VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0563/01 1321516
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121516Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3705
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000563 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP 
DEPT FOR WHA/BSC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN PGOV SNAR AR
SUBJECT: Argentina: Hidden Camera Investigation Uncovers TIP in 
Kirchner's Province 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY. Argentine press recently reported a hidden camera 
investigation conducted by anti-trafficking NGO La Alameda that 
appears to show drug and human trafficking activity in brothels 
located in the capital city of Santa Cruz, the home province of 
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her husband, 
ex-president Nestor Kirchner.  The footage reportedly caught the 
provincial police chief frequenting one of the establishments, a 
charge that he denies.  The Santa Cruz Governor vigorously defended 
the integrity of his police chief, but acknowledged that trafficking 
in persons (TIP) is a problem in the province.  He vowed to fight 
the mafias involved, but instructed his police chief to sue La 
Alameda and file criminal charges against its leaders on slander 
charges.  The Catholic Church, meanwhile, backs La Alameda's claims. 
 The national Ministry of Justice has pledged to investigate, but 
noted that primary investigative responsibility lies with the 
federal judge residing in the province.  The case highlights the 
need for greater TIP training of provincial law enforcement 
officers.  Post will continue to encourage the GOA to offer anti-TIP 
training to provincial authorities as a means to improve federal, 
provincial, and local law enforcement efforts to fight this scourge. 
  END SUMMARY. 
 
Hidden Camera Investigation Reportedly Finds TIP 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On April 28, the local press, including Argentina's largest 
circulation daily "Clarin," reported on suspected drug and human 
trafficking activity in brothels located in Rio Gallegos, the 
capital city of Santa Cruz, the home province of former president 
Nestor Kirchner and the adopted home of his wife, President Cristina 
Fernandez de Kirchner.  The articles recounted the details of an 
undercover investigation conducted by La Alameda, an 
anti-trafficking NGO, in February of this year.  According to the 
press, three members of La Alameda visited the red-light district in 
Rio Gallegos commonly known as "Las Casitas" ("The Little Houses"). 
These establishments, which purport to be pubs and discos, had been 
previously denounced by the Catholic Church as brothels and drug 
havens.  Until La Alameda's investigation, however, there had not 
been any evidence of illicit activities taking place there. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Using hidden cameras, La Alameda filmed various "Casitas" 
that appear to offer drugs and commercial sex in addition to wine 
and spirits.  The NGO identified at least 21 brothels in the area 
and claimed that over 200 girls from different provinces of 
Argentina, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica are 
deprived of their freedom and forced to prostitute themselves 
nightly.  According to one worker interviewed by La Alameda, 
provincial police officers usually arrive at 8 am to close the 
establishments and thereby help maintain the ruse that they are 
legitimate pubs and discos. 
 
MOJ Vows to Investigate 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On April 29, representatives of anti-TIP NGOs, headed by 
La Alameda, National Deputy Fernanda Gil Lozano, the Catholic 
Church, and two rabbis, peacefully marched in Buenos Aires city and 
handed a formal complaint to Justice Minister Anibal Fernandez 
asking the MOJ to investigate the matter and rescue and assist TIP 
victims.  A copy of the complaint was also filed with Prosecutor 
General Esteban Righi's Office.  The complaint not only alleged that 
the Santa Cruz "Casitas" were involved in drug and human 
trafficking, but also claimed that provincial law enforcement 
officials protect brothels either by omission or commission. 
According to the press, MOJ officials pledged to investigate the 
case but explained that primary responsibility for the judicial 
investigation rests with federal judge Gerardo Camano. 
 
Police Chief Caught on Tape? 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) La Alameda's footage also caught on tape the image of a 
man whom the press has identified as Santa Cruz's Police Chief 
Alejandro Martin.  According to La Alameda, the man on the tape can 
be either him or Marcelo Romero, Private Secretary to Santa Cruz 
Cabinet Chief Pablo Gonzalez, an official who keeps close ties to 
Nestor Kirchner, who was a long-time governor of the province before 
becoming president.  Santa Cruz provincial authorities moved quickly 
to dismiss La Alameda's accusations of police complicity or 
negligence.  Martin denied being the person on the tape, claiming he 
was not in Rio Gallegos at the time of the investigation.  Martin 
and Santa Cruz Minister of Government Carlos Barreto subsequently 
called a press conference accusing "Clarin" of distorting facts and 
confusing the issue of prostitution with trafficking in persons 
(TIP). Barreto admitted that TIP is a real problem controlled by 
mafias, and vigorously denied police involvement.  Santa Cruz 
 
Governor Daniel Peralta also came to the defense of his police 
chief, accusing La Alameda of tarnishing the reputation of Martin 
and the provincial police force at a time when "there have been 
positive results to fight this crime."  He denounced La Alameda's 
investigation as "politically motivated," designed to damage Santa 
Cruz's relationship with the federal government.  He also instructed 
the Provincial Police Chief and the Provincial Prosecutor to file a 
criminal complaint against La Alameda. 
 
