VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0602/01 1412219
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 212219Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3764
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUN 5290
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000602 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2024 
TAGS: PREL KTIP SNAR PTER EFIN KCRM AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: AMBASSADOR THANKS MOJ FOR LAW 
ENFORCEMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS COOPERATION IN FAREWELL CALL 
 
REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 599 

     ¶B. 08 BUENOS AIRES 1705 

     ¶C. BUENOS AIRES 102 

     ¶D. BUENOS AIRES 35 

 

Classified By: Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 

 

¶1.  (C) Summary.  On May 20, the Ambassador paid a farewell 

call on Minister of Justice Anibal Fernandez and thanked him 

for the Ministry of Justice's (MoJ) collaboration in 

promoting human rights and addressing international crime, 

including drug trafficking, trafficking in persons (TIP), 

money laundering, and terrorism finance.  The Minister 

thanked the Ambassador for the USG's excellent cooperation in 

law enforcement issues and noted the progress the Government 

of Argentina (GoA) is making in fighting TIP and drugs.  He 

accepted the Ambassador's offers of additional training 

opportunities in the area of bulk cash smuggling and 

hostage-taking crisis management as well as proposed 

counterdrug bilateral exchanges sponsored by Southern 

Command.  The Ambassador informed Fernandez that he would 

soon sign in a low-profile ceremony with Central Bank 

President Redrado an agreement to provide technical 

assistance to Argentine regulators, focused on enhancing the 

prevention and detection of terrorism finance. 

 

¶2.  (C) After the meeting, the Minister and Ambassador 

jointly addressed the press where both underscored the 

importance of working together to fight crime.  The Minister 

also used the press opportunity to defend a recent court 

verdict to uphold the ruling Victory Front's (FPV) decision 

to run symbolic candidates in the midterm elections.  In the 

press event, the Ambassador and Minister both made strong 

statements against recent anti-Semitic violence (ref A).  End 

summary. 

 

The GoA Makes Progress Against TIP... 

------------------------------------- 

 

¶3. (C) The Ambassador thanked Minister Fernandez for the 

excellent human rights cooperation from the MOJ's National 

Anti-Discrimination Institute (ref B) and its cooperation in 

fighting TIP.  He informed the Minister that the Department's 

TIP report would be published in June, and that it would 

likely note Argentina's progress to date.  He said that the 

report would also reiterate the need to prosecute, convict, 

and sentence those involved in TIP crimes and to provide more 

care options for those freed from trafficking situations. 

The Ambassador recalled a previous conversation with the 

Minister, where Fernandez had indicated that the judicial 

sector needed to do more to convict human traffickers.  He 

offered USG support to assist GoA efforts to strengthen 

judicial capacity to convict these crimes. 

 

¶4. (C) The Ambassador then noted that the Department had 

approved a proposal by TIP activist and 2007 International 

Woman of Courage Award Winner Susana Trimarco to set up 

specialized anti-trafficking units at the provincial level. 

Minister Fernandez welcomed the news and asserted that the 

MOJ gives Trimarco's anti-TIP foundation 100,000 pesos (about 

US$27,000) every two months to pay for the foundation's 

victim's assistance programs. 

 

¶5. (C) Fernandez proudly informed the Ambassador that the 

MOJ's specialized TIP units had conducted 177 raids, made 206 

arrests, and rescued 287 TIP victims, including 90 minors. 

He reiterated the need to train judges on the specifics of 

the new anti-TIP law, and recalled a case where a judge tried 

to prosecute a TIP victim who had been forced to abort a 

child in the brothel where she was exploited. 

 

...but Changing Cultural Attitudes an Uphill Battle 

--------------------------------------------- ------ 

 

¶6. (C) Fernandez stated that the GoA's TIP public awareness 

campaign would begin soon.  Fernandez underscored the need to 

change cultural attitudes that accept the sexual exploitation 

of women and children as normal.  He explained that the 

sexual exploitation of women has long been glorified in 

Argentine tango lyrics, and recalled one song that even 

talked about police complicity with brothel owners.  The 

 

Minister recounted that in the Interior provinces, some 

parents will voluntarily hand over their virgin daughters to 

satisfy the demands of landowners. 

