VZCZCXYZ0016
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1715 3531940
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181940Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2719
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001715 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL VZ CU AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: KIRCHNER ALLY ADMITS RECEIVING CUBAN 
FUNDS TO FINANCE 2005 COUNTER-SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS 
 
REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 1672 
     ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 1550 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Argentine journalist Gerardo Young alleges in his 
new book that street activist ("piquetero," literally meaning 
"picketer") Luis D'Elia successfully evaded security at 
Argentina's Ezeiza international airport in late October 2005 
to bring in USD 1 million from Cuba to finance the 
"counter-summit" to the November 2005 Summit of the Americas 
in Mar del Plata attended by President Bush.  At the time, 
D'Elia did not have a formal government position, but he was 
a government ally who, a few months later, was named Under 
Secretary of Land and Housing, a portfolio created for him by 
former President Nestor Kirchner, according to local press. 
Although D'Elia no longer holds a government post, he has an 
office in the GOA's new National Commission of Land and 
Housing (former Undersecretariat for Land and Housing), where 
he conducts daily meetings and acts as de facto chief 
managing a government budget of 14,500,000 pesos 
(approximately USD 4.2 million), according to a March 2008 
article from leading daily La Nacion. 
 
¶2. (SBU) The December 6 and 13 editions of the Argentine 
weekly magazine, "Noticias," provide details on Young's new 
book about D'Elia called "Black against White."  (Comment: 
This title is a play on words, as in the past D'Elia, 
identifying himself as black, has made strident remarks 
against the opulent, urban, "white" class.)  According to 
Young, D'Elia and Kirchnerista deputy Miguel Bonasso traveled 
to Cuba in October 2005 to get funding to mobilize 80,000 of 
Argentina's poor to participate in the "counter-summit."  (He 
actually succeeded in transporting 30,000 to 40,000 to Mar 
del Plata, according to "Noticias" December 6 article).  On 
October 23, 2005, D'Elia, accompanied by Bonasso and various 
Cuban military officials, returned to Buenos Aires on a 
12-passenger Air Jet rented by Venezuela, Young asserts. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In a December 13 interview in "Noticias," D'Elia 
admits that he received USD 1 million from Cuba but denies 
that he brought the money into the country and when pressed 
on who transported the cash speculates that it could have 
been a diplomat.  He also asserts that he did not keep any of 
the money for himself, using all of it to pay for 2,000 buses 
to transport the demonstrators and to distribut to militants 
of his piquetero group, Federation of Land and Housing, and 
to other participating social organizations.  Young charges 
that D'Elia gave USD 50,000 to 100,000 to leaders of various 
social organizations in exchange for their promise to assist 
in mobilizing thousands of Argentines to Mar del Plata. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment:  Although the allegations of foreign 
influence and money laundering are similar to those levied in 
the 2007 Antonini Wilson "valijagate" case (reftels), to 
date, Young's findings have not generated the same media 
frenzy.  But if the allegations are true, the case 
underscores the willingness of some in the GOA to accept or 
to turn a blind eye to third country support for foreign cash 
to bankroll government allies.  This includes paying 
piqueteros to participate in government-sponsored rallies and 
protests, such as the counter-summit in 2005 and the 
pro-government rally against the rural sector in July.  As 
the Kirchners' popularity wanes, their need to rely on 
professional picketers to demonstrate support for their 
political agenda, and hence their need for easy cash at their 
disposal, will likely continue. 
 
WAYNE