VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUB #1005/01 2981124
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 251124Z OCT 07
FM USINT HAVANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2405
INFO RUEHMI/USOFFICE FRC FT LAUDERDALE PRIORITY 0721

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 001005 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/CCA 
FOR WHA/EX 
FOR OFM 
FOR OIG 
FOR A/LM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2017 
TAGS: AMGT ATRN CU
SUBJECT: CUBA DETAINS SOME DIPLOMATIC POUCHES 
 
Classified By: COM Michael E. Parmly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST:  For the second time in a 
month, the Cuban government detained unclassified pouches 
destined for USINT Havana.  Cuban officials claimed that the 
contents of these rejected pouches may violate the Vienna 
Convention by including items for personal rather than 
official use, but would not say how their suspicions arose. 
 
¶2. (C) SUMMARY AND ACTION REQUEST CONTINUED:  USINT 
recommends that the Department continue pouch shipments to 
Havana in spite of the risk that some may be rejected, as 
this is the principal lifeline for official supplies and 
personal mail.  Likewise, the Department should use caution 
and consult with USINT if considering reciprocal measures. 
End summary and action request. 
 
¶3. (U) The foreign ministry (Minrex) sent diplomatic note 
number 2713 on October 22, notifying USINT of "difficulties 
presented by six diplomatic pouches" currently at the 
airport.  In response, USINT general services officer met 
with three Cuban officials at the airport on October 24: 
Ambassador Reinaldo Calviac Lafert, chief of Minrex protocol 
at the airport; Emilio Gonzlez Farrat, commercial director 
of the Aerovaradero freight forwarding company and the Cubana 
airline; and an unnamed Customs inspector.  Calviac took the 
lead. 
 
Cuban procedures for incoming pouches 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Calviac explained that Customs is the first Cuban 
agency to deal with incoming pouches.  If Customs finds 
anything of concern, they notify Minrex, which in turn 
notifies the diplomatic mission in question.  Otherwise, 
Minrex doesn't become involved with pouches.  (COMMENT: This 
is different from what we've been told recently, which is 
that Customs has changed its procedure and now consults with 
Minrex on every incoming pouch shipment for every foreign 
mission.  When asked, Calviac stated that there has been no 
such change in procedure.)  In this week's case, Customs and 
Minrex have "well-founded reasons to believe that the 
material in these six pouches does not comply with article 27 
of the Vienna Convention," a phrase Calviac repeated several 
times throughout our discussion. 
 
What's wrong with these six? 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) We attempted to clarify why Customs thinks these six 
bags, part of a shipment of 28 pouches, might contain 
objectionable material - and how they know the other bags 
don't contain such material.  The Cubans strongly denied 
opening diplomatic pouches.  But they fudged when asked 
whether they X-ray the bags, saying that they could not 
discuss "specific procedures."  When we asked whether they 
use dogs to bomb-sniff and/or drug-sniff incoming pouches, 
they stated that their airports do have such sniffer dogs and 
use them "just as would any airport in the world." 
 
¶6. (C) Asked what sort of items might violate the Vienna 
Convention on diplomatic pouch usage, Calviac explained that 
the pouch is to be used only for official correspondence and 
for articles intended for official use of the mission.  He 
claimed that items for diplomats' personal use should not be 
included in diplomatic pouches, but should be imported using 
a Minrex-issued duty free entry permit, known in Cuba as a 
"franquicia."  (COMMENT: As there is no APO in Havana, we 
have for many years used the pouch for personal mail and 
catalog orders.  Other countries' missions in Havana do the 
same with their pouches.  Minrex has been notoriously 
capricious in issuing and not issuing franquicias for import 
of USINT's official and personal goods.) 
 
¶7. (C) We told Calviac that all USINT pouches contain only 
items for official use of the mission.  We did not 
specifically address his assertion that use of the pouch for 
diplomats' personal mail may violate the Vienna Convention. 
We also provided him with copies of the Department's circular 
notes 03-54 and 04-181, describing our treatment of other 
countries' pouches in the US. 
 
Open up or ship out 
------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Regarding the six offending pouches, Calviac said we 
have two choices:  We may ship them back to the US, or we may 
have them opened in the presence of a USINT officer and 
airport authorities.  In the second option, Calviac stated 
that the opening would be filmed "so that all parties would 
know what is in the bags."  The overseeing American officer 
would need to arrive at the airport with written authority 
from USINT and with materials to re-seal the bags in case 
they needed to be re-exported. 
 
¶9. (C) In the future, Calviac told us, if Customs and Minrex 
are again concerned with the contents of our pouches, they 
will continue to advise us by diplomatic note and may offer a 
face-to-face meeting like the one yesterday.  In any case, 
our options would be the same: ship the pouches back, or open 
them at the airport. 
 
¶10. (C) After the meeting, airport authorities granted our 
request to see the six bags inside the Customs bonded 
warehouse.  Together with our other pouches pending release, 
they appeared to be in good condition and unharmed.  Cuban 
officials told us specifically that there was no problem with 
tears in the bags themselves. 
 
Same story three weeks ago 
-------------------------- 
 
¶11. (C) In a similar incident about three weeks ago, the 
Cubans denied import approval for three crate pouches, while 
approving the rest of 16 crates shipped concurrently.  We are 
returning the three crates to SA-32 via US Despatch Agency 
Miami, where we understand they will be opened and inspected. 
 We believe two of the crates contain air conditioners - a 
puzzle because several of the crates that were released also 
were AC units.  The third crate probably is a mix of 
officers' mail and small official purchases. 
 
¶12. (U) Other than the three crates rejected and shipped 
back, and the six bags rejected this week, all incoming 
pouches to date have been cleared and released to us. 
 
¶13. (C) COMMENT:  USINT believes that Cuban authorities 
routinely X-ray incoming pouches.  However, this alone would 
not explain their choice of bags to detain, as the detained 
pouches contain the same types of items found in other bags 
that are released.  The best guess is that this is another 
act of random harassment by the Cuban government. 
 
¶14. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED:  We should, therefore, limit the 
time and energy we expend to determine the Cubans' "system," 
and we should not alter our own pouch shipments to Havana. 
In addition, we request that the Department consult with 
USINT on any planned reciprocal action against the Cubans, as 
such measures can have unintended consequences for our 
operations.  Unless otherwise advised, we will plan to ship 
these six pouches back to USDA Miami for re-packing and 
re-shipment to Havana. 
PARMLY