VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1522/01 3092012
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 042012Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2413
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001522 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SNAR KCRM KJUS EFIN AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: GOVERNMENT MOSTLY SILENT SO FAR ABOUT 
EMBARRASSING MIAMI VERDICT 
 
REF: (A) BUENOS AIRES 1477 (B) BUENOS AIRES 1405 AND 
     PREVIOUS (C) BUENOS AIRES 1475 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: The November 3rd guilty verdict in the trial 
of convicted illegal Venezuelan agent Franklin Duran was 
front page news in Argentina November 4.  Key prosecution 
witness Guido Antonini-Wilson (A-W) was also quoted in most 
dailies after he repeated in his first press interview his 
contention that the money in the suitcase intercepted August 
2007 was destined for the political campaign of President 
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK).  The convincing nature 
of a jury verdict appeared to change the tone of press 
coverage, with local dailies giving a straightforward 
description of Duran's guilt and several commentators drawing 
links between the campaign finance scandal, general 
government corruption, and the country's emerging financial 
crisis.  Only Minister of Justice Anibal Fernandez took up 
the Kirchner cause with any vigor, continuing the argument 
that key prosecution witness Guido Antonini-Wilson had lied, 
first admitting the suitcase and money were his on arrival in 
Argentina last August and then changing his story to support 
a politicized prosecution.  Opposition leader Elisa Carrio 
noted that the "crime of Hugo Chavez and the Kirchners is now 
proved.  At least in other countries, justice is served." End 
Summary. 
 
Government Silence and Rising Suspicions 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Argentine media on November 4 noted that the GOA was 
largely silent regarding the November 3 conviction of illegal 
Venezuelan agent Franklin Duran in Miami.  The conviction was 
described as proving Duran's relationship with Hugo Chavez 
and, by extension, the veracity of taped statements by Duran 
and other conspirators that the USD 800,000 intercepted and 
confiscated by GOA authorities on August 4, 2007, was was 
bound for the Kirchner presidential campaign.  Prosecution 
witness Guido Antonini-Wilson's statements to the press 
November 3 that the money came from Venezuelan state oil 
company PDVSA and was bound for the CFK presidential campaign 
was also given wide publicity.  A-W also spoke extensively 
about his intentions to clear his name in Argentina and that 
he had hired a lawyer to do so.  He asserted that he had been 
in the presidential palace the day after his arrival, 
something the GOA has denied repeatedly. 
 
¶3. (U) Daily "La Nacion" writer Mariana Veron attributed the 
muffled GOA response to its hope that the A-W "suitcase 
scandal" was about to fade.  Some may have expected a hung 
jury or mistrial in the case.  Instead, noted Veron, the 
judgment came just as local media are paying increasing 
attention to investigations of the Kirchners' campaign 
finance.  Lead "La Nacion" columnist Joaquin Morales-Sola 
developed an understated yet stinging critique of the first 
couple, noting first that the illicit money transfers seemed 
proven; A-W, he thought, might have been wrong to believe the 
money was bound for the CFK campaign, however, since 
"Cristina didn't need these resources for her campaign, but 
that it was possible the monies were part of a steady 
transfer of illicit funds between Venezuelan and Argentine 
officials.  Thus the reality may be worse than 
Antonini-Wilson suggested." he noted.  Morales-Sola suggested 
that while Argentines, unfortunately, were willing to look 
past government corruption during good economic times, the 
timing of the Miami verdict would hit the Kirchner presidency 
hard because citizens were less tolerant of corruption during 
hard times (reftel C).  Like several other writers today, 
Morales-Sola noted that the rest of the "Valijagate" affair 
had to be revealed by Argentine justice and that to date its 
investigation had been wanting.  Investigative judge Petrone, 
he noted, was campaigning for a position on the federal 
appeals court, a judicial position assigned by the Council of 
Magistrates, where the ruling party has sway.  "The judge's 
ambition is, at the least, inopportune," said Morales-Sola. 
 
Anibal Fernandez Sticks to His Points 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Minister of Justice Anibal Fernandez again took the 
lead for President Fernandez de Kirchner in response, 
appearing on government-supported television news network C5N 
to impugn witness A-W's credibility.  He said the GOA thought 
the legal proceedings in the Duran trial were intended to 
"stain the country, to cover the lives of Argentines in mud, 
 
in order to reward one person and punish another."  Of Duran, 
he said, "we don't care if they set him free or convict him." 
 Fernandez emphasized that A-W had acknowledged ownership of 
the cash-filled bag on arrival in Argentina in August 2007 
and that only later had "some lawyer" convinced him to change 
his story.  Fernandez questioned A-W's claim to have been at 
the presidential palace, asking then "why isn't there any 
photo." 
 
And We Stick to Ours 
-------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) In response to press inquiries, the Embassy Press 
Officer gave a short statement late November 3 in which she 
emphasized the independence of the judicial proceedings and 
the USG commitment to positive and productive bilateral 
relations.  The statement received prominent placement in 
Argentina's two most influential and highest circulation 
dailies, "Clarin" and "La Nacion." 
 
Opposition Takes Aim 
-------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Opposition Civic Coalition leader Elisa Carrio took 
the opportunity to note that the "crime of Hugo Chavez and 
the Kirchner couple was proven."  She added that "not only 
had both governments been delinquent, but both had tried to 
cover up the crime from their own justice systems."  The 
verdict showed the "absolute institutional decline and the 
network of enrichment and bribery between the two 
governments." 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Duran conviction took even more space in the 
front pages than did the U.S. election, which is being 
obsessively followed here.  Although the government will 
continue to question the Franklin Duran verdict, its hope at 
this point is probably that it disappear from the headlines 
quickly.  The relatively rapid and efficient U.S. judiciary 
handling of the case (a final jury verdict rendered in less 
than a year from the December 12, 2007 arrest of the 
Venezuelan defendants) has only served to highlight the 
convoluted Argentine legal process (under which the case has 
been moved among prosecutors and is still in a discovery 
stage).  The unanimous jury verdict has sharply undercut the 
GOA efforts to delegitimize revelations from the trial. 
While the GOA has brought this political damage on itself, we 
need to continue separating administration policy vis-a-vis 
Argentina from the Miami legal process.  At this point, a 
more forceful reaction from the Kirchners would probably do 
them more harm than good, a calculus that (if they share it) 
should limit the diplomatic fallout from the verdict. 
Whether CFK addresses the issue at a regularly scheduled 
public address later on November 4 may give some more 
indication of their approach.  Future media attention will 
depend on how the GOA reacts and on how A-W chooses to defend 
himself against charges coming from Argentina. 
 
KELLY