SPAIN'S RESPONSE TO KIDNAPPINGS IN MAGHREB

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000072 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE (MCKNIGHT AND ZERDECKI),S/CT (NORMAN) E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2020 TAGS: PTER PREL ASEC XI XG SP SUBJECT: SPAIN'S RESPONSE TO KIDNAPPINGS IN MAGHREB REF: SECSTATE 769 MADRID 00000072 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Arnold A. Chacon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Concerned for the well-being of three Spanish citizens kidnapped by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Mauritania in November, the Zapatero Administration is acutely aware of the risks to Westerners in the Maghreb and Sahel regions and has taken a variety of steps to bring about a positive resolution to this situation and to prevent further kidnappings. POLOFF on January 8 delivered points in Ref A to reiterate USG concerns of the risks involved in travel to the region by Westerners. This cable outlines Spain's assessment of the threat posed by AQIM and highlights the GOS's related logistical, consular, diplomatic and security policies and activities. END SUMMARY. //The GOS Assessment of the AQIM Threat// ¶2. (C) LTC Manuel Navarrete, of the Civil Guard's Intelligence Service, on January 13 briefed USG officials on the threat that AQIM poses to Spain. He delivered his remarks at the US-Spain Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime Experts Working Group, a prosecutor-to-prosecutor forum (See Septel). An expert in radical Islamic terrorism, Navarrete stated that the GOS sees AQIM as "the most serious threat" to Spain. He described AQIM, whose strength he estimated at roughly 800 - 1,000 members, as organized and capable of attacks. Navarrete noted that AQIM's propaganda unit, "Al Andalus," (whose name in itself is an implicit reference to AQIM's claim on much of the Iberian Peninsula) regularly makes explicit, threatening references to Spain, among other countries. He noted that AQIM is engaged in attacks, kidnappings, ambushes by fake security controls, and large-scale drug trafficking. Navarrete stated that Spain was "very worried" about the recent arrest of AQIM members in Ghana who claimed to be able to provide protection for FARC cocaine shipments transiting West and Northern Africa en route to Spain. Navarrete suggested that increased terrorist activity in the Maghreb and Sahel reinforces the need for enhanced bilateral and multilateral cooperation by police and intelligence agencies. ¶3. (SBU) Navarrete's briefing occurred against the backdrop of the release of an Al Qaida (AQ) video on December 31 in 
which AQ deputy Ayman al Zawahiri called on AQIM to "disinfect" the Maghreb of "infidels," which was widely interpreted to mean the Spanish and French presence. Zawahiri also called upon all Muslims to support the mujahedeen in their efforts to retake "Al Andalus." The video was released hours before Spain assumed the rotating EU Presidency, adding extra symbolic value to Spain as a target. Iago Losada, Technical Adviser in the MFA's sub-Directorate General for International Terrorism Affairs, on January 8 confirmed to POLOFF that Spain increasingly is concerned about the Maghreb and the GOS, in its role as rotating EU President, is making the issue a key agenda item in appropriate EU meetings it chairs. He noted that, given its location along the EU's southwestern flank, Spain is especially sensitive to instability in the Maghreb and Sahel. ¶4. (U) While the GOS has been monitoring the threat emanating from the Maghreb and the Sahel for some time, the November 29 kidnapping - and especially AQIM's December 8 claim of responsibility - prompted a flood of media coverage throughout Spain to put these threats on the general public's radar. Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos personally has made a point of drawing public attention to the threat posed by AQIM. In early January, as world attention focused on the AQ franchise in Yemen, he sought to remind the world that AQ remains a threat in the Maghreb as well. ¶5. (U) As reports surfaced that AQIM is demanding a ransom for as much as USD $7 million and the release of AQIM prisoners, Moratinos has spoken to the media on several occasions in recent weeks to state that the GOS neither negotiates with nor pays ransom to terrorists, emphasizing that this policy is "clear" and "firm." However, recalling the Zapatero Administration's 2006 peace talks with the Basque terrorist group ETA and reports that the GOS may have MADRID 00000072 002.2 OF 002 had a role in facilitating the USD $4 million payment that helped secure the release of a Spanish fishing vessel off the coast of Somalia in mid-November, some newspapers have suggested Moratinos' claims might not be entirely accurate. //The GOS Response to AQIM's Kidnapping of Three Spaniards// ¶6. (U) Losada outlined to POLOFF the steps that the GOS has taken specifically in response to the November 29 kidnapping. The GOS has formed two crisis management committees, the first operates at the political level and includes the First Vice President, the Ministers of Interior, Foreign Affairs, and Defense, the director of the National Intelligence Center (CNI),and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The second cell operates at the technical level and is comprised of the deputy ministers of those ministries, plus the MFA Directors General for Africa, Consular Affairs, and the Mediterranean, Maghreb and Near East. Deputy FM Angel Lossada chairs this committee. ¶7. (SBU) Spain has met regularly to coordinate its response with France and Italy, which also have nationals currently held hostage by AQIM. The MFA also has met with diplomats from the UK, Austria, Switzerland and Germany to learn how those countries handled AQIM's previous kidnappings of their citizens. Meanwhile, Spanish intelligence officials also have held meetings with former AQIM hostages from those countries to glean insights from their ordeals. Losada noted that the GOS also has responded by dispatching to the region communications teams and additional agents from the CNI. Madrid reportedly is working closely with countries in the region, especially Mauritania, Mali, and Algeria. However, El Pais, Spain's flagship daily, quoted a Spanish police officer posted to a North African embassy as saying communication and counter-terrorism cooperation between countries in the region and between them and the countries of southern Europe is "light years away from what goes on between Europeans." //GOS Travel Advisories// ¶8. (U) Losada informed POLOFF that the GOS's travel advisory system is modeled after that of the U.S. Department of State. The MFA, through its website, has been warning Spanish citizens about the risks of traveling in the Sahel region, although Losada noted that, for whatever reason(s),not everyone abides by government travel warnings. Citing AQIM's November 25 kidnapping of a French citizen, the Spanish MFA since at least December 22 has warned that Westerners face "a very elevated risk" of kidnapping in the three northern regions of Mali. The MFA discourages all travel in those regions and recommends that Spaniards already there leave and go to the capital. The MFA also recommends Spaniards avoid the areas in Mali bordering Mauritania, and select routes toward Burkina Faso and Niger, and routes into the country from Algeria. For those Spaniards who must travel to Mali, the MFA offers a variety of precautionary measures and asks that travelers supply contact information to the GOS. ¶9. (U) Citing AQIM's kidnapping of Spaniards and Italians on November 29 and December 18, respectively, the MFA since at least December 28 has recommended that Spaniards avoid traveling to Mauritania unless absolutely necessary. The MFA discourages travelers from going to the northeastern part of the country as well as all to the border area with Mali. According to the MFA, there are no risk-free areas in Mauritania. ¶10. (U) The MFA since at least December 3 discourages all travel - unless accompanied by a bodyguard - in Niger that is within 200 km of the border with Mali. The MFA echoes a recommendation by France that all its citizens avoid traveling north of the 17th parallel and that all those already there should leave for the capital without delay. Spain also advises against traveling to Niger's border areas with Algeria, Libya, Chad, and Mali, due to the activities of armed bandits. SOLOMONT