SEPTEMBER 17 CONSULATE MONTERREY EMERGENCY ACTION COMMITTEE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONTERREY 000345 SIPDIS DS FOR IP /ITA AND IP/WHA MEXICO CITY FOR RSO E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/18/2019 TAGS: ASEC SNAR MX SUBJECT: SEPTEMBER 17 CONSULATE MONTERREY EMERGENCY ACTION COMMITTEE MEETING CLASSIFIED BY: Bruce Williamson, Principal Officer, Consul General Monterrey, State. REASON: 1.4 (d),(g) ¶1. (C) On September 17 Post Emergency Action Committee met to review DEA-generated threat information (septel). Consul General, RSO, ATF, DEA, Legatt, MGT, CONS, Econ/Pol, IPO, DHS-ICE, OPAD, and DHS-CIS were present at the meeting. Consul General requested that all Agency/Section heads impress upon their employees the need for continue vigilance and situational awareness. RSO briefed on the security precautions taken to date, including the increased patrols of the area on the part of Nuevo Leon military, federal, and state authorities. ¶2. (C) In addition, Consul General and RSO related the contents of a September 16 news article reporting that on Monday, September at approximately mid-day at least 25 gunmen in six vehicles had fired upon the convoy of Zacatecas state Governor Amalia Garcia. The attack occurred on the highway between Zacatecas city and the municipality of Sombrerete, near the town of Sain Alto. Although the Govenor was not in the convoy at the time of the incident, two of her security escort personnel were injured by the gunfire. Originally, the Governor's staff denied that the attack had taken place, but as rumors began to circulate her spokesmen later confirmed the details. Speculation is that the attackers knew that she was not in the convoy and merely intended to intimidate her. Eleven long arms and a variety of revolvers were left behind by the assailants. No arrests were made. Given the frequency of visits by Consulate officers to Zacatecas state - one such trip is tentatively planned for October - Consul General directed sections/agencies to review their travel plans. ACS will issue a warden notice to Amcits. ¶3. (C) Separately, DEA reported surveillance of one of their agents on September 11 along the toll highway linking Monterrey and Reynosa. Four individuals in a large pick-up truck without license plates blocked the DEA employee's vehicle at a roadside gasoline station while one of the truck occupants was seen speaking on a cellular phone. The DEA agent departed the area without further incident. ¶4. (C) EAC decided to request the Department to schedule Diplomatic Security Anti-terrorism Training in Monterrey for inbound Consulate employees and to request that a Mobile Training Team visit Post to train currently assigned personnel in a similar course of instruction. EAC also noted that security would be enhanced if DS were to increase the number of authorized Surveillance Detection unit positions from five to eight, which would permit a wider zone and longer periods of coverage. ¶5. (C) Finally, the EAC discussed the lag in CEPA reporting. RSO will forward out reminders for sections/agencies still needing to submit data. Post anticipates bringing the CEPA database to near completion by the end of the year. WILLIAMSON