 

¶7. (C) The Ambassador then noted recent press reports that 

alleged TIP activity taking place in brothels in the 

Kirchners' hometown province of Santa Cruz (reftel). 

Fernandez claimed that federal and provincial authorities 

were working together to collect criminal intelligence to 

crack down on illicit TIP activity taking place in brothels. 

Poloff noted that the press quoted provincial authorities 

explaining that the brothels serve a purpose for lonely 

workers and helped keep the number of rape crimes down.  She 

added that this suggests a need for greater awareness among 

provincial authorities on how TIP and prostitution can 

intersect and that prostitution is not the best way to 

prevent rape. 

 

¶8.  (C) The Minister argued that the brothels in Santa Cruz 

have helped prevent rape.  He explained that most of Santa 

Cruz's residents emigrated to the province where they work 

primarily in the oil and gas industries.  He said these 

workers ""make a lot of money, and if they do not have a place 

to spend the money, they are likely to rape women to satisfy 

their desires.""  When poloff noted that Argentine federal law 

prohibited brothels, the Minister asserted that each province 

has the right to decide whether brothels are legal or not, 

and that brothels are legal in Santa Cruz.  That said, there 

should be good regulations of legal brothels to ensure there 

is no trafficking underway. 

 

¶9. (C) The Minister reiterated that the government has an 

uphill battle in changing cultural attitudes, particularly in 

the interior provinces.  He then disclosed to the Ambassador 

that he personally believed that the Aleh family, a prominent 

family in Tucuman province, was behind the 2003 kidnapping of 

Susana Trimarco's daughter, Marita Veron.  Fernandez referred 

to the Ale patriarch as Argentina's very own ""godfather"" who 

in an effort to launder his money from illicit activities is 

now President of Tucuman's soccer club, Club Atletico San 

Martin.  Fernandez said he felt sure they were involved in 

the Veron kidnapping, but lamented that he ""can not prove it."" 

 

MOJ Accepts Counternarcotics Training and Exchanges 

--------------------------------------------- ------ 

 

¶10. (C) The Ambassador thanked the Minister for the MoJ's 

continued cooperation to fight drugs.  He indicated that 

Southern Command officials were interested in visiting 

Argentina to meet with their Border Patrol and Coast Guard 

counterparts and would like to invite the MoJ to send a 

General-equivalent from each of these agencies to visit the 

Joint Interagency Counterdrug Task Force in Key West, Florida 

and other national counterdrug agencies in Washington, DC. 

The Ambassador also offered a training program in managing a 

hostage-taking crisis sponsored by the Embassy's Military 

Group.  The Minister accepted the offers and expressed 

appreciation for these types of bilateral exchanges and 

training programs. 

 

...but Notes Challenges in Winning the War on Drugs 

--------------------------------------------- ------ 

 

¶11. (C) Fernandez said that he does ""not want to delude 

anyone that the government can win the battle against drugs"" 

but emphasized the GoA would persist in its efforts.  Asked 

by the Ambassador about efforts to control precursor 

chemicals, Fernandez noted the recent arrest of Mario Roberto 

Segovia, the so-called ""king of ephedrine"" and disclosed that 

the MoJ is working on a case that would be finalized in the 

next 30 days.  He pointed to the challenging economics of 

controlling drugs.  He stated that a ton of ephedrine shipped 

to China was worth $50; but a ton of methamphetamines was 

worth $50,000 in the United States.  He also noted the ease 

with which one could convert over-the-counter drugs into 

ephedrine.  Fernandez said he knew who was producing 

precursor chemicals in Argentina, and that producers would 

soon have to re-register with the GoA to continue producing. 

