VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0301/01 0461932
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 151932Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7295
INFO RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 0184
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 5788
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 5936
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 6178
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 5937
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000301 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOJ FOR AAG ALICE FISHER AND DAG BRUCE SWARTZ 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER SNAR SCUL AR
 
SUBJECT:  AG GONZALES'S MEETING WITH INTERIOR MINISTER FERNANDEZ 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:   Attorney General Alberto Gonzales ("AG"), 
several senior-level Department of Justice officials, and the 
Ambassador met with Argentine Minister of the Interior Anibal 
Fernandez on February 7. The Minister expressed Argentine concerns 
over what he characterized as the USG's unilateral determination 
that the Geneva Convention is obsolete and the parallel decision to 
permit the use of torture.  The AG responded that engaging in 
torture is not USG policy and clarified the USG position regarding 
certain provisions of the Geneva Convention.  He also explained that 
whenever there have been allegations of torture, the USG has 
investigated, and where appropriate, punished those responsible. In 
response to the Minister's concerns over an Argentine national on 
death row in Texas, the AG stated that he would pass on those 
concerns to Texan authorities.  The meeting also included a candid 
exchange of ideas on information sharing among law enforcement 
agencies, on Argentina's presentation of the AMIA terrorism case, of 
the growing problem of narcotrafficking in Argentina, of Argentina's 
effort to collect unregulated guns, and about the proposed new 
Argentine national ID initiative.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
THE GENEVA CONVENTION AND TORTURE 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Attorney General Gonzales, Assistant AG-Criminal Division 
Alice Fisher, Deputy AG-Criminal Division Bruce Swartz, the 
Ambassador and Embassy notetaker Burke met February 7 with Interior 
Minister Fernandez.  The Minister stated that he was going to speak 
candidly as is possible among partners and expressed GOA concerns 
over the USG's unilateral determination that the Geneva Convention 
is obsolete. In addition, the Minister raised GOA objections to the 
USG parallel decision to permit torture of detainees.  The AG 
stressed that he and the President abhor torture.  Engaging in 
torture is not USG policy and is prohibited by both USG domestic and 
international legal obligations.  When there have been allegations 
of torture, the USG investigated the allegations and punished the 
perpetrators, when appropriate.  The AG also explained the context 
of the memo he drafted for President Bush wherein he referred to 
certain provisions in the Geneva Convention as "quaint".  He noted 
that a recent British study similarly concluded that certain 
provisions of the Geneva Convention are out of date based on the 
realities of modern warfare. 
 
VICTOR SOLDANO: ARGENTINE CITIZEN ON DEATH ROW IN TEXAS 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The Minister then raised GOA concerns over the case of 
Argentine national Victor Soldano, who is currently on death row in 
Texas and is reportedly now insane.  He said he hoped Soldano's 
sentence could be commuted to life in prison.   The AG explained 
that the case would need to run its course through the Texas state 
court system.  Although the federal government has no authority to 
interfere in the case, the AG assured the Minister that he would 
pass on the GOA's strong interest in the case to Texas authorities. 
 
 
INFORMATION SHARING AMONGST LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES 
 
¶4. (SBU).  The AG and Minister discussed the respective experiences 
of the United States and Argentina in enacting legislation designed 
to promote information sharing among law enforcement agencies.  The 
AG referred to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security 
and the challenges the USG has faced in having separate law 
enforcement agencies sharing information.  The Minister explained 
that Argentina has had similar problems.  The Minister emphasized 
that in response to this situation he is seeking to centralize in 
his office authority for all political decisions related to law 
enforcement, while not interfering with the day-to-day tactics of 
law enforcement officials.  He used this point to underline his 
standing request that all communications between USG law enforcement 
agencies and GOA law enforcement officials be coordinated through 
his office. 
 
FERNANDEZ: IRAN'S AMIA REACTION "TRIVIAL AND UNGROUNDED" 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Minister gave the AG an overview of the background of 
the AMIA case and expressed the GOA's appreciation for USG 
assistance in preparing the case.  The Minister acknowledged 
embarrassment at the length of time it has taken to pursue the case 
and in the incompetence of previous administrations in handling the 
matter, but expressed confidence that Argentina is now prepared to 
make a strong presentation at Interpol based on evidence and not 
political calculations.  The Minister characterized the Iranian 
response thus far as "trivial and ungrounded" and added that Iran 
"cannot avoid reality" by threatening the Argentine prosecutors 
investigating the case. 
 
FERNANDEZ: NARCOTRAFFICKING AN "EMERGING THREAT" 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Turning to a discussion on narcotrafficking, the Minister 
noted that drugs, and in particular "paco" (a residue of the cocaine 
manufacturing process) is an "emerging threat" in Argentina.  Paco 
abuse is becoming common, particularly in poor areas, and rival 
gangs are causing significant law enforcement concerns as they 
compete for the paco distribution business.  The GOA has focused its 
counternarcotic efforts on going after paco producers.  GOA measures 
to combat paco production include the use of U.S. scanners that will 
help identify where paco is being produced. The GOA is also seeking 
to pass legislation that will create a centralized database to 
monitor criminal investigations that should facilitate drug 
investigations. 
 
¶7. (SBU)   The Minister also indicated that Argentina is being used 
as a transit point for narcotics being shipped to other countries, 
particularly Spain.  To combat this problem, the Interior Ministry 
has now assumed jurisdiction over airport security, and the GOA has 
signed an agreement with Spain to ensure that Argentine authorities 
have real-time access to Spanish drug-related criminal 
investigations. 
 
GUNS: MANY OWN, FEW REGISTER 
 
¶8. (SBU)  The AG related the he had heard that many people in 
Argentina own weapons.  The Minister stated that this was true and 
that in his view there is no problem with people owning guns, so 
long as the guns are registered.  The problem is that few people 
comply with the licensing and registration laws.  He stated that the 
GOA is addressing this problem by enforcing registration laws, 
offering a gun buyback program, and working with Microsoft to 
develop a database that will track the movement of guns. 
 
LIKELY DELAY ON NATIONAL ID INITIATIVE DUE TO 2007 ELECTIONS 
 
¶9. (SBU)  The GOA is preparing to introduce a new national identity 
card that uses advanced biometrics that would include prints of all 
ten fingers.  This card will be essential for obtaining any other 
type of official form of identification including a passport or 
drivers license.  The Minister expressed enthusiasm that the new 
cards will be useful for law enforcement purposes and will also 
facilitate information sharing among law enforcement officials. 
Although the new identity cards are ready to be introduced now, the 
GOA will not introduce the initiative this year because it is an 
election year.  When the AG noted that a portion of the society in 
the United States would be opposed to a national identity card, the 
Minister said that he faced no such public concern in Argentina. 
 
INVITATION TO WASHINGTON 
 
¶10. (SBU)  At the conclusion of the meeting, the AG invited the 
Minister to meet with him in Washington, to meet senior officials at 
the FBI, and to observe how joint federal-state task forces work 
together.   The AG said that he would also like to extend the 
invitations to the heads of the law enforcement agencies who worked 
for the Minister.  The Minister expressed that he would be delighted 
to have the opportunity to visit in the future to further discuss 
these matters. 
 
¶11.  (U) The Attorney General has not cleared on the language of 
this cable. 
 
WAYNE