VZCZCXYZ0255
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #0080/01 0281506
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281506Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 6859

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000080 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC KOMC GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA:  BLUE LANTERN RESPONSE FOR 050091143 
AND 050121440 
 
REF: A. STATE 132987 
     ¶B. STATE 130457 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  In response to reftel, PolMil Officer 
researched the bona fides of the arms import company Defensa 
S.A.  The research included an on-site inspection of Defensa 
S.A., interviews with the company's owner, and records checks 
of both company and owner with the Guatemala's Arms and 
Municions Control Department (DECAM).  As a result of the 
investigation, Post does not recommend approval of this or 
future reftel licenses.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) On January 7th, Emboffs conducted an on-site 
inspection of Defensa S.A. located at 6a Ave 14-37, Zona 9, 
Guatemala City, and interviewed the company's owner.  The 
owner, Farid Massis, was present and fully cooperative during 
the interview.  Defensa, S.A. is located in a small, retail 
shopping center off of a busy commercial avenue.   Defensa 
S.A. is well marked with appropriate signage including a 
large graphic billboard to the left of the main entrance. 
But Emboffs observed that the glass-door entrance and the 
entire width of the storefront is not properly secured with 
standard bar protection.  Therefore, any potential intruder 
can gain easy access to the front door, retail counters, 
office and weapons storage room.  However, the weapons 
storage room itself and the owner's office area, which are 
both located behind the retail weapons counter, were properly 
secured with standard safety procedures including infrared 
motion detectors, and a security camera system that can be 
monitored from the owner's home via computer. 
 
¶3. (SBU) According to Massis, he started Defensa S.A. in 
¶2004.  Prior to 2004, Massis owned a clothing business in 
Zone 1.  To date Defensa, S.A. has imported 500-700.22 
caliber rifles from the U.S., pistols from Argentina, and 
ammunition and cartridges from Mexico and Spain.  In the 
beginning of the interview, Massis stated that he sold small 
amounts of arms to companies and the public, but a detailed 
audit of the DECAM registry revealed that more tha 300 
Marlin Model 60,.22 caliber rifles were sol to one company: 
El Venadito.  El Venadito is an arms dealer located in Coban, 
Alta Verapaz.  (Comment: According to USG officials, Coban is 
an area of Guatemala that has a documented history of 
narco-trafficking. End Comment.)  Regarding the first reftel 
request (weapons price discrepancy), an examination of 
Defensa S.A.'s DECAM registry and an inspection of the 
company's weapons storage room determined that the reftel 
weapons were received by Defensa S.A., and either are in the 
company's possession or have been sold following local 
regulations.  Massis was unable to clarify the apparent 
discrepancy in license value outlined in reftel, and 
maintained that although prices had increased recently that 
he had paid about the same per unit cost for both orders. 
Regarding the second reftel request, which included the 
involvement of Sercogua in both weapons purchase orders, 
Massis stated that the freight forwarding company Sercogua 
was selected by the U.S. based freight forwarding company Air 
Sea for the two Marlin weapons purchases.  Massis's 
statements regarding Sercogua's involvement in the shipment 
track compared with statements made by other weapons 
importers (reftel b)  revealed that there appears to be no 
significant connection between Defensa S.A. and Sercogua. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Defensa S.A.'s books were in satisfactory order, but 
the DECAM registry had missing inventory date documentation 
for its last shipment of 100 Marlin Model 60 Rifles,.22 
caliber.  The DECAM registry did not list the approved 
importation date for these 100 rifles.  When asked about the 
Qimportation date for these 100 rifles.  When asked about the 
missing data, Massis's clerical assistant explained that she 
was waiting for the accountant to give her the right date. 
The date in question was December 15, 2008 (2 weeks after 
DECAM approval).  PolMil officer reviewed rifle purchases 
dating back to September 2008, when it was discovered that 
approximately 300 Marlin rilfes were sold to one arms dealer 
only: El Venadito of Coban.  The business model followed by 
Defensa, S.A. appears to be legal under Guatemalan law, but 
these transactions greatly complicate efforts to determine 
the actual end users. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Massis describes his company as a "medium scale 
importer" and his storage facilities are of an adequate size 
for his inventory and properly secured when compared to other 
arms dealers that have been inspected by Emboffs.  The 
weapons storage room is constructed of thick cinder block 
walls with an additional steel grate installed on the one 
wall.  Motion detectors are built into the walls, ceiling, 
and floor to detect vibrations with additional motion 
detectors in the office.  The weapons storage room contains 4 
gun safes with additional weapons piled to the ceiling in the 
open areas of the room.  The facility is guarded 24-hours a 
 
day by police surveillance, and the building's alarm system 
includes 24-hour response from a private security company. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: According to DECAM inspection reports 
dating back to 2004, Defensa S.A. was inspected a total of 14 
times by DECAM from August 2004 to August 2008. And during 
most of these inspections, DECAM cited Defensa, S.A. for 
minor bookkeeping infractions and on a few instances for more 
serious problems.  In 2006, infractions included the loss of 
100 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and Defensa, S.A. reported that 
ten weapons were stolen from the retail location.  DECAM 
reported that they detected a stolen weapon in Defensa S.A.'s 
inventory. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Defensa S.A. is a medium scale arms wholesale 
company.  Defensa S.A. is in good standing with DECAM, but it 
has had more than its share of violations.  In addition, 
Defensa S.A. has an unsecured storefront where an intruder 
can gain easy access to the front retail counters and 
office/weapons storage room.  Defensa S.A. sells the majority 
of its weapons in bulk to other gun dealers (mostly El 
Venadito) and very few weapons to the public.  Defensa S.A. 
did provide information on its largest wholesale customer, El 
Venadito, which was confirmed to be an actual arms and 
munition company operating in Coban, Alta Verapaz.  As 
Defensa S.A. operates primarily as a weapons wholesaler and 
in light of Defensa S.A.'s poor recordkeeping history, and 
the more troubling inventory control problems, post does not 
recommend approval of future import licenses for Defensa S.A. 
 
McFarland