This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUATEMALA 000884 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2013 
TAGS: PGOV ASEC CASC SNAR PHUM GT
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT 
 
REF: A. GUATEMALA 834 
 
     ¶B. GUATEMALA 781 
     ¶C. GUATEMALA 770 
     ¶D. GUATEMALA 735 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John R. Hamilton.  Reason 1.5 (B&D). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Ambassador Hamilton met with Minister of 
Government Jose Adolfo Reyes Calderon March 31 to express 
concern about a recent case involving torture by security 
forces in an anti-narcotics raid in Zacapa.  The Ambassador 
also raised the murder of an American citizen on March 28, 
threats against USAID contractors, and property destruction 
by squatters at a ranch owned by AmCits in Alta Verapaz 
province.  Reyes Calderon implied that he suspected that the 
military was responsible for any use of torture in the Zacapa 
case and claimed to have recently reiterated his absolute 
rejection the use of torture to police and the anti-narcotics 
squad; said he believed ex-guerilla forces turned criminal 
were responsible for the murder of AmCit Edward Todd Fields; 
pledged to provide police protection requested by the 
Forensic Anthropology Foundation; and promised to act on the 
allegations of illegal entry and destruction of AmCit 
property by squatters in Alta Verapaz.  We will continue to 
monitor the progress of all these cases.  End Summary. 
 
Torture Case 
------------ 
 
¶2.  (C) RefTel D reports the circumstances of a 179 kg. 
seizure of cocaine and ephedrine (later confirmed as 
caffeine) from a ranch in Rio Hondo, Zacapa province, as 
reported to Embassy NAS by the Guatemalan Counter-Narcotics 
Police (SAIA).  Ref C reports the Ambassador's warning to 
President Portillo that information verified by MINUGUA 
indicating the use of torture to extract information from 
three of five trafficking suspects in this case was 
unacceptable and could severely prejudice Guatemala's 
prospects for counter-narcotics recertification.  Per RefTel 
B, according to MINUGUA, the victims were tortured by persons 
wearing National Civil Police and SAIA uniforms.  Unofficial 
Embassy law enforcement contacts have told us that the 
operation involved military operatives disguised as civilian 
police.  Our sources allege that drugs were planted on the 
three suspects before the larger seizure at the ranch, and 
that the military reported only half the total seizure. 
 
¶3.  (C) The Ambassador told Reyes Calderon that the use of 
torture in this or any case is unacceptable.  He informed 
Reyes Calderon of his earlier demarche to the President, and 
warned that the violation of human rights in any 
counter-narcotics cases would severely undermine any progress 
toward recertification.  "We do not want to win the drug war 
this way," he said.  Reyes Calderon acknowledged and agreed 
with these concerns.  Reyes Calderon said that he had arrived 
by helicopter on the scene after the arrests were made.  He 
hinted that the military, not the policemen or SAIA agents 
present, were responsible if any human rights violations were 
committed in that operation, which he implied was organized 
(rather than simply supported) by the military.  The 
Ambassador asked if Reyes Calderon had spoken with Minister 
of Defense Moran about his suspicions.  Reyes Calderon said 
he had raised the case with Moran without making any 
accusations, and had been told by Moran that the head of the 
military intelligence unit (D-2) was being replaced 
(presumably for complicity in this case).  The Ambassador 
told Reyes Calderon that the Embassy is aware of the D-2 
chief's ouster and understands that his removal was for 
reasons that predated this incident.  Reyes Calderon agreed 
that any similar cases must be prevented, said he had made 
Ministry policy against the use of torture abundantly clear 
to his subordinates in the wake of this case, and said he 
would raise this case in a Cabinet meeting later that day. 
 
AmCit Murder 
------------ 
 
¶4.  (U) The Ambassador also raised with Reyes Calderon the 
brazen murder on March 28 of U.S. citizen Edward Todd Fields 
on the main highway to a popular tourist destination, 
reported in Ref A.  The Ambassador told Reyes Calderon that 
the Embassy was considering advising all Americans to avoid 
travel by road to Lake Atitlan.  He urged the minister to 
make every effort to catch those responsible for this 
outrageous crime, and pointed out that he passed by the same 
route an hour before the victim, and saw only one police 
cruiser on the road during his 100-mile trip on Guatemala's 
principal highway.  Reyes Calderon said he believed that 
members of the former guerrilla Organization of the People in 
Arms (ORPA) to be responsible for the murder and said the 
police will beef up patrols along the route immediately.  He 
acknowledged the importance of this case and the vital 
economic importance of security along major tourist routes. 
(Comment:  It is not clear why Reyes blamed ex-ORPA members 
for the killing, other than to give the impression that the 
government had some leads.  In a meeting the next day, 
National Police (PNC) Director Manchame also said the police 
suspect ex-ORPA elements.  End Comment.) 
FAFG Threats 
------------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Ambassador then raised the case of recent 
threats against family members of workers at the Forensic 
Anthropology Institute (FAFG), the USAID-contracted NGO 
performing exhumations of massacres during the internal 
conflict.  Reyes Calderon said he was familiar with the 
group, its prior experience receiving threats, and the 
ministry's provision of special protection, voluntarily 
relinquished by FAFG after a period of concern in 2002.  The 
Ambassador provided Reyes Calderon with a request from FAFG 
for police security for five homes and the assignment of 
security agents to three individuals, including FAFG Director 
Fredy Peccerelli and his sister Bianka, who was recently 
accosted by armed men.  Reyes Calderon reviewed the list and 
agreed to provide the protection requested. 
 
Alta Verapaz Land Dispute 
------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Finally, the Ambassador raised the troubling case 
of the Ardebol family, U.S. citizens of Spanish origin whose 
ranches have been occupied by landless peasants in Alta 
Verapaz.  Carlos Ardebol, the owner of a ranch located in 
Coban district, has for several weeks been prevented by 
squatters from entering his home at the "Esmeralda" ranch for 
fear of attack by the squatters.  Ardebol, who has been in 
touch with the Embassy and GOG authorities about the land 
occupation, has relocated his family to the capital, but 
recently learned that squatters organized by the National 
Coordination of Campesino Organizations (CONIC) have 
destroyed personal property left behind.  The Ambassador told 
Reyes Calderon that Mr. Ardebol was willing to engage in 
dialogue with the squatters and their representatives.  The 
recent criminal destruction of property, which Ardebol has 
denounced to legal authorities, violates the law and the 
spirit of dialogue to which he had been committed.  Reyes 
Calderon said that police action in this case would be prompt 
if sanctioned by legal authorities. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Reyes Calderon appeared nervous during this meeting 
requested by the Ambassador, and was quick to agree to all 
the Ambassador's requests.  The Ambassador has scheduled a 
meeting with Minister of Defense Moran to repeat our concerns 
about the alleged use of torture in counter-narcotics 
operations.  MINUGUA has told us it will decide when to go 
public with its findings sometime this week.  We will 
continue to follow GOG action on these cases closely. 
HAMILTON