Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MONTERREY251
2009-06-26 17:52:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Monterrey
Cable title:  

COAHUILA STATE GOVERNOR SPONSORS SECURITY OUTREACH: FORWARD

Tags:  KCRM CASC PINS SNAR ASEC PGOV MX 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0195
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHMC #0251/01 1771752
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 261752Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL MONTERREY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3805
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 4877
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USNORTHCOM
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 9397
214222
2009-06-26 17:52:00
09MONTERREY251
Consulate Monterrey
CONFIDENTIAL
09MONTERREY218
VZCZCXRO0195
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHMC #0251/01 1771752
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 261752Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL MONTERREY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3805
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 4877
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USNORTHCOM
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 9397

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000251

SIPDIS

DS FOR IP/ITA AND IP/WHA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/26/2019
TAGS: KCRM CASC PINS SNAR ASEC PGOV MX
SUBJECT: COAHUILA STATE GOVERNOR SPONSORS SECURITY OUTREACH: FORWARD
MOVEMENT ON THE BATISTA KIDNAPPING CASE

REF: MONTERREY 218

MONTERREY 00000251 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Bruce Williamson, Principal Officeer, Consulate
Monterrey, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
214222
2009-06-26 17:52:00
09MONTERREY251
Consulate Monterrey
CONFIDENTIAL
09MONTERREY218
VZCZCXRO0195
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHMC #0251/01 1771752
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 261752Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL MONTERREY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3805
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 4877
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USNORTHCOM
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 9397

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000251

SIPDIS

DS FOR IP/ITA AND IP/WHA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/26/2019
TAGS: KCRM CASC PINS SNAR ASEC PGOV MX
SUBJECT: COAHUILA STATE GOVERNOR SPONSORS SECURITY OUTREACH: FORWARD
MOVEMENT ON THE BATISTA KIDNAPPING CASE

REF: MONTERREY 218

MONTERREY 00000251 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Bruce Williamson, Principal Officeer, Consulate
Monterrey, Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)

1. (C) Summary. On June 23 Consulate Monterrey officials
traveled to Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila state, to meet
with Governor Humberto Moreira and his new law enforcement team.
Per reftel, the latter now consists of Mexican Army flag
officers seconded to various posts within the state and local
public security apparatus. While the session was principally
intended to allow post's law enforcement agency reps to meet
their Coahuila counterparts, the two sides did engage in
valuable information exchanges on arms trafficking, training and
emergency response issues. In a side meeting afterwards, the
Governor and the State Attorney General updated us on their
inquiry into the December 2008 kidnapping of Amcit Felix
Batista. They stated that their intel information indicated
that Mr. Batista had been killed shortly after his abduction;
they expected to arrest individuals identified as the
perpetrators shortly (strictly protect). End Summary.


2. (SBU) The impetus for the June 23 meeting came from
Governor Moreira, see reftel, who in earlier conversations had
stated that he wanted to establish direct contacts between
Consulate law enforcement agencies and the 7 Army generals and 2
Army colonels that were in the process of being assigned to key

state/local public security posts. In addition to the seconded
Army personnel, Moreira brought General Gonzalez Barrera, the
3-star head of the Coahuila/Chihuahua military region, General
Serrano, head of the Saltillo military zone, State Procurador
Jesus Torres Charles, and Moreira's Chief of Staff. The U.S.
side consisted of the Consul General, RSO, DEA, ICE, FBI, and
ATF.


3. (C) Moreira and Torres led off the meeting by describing
the security situation in Coahuila. They stated that reported
kidnappings were on the decline, although, they noted, these
figures did not reflect the cases (in reality, the vast
majority) that were not reported to law enforcement authorities.
Both detailed ongoing efforts to convert the current penal
facility in Monclova into a maximum security prison capable of
holding organized crime figures. In response to Consulate
inquiries, they admitted that the Laguna region of the state --
along the southwest border with Durango -- was problematic.
Armed gangs roamed the city of Torreon and its suburbs, with the
situation even worse across the river in Gomez Palacios,
Durango. The state/local police forces in the Laguna region
were of little use as organized crime had either corrupted or
intimidated officers there. Note: Moreira is the Governor of
a decidedly PRI state; Torreon is the one major municipality
governed by the PAN and its leaders continually complain that
the state government starves them in terms of security resources.


