Second OAS Public Security Ministerial Spotlights Crime

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 122923

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL XL XK XM XR OAS
SUBJECT: Second OAS Public Security Ministerial Spotlights Crime
Prevention, Regional Public Security Training


1. (U) This cable is sent from the U.S. Mission to the Organization
of American States.

2. (SBU) Summary. Public Security Ministers, Justice Ministers,
and Attorneys Generals met in Santo Domingo Nov. 4-5, 2009 for the
OAS Second Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in
the Americas (MISPA II). Deputy Attorney General (DAG) David Ogden
led the U.S. delegation, which included representatives from State,
DHS and USAID. During the ministerial, DAG Ogden held bilateral
meetings with Dominican Attorney General Radhames Jimenez Pena and
Mexican Public Security Vice Minister Monte Alejandro Rubido.
Plenary discussions focused on sharing best practices to prevent
crime and strengthen community policing. During final negotiations
on the MISPA II communiqu, Ministers overcame attempts by Brazil,
Venezuela, and Argentina to weaken a assessment of public security
training in the hemisphere, approving the Consensus of Santo
Domingo, which includes language to request the OAS Secretariat to
complete a study analyzing the best means to strengthen the
training and education of personnel responsible for public security
in the region. End Summary.

Dominican Minister Stirs the Pot on Deportees

3. (SBU) During a lengthy morning presentation, Dominican Minister
of the Interior and Police Franklin Almeyda gave a one-sided
depiction of public insecurity challenges in the hemisphere,
implying that North Americans lived in an American Dream of a
life, while Latin Americans could only aspire for this lifestyle.
Almeyda asserted that criminals deported from the United States and
returned to their country of origin aggravated already bleak public
security situations in Caribbean nations. Guatemala, Trinidad and
Tobago, Haiti, Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis eagerly jumped on
this bandwagon to claim that returned deportees posed a serious
risk to public security in each of their nations. Trinidad and
Tobago noted, The United States has found a way to solve its
problem, now we must find a way to solve ours. The head of
delegation for St. Kitts and Nevis, Ambassador Izben Williams,
compared the U.S. policy of returning deported convicts to
countries of origin to the U.S. bilateral drug certification
program of the 1990s, saying, We must find a way to
multilateralize our approach to this problem. On the second day of
the ministerial, the U.S. head of delegation took the floor to
respond to the concerns raised on deportees in order to balance the
discussion and note ongoing cooperative efforts
on deportees These comments somewhat muted the discussion, and
Jamaica
took the floor again, in an apparent show of support, to mention
the importance of bilateral cooperation with the United States on
this issue. In doing so, Jamaica suggested that the proper term
for returning nationals was returnees, rather than
deportees.

DAG Ogden Holds Bilaterals with Dominican Counterpart, Mexican
Delegation

4. (SBU) During his visit to the Santo Domingo on November 4,
DAG
Ogden held two bilateral meetings on the margins of MISPA II. In
his meeting with Dominican Attorney General Radhames Jimenez Pea,
Ogden emphasized U.S. gratitude for the cooperation the GODR had
provided for extraditions, the fight against drug trafficking, and
money laundering.
Ogden pointed to the current extradition of Jeffry Alejandro Pea
Bencosme, wanted for the murder of a police officer in Santiago,
from the U.S. to the DR as an example of fruitful two-way
cooperation.

5. (SBU) Jimenez Pea said he was open to further forms of
cooperation with the U.S., including finding ways to improve drug
asset forfeiture programs as well as improving dialogue between
prosecutors in the U.S.
with Dominican prosecutors. Jimenez Pea also said he would look
forward to improving efforts to keep those convicted of drug
offenses in the U.S. from serving time, then coming to the DR to
live in luxury off of earlier drug profits. DAG Ogden agreed that
the two countries should continue to work together, and said the
Justice Departments International Affairs Division could work with
its DR counterparts to
study the options for improving cooperation. Jimenez Pea said he
would alert his deputy, Gisela Cueto, about the discussion and
emphasized the need for better ways to combat money laundering.


