SPAIN: HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING RESULTS FOR SOCOM

UNCLAS MADRID 000161 SIPDIS FOR DAVID DIVINE AND MAJOR GARY TOWN DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE OSD FOR ANDY WINTERNITZ E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MOPS PREL PGOV PHUM SP SUBJECT: SPAIN: HUMAN RIGHTS VETTING RESULTS FOR SOCOM CONFERENCE ATTENDEES REF: A. SOVEREIGN CHALLENGE PROGRAM/DAVID DIVINE E-MAILS ¶B. DMS MESSAGE DTG 211144Z JAN 10 ¶1. (U) Pursuant to provisions of the Leahy Amendment and Foreign Assistance Act, Post has carefully reviewed the human rights records of the following Spanish candidates who have been invited to participate in the 5th Annual Sovereign Challenge Foreign Military Attache (FMA) conference, to be held March 8-11 in Key West, Florida. Subject conference is sponsored by U. S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) out of Tampa, Florida. U.S. Embassy Madrid's Leahy Vetting Group has no credible information that any of the below named officers have been involved in gross human rights violations or drug trafficking violations. ¶2. (U) The following Attaches assigned to the Spanish Embassy in Washington, DC, have been invited to participate in the USSOCOM conference and vetted by agencies at Post: -- Brigadier General Rafael Vaquero Fernandez DPOB: 21 May 1954, Madrid, Spain Spanish Passport XF001116 Defense Attache -- Major Jose Mellado DPOB: 3 July 1964, Velez-Malaga, Spain Spanish Passport XF006188 Ministry of Interior Attache ¶3. (U) Post appreciates the State Department's assistance in clearing these individuals for participation in subject conference. SOLOMONT