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DE RUEHC #2923/01 3351612
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011607Z DEC 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 0173
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 8914
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 122923 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL XL XK XM XR OAS
SUBJECT: Second OAS Public Security Ministerial Spotlights Crime 
Prevention, Regional Public Security Training 
 
¶1. (U) This cable is sent from the U.S. Mission to the Organization 
of American States. 
¶2. (SBU) Summary.  Public Security Ministers, Justice Ministers, 
and Attorneys Generals met in Santo Domingo Nov. 4-5, 2009 for the 
OAS Second Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in 
the Americas (MISPA II).  Deputy Attorney General (DAG) David Ogden 
led the U.S. delegation, which included representatives from State, 
DHS and USAID.  During the ministerial, DAG Ogden held bilateral 
meetings with Dominican Attorney General Radhames Jimenez Pena and 
Mexican Public Security Vice Minister Monte Alejandro Rubido. 
Plenary discussions focused on sharing best practices to prevent 
crime and strengthen community policing.  During final negotiations 
on the MISPA II communiqu, Ministers overcame attempts by Brazil, 
Venezuela, and Argentina to weaken a assessment of public security 
training in the hemisphere, approving the Consensus of Santo 
Domingo, which includes language to request the OAS Secretariat to 
complete a study analyzing the best means to strengthen the 
training and education of personnel responsible for public security 
in the region.  End Summary. 
 
Dominican Minister Stirs the Pot on Deportees 
¶3. (SBU) During a lengthy morning presentation, Dominican Minister 
of the Interior and Police Franklin Almeyda gave a one-sided 
depiction of public insecurity challenges in the hemisphere, 
implying that North Americans lived in an American Dream of a 
life, while Latin Americans could only aspire for this lifestyle. 
Almeyda asserted that criminals deported from the United States and 
returned to their country of origin aggravated already bleak public 
security situations in Caribbean nations.  Guatemala, Trinidad and 
Tobago, Haiti, Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis eagerly jumped on 
this bandwagon to claim that returned deportees posed a serious 
risk to public security in each of their nations.  Trinidad and 
Tobago noted, The United States has found a way to solve its 
problem, now we must find a way to solve ours.  The head of 
delegation for St. Kitts and Nevis, Ambassador Izben Williams, 
compared the U.S. policy of returning deported convicts to 
countries of origin to the U.S. bilateral drug certification 
program of the 1990s, saying, We must find a way to 
multilateralize our approach to this problem. On the second day of 
the ministerial, the U.S. head of delegation took the floor to 
respond to the concerns raised on deportees in order to balance the 
discussion and note ongoing cooperative efforts 
on deportees   These comments somewhat muted the discussion, and 
Jamaica 
took the floor again, in an apparent show of support, to mention 
the importance of bilateral cooperation with the United States on 
this issue.  In doing so, Jamaica suggested that the proper term 
for returning nationals was returnees, rather than 
deportees. 
 
DAG Ogden Holds Bilaterals with Dominican Counterpart, Mexican 
Delegation 
¶4. (SBU)    During his visit to the Santo Domingo on November 4, 
DAG 
Ogden held two bilateral meetings on the margins of MISPA II.  In 
his meeting with Dominican Attorney General Radhames Jimenez Pea, 
Ogden emphasized U.S. gratitude for the cooperation the GODR had 
provided for extraditions, the fight against drug trafficking, and 
money laundering. 
Ogden pointed to the current extradition of Jeffry Alejandro Pea 
Bencosme, wanted for the murder of a police officer in Santiago, 
from the U.S. to the DR as an example of fruitful two-way 
cooperation. 
¶5. (SBU)  Jimenez Pea said he was open to further forms of 
cooperation with the U.S., including finding ways to improve drug 
asset forfeiture programs as well as improving dialogue between 
prosecutors in the U.S. 
with Dominican prosecutors.  Jimenez Pea also said he would look 
forward to improving efforts to keep those convicted of drug 
offenses in the U.S. from serving time, then coming to the DR to 
live in luxury off of earlier drug profits.  DAG Ogden agreed that 
the two countries should continue to work together, and said the 
Justice Departments International Affairs Division could work with 
its DR counterparts to 
study the options for improving cooperation.   Jimenez Pea said he 
would alert his deputy, Gisela Cueto, about the discussion and 
emphasized the need for better ways to combat money laundering. 
 
