Guatemala Response: Blue Lantern Level 3 Post-Shipment

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000003

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETTC KOMC GT
SUBJECT: Guatemala Response: Blue Lantern Level 3 Post-Shipment
End-Use Check on License GC-189609

REF: STATE 120755


1. (SBU) Summary: In response to reftel, EmbOffs researched the
bona fides of the arms import company Gun Depot. The research
included an on-site inspection of Gun Depot, an interview with the
company's owner, and records checks of both the company and the
owner with the MOD's General Directorate for the Control of
Firearms and Ammunition (DIGECAM). As a result of the
investigation, Post concluded that Gun Depot does not have a
history of purchasing U.S.-origin re-exported weapons. End
Summary.


2. (SBU) Gun Depot has been in operation in Zone 10 near the U.S.
embassy for 15 years. The store is owned by Ricardo Umana Luna, the
son of a former Guatemalan Supreme Court President, and in addition
to weapons, the family manages an active but small sugar plantation
in Escuintla, two hours south of the city. The store (inside an
older commercial shopping area) itself is old, outdated and not
conducive to high-traffic pedestrian activity. Umana stated that
he began the business as a hobby; a former sports gun amateur, he
turned his hobby into a business. Umana maintains a normal weapons
inventory including rifles, shotguns and pistols, but Umana prefers
company clients like security firms to individuals. Per reftel,
Umana confirmed to EmbOffs that all his clients and distributors
are local and he does not usually perform any regional transactions
(with the exception of the one-time (reftel) purchase through a
third-party intermediary with Centrum S.A. of El Salvador).


3. (SBU) Umana stated that his annual sales of U.S.-origin
firearms are about $200,000 per year, but did not elaborate on who
his customers were for these firearms.


4. (SBU) Umana explained to EmbOffs that the purchase of 80 Smith
& Wesson Model 10 Revolvers, . 38 caliber began through a third
party intermediary named Jose Gomez. According to Umana, Gomez
visited Gun Depot for a two-year period talking to Umana about this
deal and how he could not afford to miss this opportunity since
they were "old revolvers at a good price". After many
conversations with Gomez, he agreed to the deal, but Umana stated
that he does not have a relationship with Centrum S.A., Armeria
Magnum or Salvador Luna of Nicaragua. Umana explained that Gomez
knew a man named Captain Mario Uceda from El Salvador and that is
why Gomez was able to offer these weapons to him. According to
EmbOff industry resources, Uceda has no affiliation to Centrum S.A.
and Gomez is a Guatemalan gunsmith who has strong connections to
contacts in El Salvador like Centrum S.A. After Umana received the
reftel weapons in November 2007, he placed them in one of his two
weapons vaults in his office at Gun Depot. And in June 2008, Gun
Depot was robbed and the only weapons taken were the revolvers,
according to Umana. (Comment: DIGECAM contacts confirmed with
EmbOffs that a robbery occurred in June 2008, where 657 arms were
stolen at that time. End Comment).


5. (SBU) Per reftel, Umana stated that he is not familiar with
the regulations governing the import of U.S.-origin defense
articles, including restrictions on unauthorized re-transfer or
re-export.


6. (SBU) Gun Depot has a satisfactory record with DIGECAM and has
passed all routine inspections without incident. According to
DIGECAM, Gun Depot is a small-scale but well managed weapons store
that is operating within local laws and regulations.
MCFARLAND