VZCZCXYZ0011
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1609/01 2281532
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 161532Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8939
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001609 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, 
WHA/EPSC 
CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION; ARGENTINE-VENEZUELAN TIES; US-IRAN 
08/16/07 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Today's most important international opinion stories review the 
implications of the latest (Argentine-Venezuelan) political scandal 
surrounding a suitcase with nearly 800,000 dollars seized at the 
Argentine capital's airport; as well as the US intention to include 
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard in the list of terrorist 
organizations. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS 
 
- "Things fall apart" 
 
James Neilson, contributor to liberal, English-language "Buenos 
Aires Herald," writes (08/16) "... Before leaving Venezuela, Guido 
(Antonini Wilson) and his fellow passengers aboard that Cessna 
Citation X should have told themselves that as Argentina is about to 
change her government they would have to be a bit more careful than 
in the past... 
 
"... Experts in these matters tell us that Argentina and Venezuela 
are among the most corrupt countries on the face of the planet. If 
they are right, as in all probability they are, it would not be at 
all surprising that suitcases stuffed with dollar bills are 
shuttling back and forth between Caracas and Buenos Aires on a 
regular basis. 
 
"As despite being boss of a desperately poor country Hugo Chvez is 
flush with cash, for the last few years the traffic will have been 
largely one-way. It is reported that Guido made up to a dozen quick 
trips to Argentina this year alone, but he is unlikely to have been 
the only Venezuelan who found it necessary to make cash payments to 
his associates instead of relying on more up-to-date methods that 
can be monitored by taxmen or the cops. 
 
"... As always happens when some dirty business is uncovered, 
President Kirchner pledged himself to do everything that may prove 
necessary to get to the truth and ensure the corrupt officials are 
severely punished... 
 
"Back in 1990s, President Carlos Menem used to say much the same 
thing in a vain effort to convince his compatriots that he was clean 
and would stop at nothing to rid Argentina of the swarms of 
parasites that live off what they can pick up. Since Kirchner has a 
great deal in common with Menem, the anti-corruption campaign he has 
just proclaimed is likely to have equally unimpressive results." 
 
- "'This resignation is evidence that we have told the truth'" 
 
Mariana Versn, columnist of daily-of-record "La Nacisn," writes 
(08/16) "President Nstor Kirchner was relieved by the Chvez 
administration's decision to support Argentina in the suitcase 
scandal by asking for the resignation of PDVSA VP Diego Uzctegui 
Matheus, a Chavist point man. 
 
 
"An Argentine high-ranking official source told 'La Nacisn: 'The 
President took the news calmly. The incident with Venezuela has come 
to an end. The bilateral relationship between the two countries was 
never in crisis.' 
 
"... Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernndez told 'La Nacisn': 'This 
resignation is the most conclusive evidence that what we said was 
true'... 
 
"... The Argentine Government blamed Uzctegui for having introduced 
Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson in Argentina with a suspicious 
suitcase filled with 800,000 undeclared US dollars... 
 
"... The (Argentine) Government wants now to put an end to the issue 
while exhibiting the image that it is not involved in the suitcase 
scandal. Uzctegui Matheus's resignation contributes a lot to 
Kirchner in this regard. A qualified informant told 'La Nacisn': 
'With this the Argentine-Venezuelan crisis is over. Those to be 
blamed are Uzctegui and Uberti, the latter because he did not take 
the precaution of finding out who Antonini was and what he was 
bringing in his suitcase.'" 
 
- "The US will include Iran's main military force on the terrorist 
list" 
 
Leonardo Mndez, on special assignment in Washington, DC, for 
leading "Clarn," writes (08/16) "The White House is ready to take 
one more step in its dispute with Tehran's theocratic regime and 
designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Iran's main military 
force, a terrorist organization. This is not a minor issue - it will 
be the first time the US blacklists an armed force from a sovereign 
 
country. 
 
"While the Shiite theocracy already appears among the States 
Washington defines as 'supporters of terrorism,' the designation of 
the (Islamic) Revolutionary Guard as a 'global terrorist 
organization' could have immediate impact. 
 
"Any American citizen becoming a member of the group or providing 
any kind of assistance to it will be committing a crime, as happens 
today with 42 other armed organizations, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, 
Al Qaeda, ETA or FARC, the NLA and the Colombian paramilitary. 
Members of these organizations can be banned from entering the 
country and financial institutions will be compelled to freeze the 
(Islamic) Revolutionary Guard's assets as well as the financial 
transfers it could make in the country. 
 
"Given that US-Iranian ties have been minimal since the 1979 Islamic 
Revolution, it is hard to find an (Iranian) asset in the US that can 
be seized, but from now on, the corporations doing business with 
members of the Guard will also be targeted. The (US) decision is 
aimed at increasing international pressure on Tehran." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
WAYNE