 

¶12. (c) The Minister added that Argentina signed an agreement 

with the Bolivian government to enhance coordination to 

 

control precursor chemicals.  He claimed that President Evo 

Morales was receptive to working together to fight drug 

trafficking along Argentina's 720 kilometer border with 

Bolivia.  The Minister said he knew what company in Salta was 

shipping significant quantities of precursor chemicals into 

Bolivia for illegal drug processing and would crack down on 

it as soon as the new regulations are issued.  He claimed 

that GOA agencies were now working together well and that MOJ 

and the Drug Control agencies were collaborating effectively 

on the new regulations.  Under the proposed plan, officials 

from the Federal Police and the Ministry of Health would both 

have to verify all movements of precursor chemicals, he 

stated. 

 

¶13. (C) He also recalled his earlier personal battles with 

Jose Ramon Granero, the head of Argentina's Drug Control 

agency, SEDRONAR, and Gabriel Aboud, the National Director 

for Controlling Precursor Chemicals, calling the latter 

""nefarious.""  He implicitly criticized Granero's resort to 

the press to defend SEDRONAR saying, ""If Granero wants to 

talk, great.  If not, he should keep his mouth shut."" 

Fernandez said he had been behind the move to eliminate 

SEDRONAR's former sole authority over the importation of 

pre-cursor chemicals, saying that it was now a matter for the 

Ministry of Health and the federal police (though SEDRONAR 

also participates in the new multi-agency pre-cursor 

commission). 

 

MoJ: ""The Year to Fight Money Laundering"" 

----------------------------------------- 

 

¶14. (C) The Ambassador expressed appreciation for the 

Minister's support for a new training program on bulk cash 

smuggling with a live exercise component.  He also noted that 

the USG has finalized an agreement with the GoA's Ministry of 

Justice, Central Bank, Securities Exchange Commission, and 

Insurance Regulator to provide technical assistance to 

Argentine regulators, focused on enhancing the prevention and 

detection of terrorism finance.  The Ambassador explained 

that he planned to sign the agreement with Central Bank 

President Martin Redrado in a low-profile ceremony. 

Fernandez welcomed the assistance, and agreed that the 

ceremony should be kept low-profile.  He stated that ""this is 

the year to fight money laundering.""  He indicated that all 

government agencies are now required to declare suspicious 

activity, and he assured the Ambassador that such activity 

would be investigated.  He asserted that the GoA will have ""a 

strong response"" for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). 

(Comment: We presume he was referring to the FATF mutual 

evaluation of Argentina scheduled in October/November of this 

year). 

 

Press 

----- 

 

¶15. (C) After the meeting, the Ambassador and the Minister 

gave a joint press conference and fielded questions from 

print, television and radio media.  Per ref A, both made 

strong statements condemning recent anti-Semitic violence in 

Buenos Aires.  Fernandez said the meeting was an opportunity 

to discuss joint cooperation in counternarcotics, TIP, 

homeland security.  The Ambassador thanked Minister Fernandez 

for the MoJ's productive cooperation on law enforcement 

issues.  He noted that there is still much work to be done to 

fight organized crime, and stressed the need for convictions 

against criminals.  When asked about a court's recent verdict 

to uphold the ruling party's decision to run ""symbolic 

candidates"" for the upcoming mid-term elections, the Minister 

praised and defended the decision, noting the opposition 

party's right to appeal.  He went on to scold the opposition 

for constantly complaining that Argentina's electoral system 

is too complicated.  Despite opposition claims that voters do 

not know how to split ballots, he said, ""voters know how to 

vote.""  The Ambassador stressed that regular elections are 

important to democracy and that Argentines will soon have the 

opportunity to vote for the candidates that will represent 

their interests best. 

 

Comment 

------- 

 

¶16. (C) In good times and bad, Minister of Justice Anibal 

Fernandez has been one of the most accessible and 

forward-leaning member of President Cristina Fernandez de 

Kirchner's Cabinet.  While other Ministers, such as Defense 

Minister Nilda Garre, can be problematic or prickly to work 

with, Minister Fernandez has welcomed USG training 

initiatives on a wide range of law enforcement topics. 

Although Minister Fernandez' high political profile as a 

staunch defender of Kirchner interests has generated much 

public skepticism about his role on security and justice 

issues, the fact remains that law enforcement cooperation 

with Argentina's security agencies under his authority has 

been productive. 

WAYNE 


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