6. (SBU) In a meeting with Mexican Public Security Vice Minister
Monte Alejandro Rubido Garcia, DAG Ogden discussed his productive
meetings earlier in the week with the Mexican Attorney General.
Ogden said he valued the excellent relations the Department of
Justice had with the SSP and recognized the tremendous sacrifices

STATE 00122923 002 OF 002


made by SSP agents in the
line of duty. Rubido Garcia said some 13,000 people had died in
drug-related violence in Mexico since Calderon took office but that
the public security forces had made great strides in reducing the
number of civilian victims. Rubido Garcia said 90 percent of the
victims were involved in inter-cartel violence and ten percent died
in confrontations between police forces and criminal groups.
Rubido Garcia said that instead of being simply a transit point for
cocaine, a recent survey indicated that Mexican consumption of
cocaine, while still low, had recently doubled. Rubido Garcia
mentioned a manual of standard operating procedure that had been
sent by the Secretary of Public Security to the U.S. FBI and DEA
and wondered if U.S. authorities had any feedback; DAS Ogden
promised to look into the matter. Ogden and Rubido Garcia agreed
on the value of police training programs, including those that
brought SSP agents to Quantico for training; Rubido Garcia said he
had emphasized police training in his OAS plenary statement to
underscore its importance. DAS Ogden said he was personally
engaged in efforts to fight illicit cross border gun traffic.

Delegations Focus on Crime Prevention, Community Policing

7. (U) After listening to a presentation by the OAS Secretariat for
Integral Development (SEDI) on the power of art and culture in
building a culture of non-violence, delegations voiced their
support for crime prevention and community policing programs.
Brazil encouraged the OAS Committee for Hemispheric Security to
pursue greater links with SEDI on the subject of crime prevention.
Trinidad and Tobago spoke about its school safety officers program
which had reduced crime in some neighborhoods. Ecuador mentioned
that its community policing program had helped police build
relationships with local populations. Guatemala spoke about the
challenges of reintegrating former gang members into gainful
employment and local neighborhoods.


8. (U) USAID Jamaica Mission Director Karen Hilliard gave a highly
effective presentation on USAID strategies to engage the community
to prevent crime and insecurity, noting that increasingly USAID
prevention programs are youth-focused. Hilliard described how the
USAID Youth Challenge Program operates in Central America and the
Caribbean and is designed to provide opportunities for youth to
receive basic education, life skills training, micro-enterprise
training, and job opportunities.
Delegations approached the USG delegation following the
intervention to find out more information about the USAID program.

OAS Feasibility Study on Strengthening Regional Public Security
Training Generates Diverse Reactions

9. (SBU) OAS Department of Public Security Director Christopher
Hernandez-Roy presented the latest version of a feasibility study
on the best way to strengthen regional public security training for
public security personnel, which generated a variety of responses
from the delegations. The OAS study follows from a mandate of the
Commitment to Public Security in the Americas adopted at MISPA I
in Mexico City in October 2008 and provides a survey of police
training courses in the region, as well as recommendations of
course modules for future mid-level to senior level police
training. Many nations supported the proposal. Mexico voiced
strong support for OAS support of police training programs, noting
that the GOM is embarking on serious efforts to professionalize the
police and change the public perception of police to that of a
dignified career. The United States and Canada lent their support
to the study and offered to provide technical expertise to the OAS
as the study moved forward. Grenada and Ecuador gave strong
statements in support of the study, with Ecuador congratulating the
OAS for its work on the study and urging its completion. A subset
of ALBA member states Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina was
more
subdued in their comments, saying the study required further
deliberation.

Ministers Overcome Brazilian Attempts to Thwart Training Proposal

10. (SBU) On the last day of the ministerial, heads of delegation
met for a luncheon and private dialogue, where they considered the
final MISPA II Communiqu, named the Consensus of Santo
Domingo.
Although Brazil led the effort supported to a lesser extent by
Argentina and Venezuela to maintain control over the feasibility
study by subjecting it to the OAS Committee of Hemispheric
Security, the majority of ministers and heads of delegation
supported stronger language asking the OAS General Secretariat to
complete the study with input for member states and to submit it to
MISPA III, to be held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2011. (Comment:
Although the OAS currently has high levels of support among member
states to address crime and insecurity in the hemisphere, it
remains to be seen if the OAS can sustain momentum on the MISPA
ministerials. Many vice-ministers attended in lieu of ministers at
this years meeting. More thinking needs to be done on how best
the OAS can contribute concretely to member states public security
concerns. End comment.)
CLINTON