Catholic Church Backs La Alameda's Claims 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  According to the press, Santa Cruz bishop Juan Carlos 
Romanin backs La Alameda's claims and noted that there are many 
similar red-light districts that are sexually exploiting women and 
girls in Patagonia, mainly in tourist and coastal cities in Santa 
Cruz and Tierra del Fuego provinces, including El Calafate, Pico 
Truncado, Perito Moreno, and Ushuaia.  At the same time, Romanin 
acknowledged that Santa Cruz Governor Peralta and Tierra del Fuego 
Governor Fabiana Rios recognize the problem and are working to fight 
TIP. 
 
Santa Cruz Government Minister: Brothels Help Keep Rape Numbers 
Down 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶7. (SBU) In the days following the initial report of La Alameda's 
investigation, Barreto said that "Las Casitas" had been operating in 
Rio Gallegos for over 30 years and that they had offered solace to 
"rural workers who migrated to the city all alone."  He asserted 
that older Rio Gallegos residents would agree that the 
establishments serve their purposes, and help keep the numbers of 
rape down.  He again denied that the man caught on La Alameda's 
footage was Police Chief Martin, but said that the real person on 
the tape "may just have been there to have a drink, like any of us." 
 Meanwhile, Governor Peralta justified prostitution as a culturally 
accepted practice.  These comments prompted La Alameda on May 4 to 
ask the courts to investigate Governor Peralta and Minister Barreto 
for possible connections to the "Casitas" and their illicit 
activities. 
 
An Old TIP Case Sidelines One Politician 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Meanwhile, on May 8, "La Nacion" reported that Civic 
Coalition (CC) leader Elisa Carrio had succeeded in blocking Vice 
President Cobos's proposal to add Hector Gutierrez, the mayor of 
Pergamino to the list of congressional candidates backed by the CC 
and Cobos and the Radical Party (UCR) in Buenos Aires province. 
Gutierrez had been identified as a patron of the "Spartacus" 
brothel, where 15 Paraguayan adolescent TIP victims were discovered 
in 2007.  The newspaper reported that prosecutor Mario Gomez had 
dropped TIP charges pending against Gutierrez but was still 
investigating some of his city officials for providing the teenagers 
with health certificates. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) On May 8, La Alameda President Gustavo Vera told poloff 
that the federal judge assigned to the case is unlikely to order a 
full investigation into the case unless local and international 
media keeps up the pressure on the GOA.  As most criminal cases 
languish in Argentina's notoriously slow judicial system, many 
anti-TIP activists believe the only recourse they have is to take 
their case to the media and shame government officials in the court 
of public opinion.  This modus operandi, however, can impede GOA 
investigations, as it is unclear whether such evidence can be used 
in a court of law.  La Alameda has offered the Political Section and 
our Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) colleagues useful 
insights into forced labor in Buenos Aires province as well as 
alleged forced and child labor in the cultivation of garlic and 
onions in Mendoza province.  According to our ICE colleagues, 
however, La Alameda's capacity to investigate and provide solid 
evidence that can be used in a U.S. court of law has so far been 
limited. 
 
¶10. (SBU) This case illustrates some of the challenges in Argentine 
federal efforts to implement the one-year old anti-TIP legislation 
on the provincial level.  Although the promotion, facilitation, or 
exploitation of persons into prostitution is illegal in Argentina 
and the law prohibits all locales that incite prostitution, judicial 
confusion over the legality of brothels remains.  So long as this 
legal ambiguity exists, some provincial authorities will continue to 
claim that establishments such as the "Casitas" simply enable 
individual prostitutes to offer commercial sex voluntarily.  Greater 
 
GOA efforts to clarify the legal status of brothels are clearly 
needed.  In addition, anti-TIP training should also be extended to 
provincial law enforcement agencies to strengthen their capacity to 
identify and investigate potential TIP activity in coordination with 
federal authorities. 
 
WAYNE