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FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
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INFO RUCNMRC/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUENOS AIRES 002732 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA:  AMBASSADOR WAYNE VISITS SALTA PROVINCE 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED--NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  Ambassador Wayne traveled to Argentina's 
Salta province November 30-December 1, to support 
anti-narcotics efforts, public outreach and commercial 
diplomacy.  The Ambassador visited the DEA's Northern Border 
Task Force office, and participated in a ceremony to deliver 
drug dogs trained by the Task Force, met with the Governor to 
discuss economic opportunities and the political scene, 
toured the Binational center and announced the selection of a 
Youth Ambassador from Salta, hosted a dinner of U.S. 
visitors, met with business leaders, and visited a Coca Cola 
bottling plant.  Press coverage was extensive and positive. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------- 
Hotel Sheraton 
--------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Ambassador Wayne was accompanied on this trip by the 
Cultural Affairs officer, Poloff, the DEA Attach, DEA agent, 
and the FSN press specialist.  The Ambassador met with 
General Manager Herman Reeling of the Hotel Sheraton Salta to 
express support for this high-profit U.S. company.  Reeling 
said there is still a lot of work to do to strengthen tourism 
in Salta, but that the provincial government was working to 
improve tourism investment and promotion. 
 
-------------------------- 
Dinner with U.S. visitors 
-------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  On November 30, Ambassador Wayne hosted a dinner for 
former U.S. visitors and grant recipients to discuss ways to 
improve exchanges.  All of the guests said their experiences 
visiting the U.S. had been positive and, in some cases, had 
changed their perceptions of the U.S.  Some guests lamented 
that the Argentine system makes it difficult for high-school 
students to study in the U.S., since course work completed in 
a U.. high school is not recognized by most Argentine high 
schools.  The guests all felt that the recent efforts to 
connect former U.S. visitors after they return to Argentina 
was a great idea.  The guests also agreed that visiting the 
U.S. is the best way to learn about the U.S. and reduce 
anti-U.S. sentiment.  Several offered to help set up 
additional exchanges. 
 
----------------- 
FMC Lithium Corp. 
----------------- 
 
 
¶4.  (U)  On December 1, Ambassador Wayne met with U.S. based 
FMC Lithium Corporation President Oscar Lacher and Director 
of operations Daniel Diaz to discuss the company's lithium 
production operations in Salta.  Lacher and Diaz explained 
that access to cheap gas is one  of the key factors that 
allows them to remain competitive.  FMC will soon connect to 
a new gas pipeline being completed by the province.  It will 
replace 100 percent of the heavy fuel oil currently being 
used and 60 percent of the diesel with natural gas.  FMC said 
that the Romero government is "one of the best in the 
country" because of its support for private enterprises. 
They stressed that Romero's administration has "never asked 
for anything," implying clearly that the company has not been 
required to pay bribes to the provincial government. 
 
¶5.  (U)  Lacher and Diaz pointed out that according to a 
university study from Buenos Aires, nine indirect jobs are 
created from every one employee in the mining industry in 
Argentina.  They estimated that FMC, therefore, helps provide 
jobs for 2000 people in Salta.  They were, however, concerned 
about environmental and political action groups criticizing 
mining in Argentina.  FMC said that they have two main 
concerns over the future stability of Argentina: continuous 
supply of energy and inflation.  Rising inflation is the 
biggest concern, as it has begun to hurt FMC's cost position 
with competition in Chile and elsewhere. 
 
¶6. (U)  Lacher and Diaz asked Ambassador Wayne if he could 
help request continued GSP status for Argentina.  The 3.7 
percent benefit is a major factor helping to keep FMC 
competitive, especially since their main Chilean competitor 
has a branch in the U.S. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Northern Border Task Force/Drug Dog Ceremony 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U)  Ambassador Wayne visited the DEA funded Northern 
Border Task Force (NBTF).  Ambassador Wayne was greeted by 
members of the NBTF and given a tour of the facilities by 
 
BUENOS AIR 00002732  002 OF 003 
 
 
Gendarmeria Nacional Comandante Principal Claudio 
Domenichini, the task force commander.  Comandante Principal 
Domenichini and Salta Provincial Police Comisario Enrique 
Cabrera also gave Ambassador Wayne a briefing of the drug 
trafficking situation along the northern border of Argentina 
and on the state of various DEA/NBTF operations. 
 
¶7.  (U)  Following the tour of the NBTF, Ambassador Wayne 
attended the delivery of six drug dogs trained by the NBTF to 
officials of the Policia de Seguridad Aeropuertuario (PSA). 
Salta Governor Romero and Aeropuertos 2000 owner Ernesto 
Gutierrez, as well as various other provincial dignitaries, 
attended this ceremony.  The event was held at the 
Gendarmeria Nacional Agrupacion in Salta.  The dogs were 
purchased by Aeropuertos 2000 buttrained by the DEA/INL 
funded NBTF. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The professionalism of the task force and the close 
federal-provincial cooperation in this operation were 
impressive.  It was also clear that the illicit narcotics 
problem from Bolivia is serious and seen as growing by local 
law enforcement and elected officials. 
 