4. (C) Our Coahuila interlocutors raised several specific
issues on which they sought USG cooperation and assistance.
First, they requested greater action to stem the flow of arms
from the U.S. into Coahuila. In response, ATF briefed on its
ongoing programs and initiatives, including Project GunRunner
and E-trace. The state offered to make available for
inspection the seized weapons that it held in its inventory,
although both sides recognized that the arms of most interest to
ATF would be held by either the military or federal PGR .


5. (C) Second, Coahuila made a pitch for increased U.S.
training -- particularly crime scene investigation courses.
Coahuila officials plan to forward to the Consulate a
prioritized list of their training and equipment needs, a
document which, once received, we will send on to the Embassy
for consideration under the Merida Initiative. Note:
Eventually A/Legatt will likely be able to provide
training/equipment to a vetted state anti-kidnap unit. End
Note. Consul General also urged the Governor to pursue training
opportunities through the U.S. border states; Moreira indicated
that he would approach Texas Governor Rick Perry about this at
the upcoming U.S.-Mexico Border Governors Meeting in Monterrey
in September.


6. (C) Third, Coahuila requested that the two sides
facilitate the informal flow of information rather than relying
on data to slowly wend its way through the respective
bureaucracies. RSO recommended that the state afford the
Consulate a channel to its new C-3 (Command/Control Center) to
promote better communication. A/Legat briefed on the efforts of
the Transfrontier International Police, a bi-national
information exchange group, created under the Border Governor's
Framework, which has met twice during the past 16 months.


MONTERREY 00000251 002.2 OF 002



7. (C) During the full session, Consul General queried the
Governor and state AG Torres about the status of the
investigation into the kidnapping of U.S. anti-kidnap expert
Felix Batista in Saltillo in December 2008. Torres, who is
heading that inquiry, then suggested a smaller, side meeting to
discuss the issue. In that side meeting, attended by the
Governor, Torres, and the Governor's Chief of Staff, and the CG,
RSO, and A/Legatt, our interlocutors related the following:

--- per intel information they had uncovered, Mr. Batista was
murdered a few days after his abduction, with the body being
`cooked' to dispose of the remains.

--- The state had identified the Gulf Cartel Saltillo plaza
boss, `Tatanka,' as the intellectual author of the crime.
Tatanka had been previously taken into custody by the Mexican
military on drug-trafficking charges. The state would arrest
two other suspects shortly and planned to offer the FBI access
to these individuals once they were detained. (Torres
requested that we strictly protect this information given
Coahuila's plans to conduct additional law enforcement actions).

--- State law enforcement authorities had not uncovered
information as to why Mr. Batista was abducted in the first
place, although they speculated that he was executed once his
captors could not figure out what to do with him (no ransom
demand was ever made).


8. (C) Comment. It's a positive sign that the Governor has
reached out to the Consulate in an effort to promote closer ties
with USG law enforcement agencies. That said, Coahuila made no
effort at the meeting to provide contact data, although we
expect this information to provided shortly. While
ascertaining which portions of the state/local law enforcement
apparatus have been penetrated -- or are controlled by --
organized crime will be difficult, there are several baby steps
that can be taken to determine both the reliability of our
potential interlocutors and their capacity to take action
against organized crime. Continued dialogue with Coahuila will
help to flesh this out.


9. (C) Comment continued. With respect to the Batista
case, we are encouraged by the information we received and the
new willingness of state AG to push forward on the case. The
real test, however, will be when (or whether) the expected
arrests take place. Post's view is that we are seeing the
results of a chain reaction initiated by the military's
detention of `Tatanka.' Now that the Gulf Cartel has installed
a new plaza boss in Saltillo, there is less for the cartel to
cover-up - and this more liberal attitude has been conveyed to
state law enforcement authorities.
WILLIAMSON