Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10MADRID72
2010-01-25 10:45:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Madrid
Cable title:  

SPAIN'S RESPONSE TO KIDNAPPINGS IN MAGHREB

Tags:  PTER PREL ASEC XI XG SP 
pdf how-to read a cable
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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)

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