¶6. (SBU)  In a meeting with Mexican Public Security Vice Minister 
Monte Alejandro Rubido Garcia, DAG Ogden discussed his productive 
meetings earlier in the week with the Mexican Attorney General. 
Ogden said he valued the excellent relations the Department of 
Justice had with the SSP and recognized the tremendous sacrifices 
 
STATE 00122923  002 OF 002 
 
 
made by SSP agents in the 
line of duty.   Rubido Garcia said some 13,000 people had died in 
drug-related violence in Mexico since Calderon took office but that 
the public security forces had made great strides in reducing the 
number of civilian victims.  Rubido Garcia said 90 percent of the 
victims were involved in inter-cartel violence and ten percent died 
in confrontations between police forces and criminal groups. 
Rubido Garcia said that instead of being simply a transit point for 
cocaine, a recent survey indicated that Mexican consumption of 
cocaine, while still low, had recently doubled.  Rubido Garcia 
mentioned a manual of standard operating procedure that had been 
sent by the Secretary of Public Security to the U.S. FBI and DEA 
and wondered if U.S. authorities had any feedback; DAS Ogden 
promised to look into the matter.  Ogden and Rubido Garcia agreed 
on the value of police training programs, including those that 
brought SSP agents to Quantico for training; Rubido Garcia said he 
had emphasized police training in his OAS plenary statement to 
underscore its importance.  DAS Ogden said he was personally 
engaged in efforts to fight illicit cross border gun traffic. 
 
Delegations Focus on Crime Prevention, Community Policing 
¶7. (U) After listening to a presentation by the OAS Secretariat for 
Integral Development (SEDI) on the power of art and culture in 
building a culture of non-violence, delegations voiced their 
support for crime prevention and community policing programs. 
Brazil encouraged the OAS Committee for Hemispheric Security to 
pursue greater links with SEDI on the subject of crime prevention. 
Trinidad and Tobago spoke about its school safety officers program 
which had reduced crime in some neighborhoods.  Ecuador mentioned 
that its community policing program had helped police build 
relationships with local populations.  Guatemala spoke about the 
challenges of reintegrating former gang members into gainful 
employment and local neighborhoods. 
 
¶8. (U) USAID Jamaica Mission Director Karen Hilliard gave a highly 
effective presentation on USAID strategies to engage the community 
to prevent crime and insecurity, noting that increasingly USAID 
prevention programs are youth-focused.  Hilliard described how the 
USAID Youth Challenge Program operates in Central America and the 
Caribbean and is designed to provide opportunities for youth to 
receive basic education, life skills training, micro-enterprise 
training, and job opportunities. 
Delegations approached the USG delegation following the 
intervention to find out more information about the USAID program. 
 
OAS Feasibility Study on Strengthening Regional Public Security 
Training Generates Diverse Reactions 
¶9. (SBU) OAS Department of Public Security Director Christopher 
Hernandez-Roy presented the latest version of a feasibility study 
on the best way to strengthen regional public security training for 
public security personnel, which generated a variety of responses 
from the delegations.  The OAS study follows from a mandate of the 
Commitment to Public Security in the Americas adopted at MISPA I 
in Mexico City in October 2008 and provides a survey of police 
training courses in the region, as well as recommendations of 
course modules for future mid-level to senior level police 
training.  Many nations supported the proposal.  Mexico voiced 
strong support for OAS support of police training programs, noting 
that the GOM is embarking on serious efforts to professionalize the 
police and change the public perception of police to that of a 
dignified career.  The United States and Canada lent their support 
to the study and offered to provide technical expertise to the OAS 
as the study moved forward.  Grenada and Ecuador gave strong 
statements in support of the study, with Ecuador congratulating the 
OAS for its work on the study and urging its completion.  A subset 
of ALBA member states  Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina  was 
more 
subdued in their comments, saying the study required further 
deliberation. 
 
Ministers Overcome Brazilian Attempts to Thwart Training Proposal 
¶10. (SBU)  On the last day of the ministerial, heads of delegation 
met for a luncheon and private dialogue, where they considered the 
final MISPA II Communiqu, named the Consensus of Santo 
Domingo. 
Although Brazil led the effort  supported to a lesser extent by 
Argentina and Venezuela  to maintain control over the feasibility 
study by subjecting it to the OAS Committee of Hemispheric 
Security, the majority of ministers and heads of delegation 
supported stronger language asking the OAS General Secretariat to 
complete the study with input for member states and to submit it to 
MISPA III, to be held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2011.  (Comment: 
Although the OAS currently has high levels of support among member 
states to address crime and insecurity in the hemisphere, it 
remains to be seen if the OAS can sustain momentum on the MISPA 
ministerials.  Many vice-ministers attended in lieu of ministers at 
this years meeting.  More thinking needs to be done on how best 
the OAS can contribute concretely to member states public security 
concerns.  End comment.) 
CLINTON