INAUGURAL U.S.-SPAIN COUNTER-TERRORISM AND ORGANIZED CRIME EXPERTS MEETING

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FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1737
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 0985
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 4313
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RUCNOSC/ORG FOR SECURITY CO OP IN EUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHMD/USDAO MADRID SP PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000076 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/WE (ALEX MCKNIGHT AND STACIE ZERDECKI),
EUR/ERA (ALESSANDRO NARDI),INR/TNC (JENNIFER MCELVEEN AND 
STEPHEN WOROBEC),INL (SCOTT HARRIS),L (PROPP),S/CT (MARC 
NORMAN) 
EMBASSY MOSCOW (THOMAS FIRESTONE) 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO NSC (GREG GATJANIS) 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO NIC (JOHN REGAS) 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO FBI (BARRY M. BRAUN AND KAREN GREENAWAY) 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO DOJ (BRUCE SWARTZ, TODD HINNEN, TOM OTT 
AND BRUCE OHR) 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO DOD/JRTF (STEVIE HAMILTON) 
FOR EUCOM-JAC (BRYAN HEWITT) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2020 
TAGS: KJUS, KHLS, PGOV, PREL, PTER, SP, PINS, KCOR, PINR 
SUBJECT: INAUGURAL U.S.-SPAIN COUNTER-TERRORISM AND 
ORGANIZED CRIME EXPERTS MEETING 
 
REF: 05 MADRID 1010 
 
MADRID 00000076 001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Alan D. Solomont for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 

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bilateral cooperation this forum provides. He stated, "I'm

certain we're following the right path" and, with a view to

both the expansion of the forum's mandate to discuss OC

issues and the numerous ideas floated for even further

cooperation, the AG added, "We are committed to going

further." Bruce Swartz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General

(DAAG) in the DOJ/General Criminal Division, and Todd Hinnen,

DAAG in the DOJ/National Security Division, assured the

Spanish of AG Holder's personal commitment to CT and OC

issues. In his closing remarks, Conde-Pumpido stated that

the talks were "more fruitful than expected."



3. (C) Both delegations agreed that the working group's

inclusion of OC issues on the agenda was appropriate and

timely, given the December 2009 case in which the U.S. Drug

Enforcement Agency arrested three self-identified members of

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) for their efforts to

provide security in West and Northern Africa for FARC cocaine

shipments bound for Spain. This case was often identified as

being at the nexus of terrorism and OC.



//Broad Agreement on Variety of Ways to Strengthen Future

Collaboration//



4. (C) Both delegations noted that revisions to the US-EU

Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance that will come into effect

on February 1 provide for the creation of joint investigative

teams (JITs). Swartz indicated that the DOJ "fully agrees"

with the GOS's interest in establishing a JIT with the USG

and predicted that combination would be "powerful." Both

delegations agreed on the utility of establishing a bilateral

JIT and agreed that the two sides needed to reflect on what

would be the specific issue or case to investigated by the



MADRID 00000076 002.2 OF 003





joint team. Both sides further agreed that it would be best

to begin with a "narrow" agreement which provides for only

basic levels of collaboration and then build upon that as

appropriate. Swartz told the Spanish that our two countries

face an important opportunity and that it would be "highly

appropriate" if Spain were the first EU country with which

the USG create a JIT.



5. (C) The Spanish delegation repeatedly identified Spain as

a pioneer in using JITs and highlighted that they currently

have 12. Spain has six JITs with France alone: five to

combat the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorist

group and one to combat radical Islamic terrorism. Chief

Prosecutor Javier Zaragoza praised the work of these CT JITs

for their "very positive results." Spain also has five JITs

devoted to counter-narcotics and most recently has

established a 20-person JIT with Bulgaria to combat the

production of counterfeit euros.



6. (C) On other areas for possible collaboration, Swartz

informed the Spanish that the FBI has offered to send an

agent to work alongside Spanish counterparts for a six-month

rotation to work on OC issues. Similarly, Swartz expressed

the DOJ's availability to attend any GOS or EU meeting that

CT or OC meetings that Spain believes would be appropriate.

On behalf of the Spanish delegation, Elvira Tejada de la

Fuente, Chief Prosecutor for the Technical Secretariat of the

General Prosecutor's Office, accepted both offers, saying

said that Spain would welcome the FBI's presence and that

Spain would be pleaQd to recommend increased U.S.

attendance, whether in Eurojust or another forum. Meanwhile,

Conde-Pumpido expressed interest in the possibility of

sending Spanish prosecutors to work alongside US counterparts

in the United States.



//Spain Supports USG Decision to Use Civil Trials in

Terrorism Cases//



7. (C) Conde-Pumpido and Zaragoza expressed considerable

interest in AG Holder's October 2009 decision to have KSM and

other suspected 9/11 terrorists tried in a the civil criminal

justice system and congratulated the USG for its bravery in

this regard. Zaragoza described the change of policy as

"going back to democratic normality." Zaragoza offered

Spanish assistance in providing evidence for use in the 9/11

trial, stating, "We are at your disposal." Zaragoza also

drew attention to the fact that Spain has information that it

is willing to provide to the USG regarding KSM's role in AQ's

synagogue attack in Tunisia in 2002.



//Spanish Presentations//



8. (C) Post will provide septel cables on most of the Spanish

presentations during the January 12-13 meetings. On CT

issues, Vicente Gonzalez Mota gave a readout on his recent

successful prosecution of the radical Islamist cell that

plotted to attack the Barcelona metro system while Dolores

Delgado gave a "Lessons Learned" presentation on the

difficulties she has faced in the admissibility of U.S.

intelligence as evidence in recent cases she has prosecuted.

Jose Grinda briefed the U.S. delegation on his assessments of

the Eurasian/Russian mafia and outlined Spain's strategy for

combating it while Daniel Campos Navas gave a presentation on

the National Court's jurisdiction in OC cases. LTC Manuel



MADRID 00000076 003.2 OF 003





Navarrete of the Civil Guard's Intelligence Service spoke on

the threat that AQIM poses to Spain.



//Spain Appreciates DOD Briefing//



9. (C) Zaragoza expressed appreciation for a releasable

classified briefing - delivered by a four-person DOD team

representing the US European Command (USEUCOM) and the Joint

Reconnaisnace Task Force (JRTF),led by Bryan Hewitt of

USEUCOM/JAC Molesworth - on the USG assessment of the threat

to Spain and Europe from foreign fighters. The DOD team

offered to share available information on individual foreign

fighters with links to Spain. This briefing was a follow-up

to one provided to the Spanish in June 2009, during the most

recent meeting of the bilateral group. Zaragoza asked that

Spain be notified informally when the USG has information

related to Spain and reciprocated the offer to share

information, saying, "We are at your disposal in this shared

fight."



//Background on the U.S.-Spain Bilateral Counter-Terrorism

and Organized Crime Experts Working Group//



10. (SBU) For the past five years, the USG and GOS have had

prosecutor-to-prosecutor dialogues on CT issues. Then

Attorney General (AG) Alberto Gonzalez and then Justice

Minister Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar founded the U.S.-Spain

Bilateral CT experts Working Group in March 2005 on the

one-year anniversary of the Madrid train bombings (See Ref

A). The January 12-13, 2010 meeting marked the first time

that OC was on the agenda, which was included at the request

of the Spanish in June 2009, at the most recent meeting of

the US-SPain CT Experts Working Group in Washington, DC.



11. (U) The delegation has cleared this cable.

SOLOMONT