Gandara said, adding that he
would do so. Gandara said he would go after Guatemala's
major narcotics trafficking families, including the
Lorenzanas and Mendozas. (Note: On January 13, the PNC
executed a major though ultimately unsuccessful operation
against the Mendozas. End Note.) Doing so would require the
coordinated effort of all the state's rule of law organs.
Encouraging inter-agency cooperation would be one of the
hallmarks of his tenure, Gandara said. The Ambassador
pledged USG support for his efforts. Gandara said he would
seek regional cooperation with neighboring countries, but
regretted that the Nicaraguan Government's response to his
request for assistance on stolen cars had been negative. He
lamented that Guatemala was losing control of its territory.
Narcotraffickers operated hundreds of clandestine airstrips,
co-opted local authorities, and Mexican Zetas (the armed wing
of the Gulf Cartel) had taken control of some northern areas.
Mexican EZLN rebels in Chiapas controlled some informal
border crossings, and ran smuggling operations, Gandara said.
He stressed the need for action, and said that in terms of
laws, sometimes it was better to ask forgiveness than
permission. The Ambassador urged the Minister to work within
the rules, and suggested that the Minister use the arrival of
new Congress President Alejos to pass needed legislation.


7. (C) Pulling the Minister aside, the Ambassador offered to
host a meeting for Gandara with the top members of the
private sector, which Gandara readily accepted. The
Ambassador also offered to host a meeting with Guatemalan
human rights groups (which had criticized Gandara's
appointment); Gandara agreed.


8. (C) Comment: Gandara exuded energy and enthusiasm during
our first meeting with him as Minister of Government. He has
a realistic appreciation of the appalling state of both the
security environment and the country's rule of law
institutions, and is turning to the USG for help. His
instinct is to be more operational, and to focus on police
functions and presence. The Embassy will assist him with
existing programs and resources as well as those coming
on-line via the Merida Initiative. We anticipate a much
greater degree of cooperation with Gandara than we had with
his predecessor.
McFarland