--------------------------- 
Lunch with Governor Romero 
--------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U)  Ambassador Wayne was honored with a military salute 
at the offices of Governor Juan Carlos Romero, who warmly 
welcomed Ambassador Wayne to Salta.  Salta city Mayor Miguel 
Angel Isa presented the Ambassador with the key to the city 
of Salta.  Official press covered the salute and presentation 
of gifts in the Governor's office. 
 
¶10.  (U)  Governor Romero hosted Ambassador Wayne to lunch on 
his private estate just outside the city.  Other lunch guests 
included Victor Manuel Brizuela, Minister of Government and 
Justice/Head of the Cabinet; Rodolfo Urtubey, prosecutor; 
Gustavo Cinosi, Executive Director of the Sheraton Pilar; and 
Dr. Abel Cornejo, First Circuit Federal Court of Salta Judge. 
Governor Romero outlined the four main areas he has focused 
on during his time as governor: energy, infrastructure, 
agriculture, and tourism.  He said that he increased public 
services and tax collection in Salta, and reduced the 
province's debt.  He has also worked to increase legal and 
judicial security for companies in Salta, to increase 
investor confidence. 
 
¶11.  (SBU)  Governor Romero said that he is against price 
controls, and has not used the tactic in Salta.  He explained 
that he has focused on building infrastructure and reducing 
the province's reliance on the Federal Government.  He 
criticized the federal coparticipation system, which has 
served to increase provincial debt to the Federal Government 
since the 2001 crisis.  Salta, he said, feels more 
independent because it has nearly no debt to the Federal 
Government.  He would like to see more investment in Salta, 
and cited a few examples of industries that have really 
benefited from investment recently: organic sugar farming, 
wine exports, and lemon oil and lemon extract (used in Coca 
Cola).  Romero said that he has gotten a reputation for 
privatizing, so he created a new enterprise with Salta's 
public bus system:  he created a large provincial 
organization to manage the fiscal and managerial aspects of 
the bus system, and contracted the operations out to private 
companies.  He explained that this way the government can 
control the quality, and the bus companies can focus on 
providing service without the burden of budgeting and 
management.  He admitted that his government is investing a 
great deal in this project, but that the service is really 
very good. 
 
¶12.  (SBU)  The Ambassador raised with the Governor the 
interest of Walmart opening a store in Salta.  The Governor 
said he would be very happy to have a Walmart investment in 
his province.  He said he would be happy to receive the CEO 
and work out access for the group, which he had heard might 
be encountering problems in accessing land.  Governor Romero 
said he took pride in encouraging U.S. investment in his 
province. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Visit to BNC and Youth Ambassador Press Announcement 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶13.  (U)  Ambassador Wayne toured the Binational Center of 
Salta and met with its Executive Director Victoria Hannawy, 
Academic Director Claudia Liliana Corimayo, and other staff. 
The Ambassador also met the Youth Ambassador selectee, Andrea 
Rodriguez, and two English teachers from Salta who had 
participated in the PAS-sponsored TIEC (Texas International 
Education Consortium) program.  Ambassador Wayne made a press 
statement announcing Andrea Rodriguez's selection as a Youth 
 
BUENOS AIR 00002732  003 OF 003 
 
 
Ambassador, and addressed a crowd of BNC students. 
Ambassador Wayne spent a few minutes handing out lanyards to 
the students, taking photos with Andrea Rodriguez and BNC 
staff members, and chatting with the students about their 
English classes and plans to visit the U.S.  Press coverage 
of this event was extensive and positive and included the 
city's largest TV station, newspaper, and radio. 
 
----------- 
Coca Cola 
----------- 
 
14 .  (U)  The last official activity of this trip was a 
visit to a Coca Cola bottling plant run by the Guerrero 
Group, a third-generation family company.  Director General 
Ronaldo Guerrero gave a briefing on the history and 
operations of the company, and then explained the company's 
extensive social responsibility activities.  These activities 
ranged from helping to build schools, to working with youth 
organizations like Junior Achievement, to environmental 
preservation projects.  The Guerrero Group operates in four 
northern provinces: Salta, Tucuman, Jujuy, and Catamarca. 
They have social responsibility projects in each of these 
provinces as well.  Ambassador Wayne was given a private tour 
of the bottling plant, and a plaque commemorating the visit. 
The Guerrero family was very honored to host Ambassador 
Wayne, as it was the first visit from a U.S. Ambassador to 
this company. Press coverage of the visit was positive. 
WAYNE