VZCZCXRO9370
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #2847/01 2741706
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011706Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8441
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USNORTHCOM
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 002847 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/TPP/MTA/IPE/HUGHES/URBAN 
STATE FOR WHA/MEX/BRAICH 
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR MELLE/MCCOY/SHIGETOMI 
STATE PASS TO JUSTICE FOR CCIPS/KOUAME AND OPDAT/TRUEBELL 
STATE PASS TO COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC/ONAFTA/WORD 
STATE PASS TO ITA/MAC/IPR/WILSON 
COMMERCE PASS TO USPTO FOR RODRIGUEZ/BERDUT/MORALES 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON SNAR MX
SUBJECT: IPR CUSTOMS TRAINING ADVANCES IN MANZANILLO 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The Embassy, together with the Department of 
Justice and the Mexican Customs Administration (Aduanas), 
held a four-day training seminar on criminal enforcement 
and detecting, detaining, and deterring the importation 
of pirated and counterfeit goods for Mexican customs and 
law enforcement officials in Manzanillo from September 8- 
¶11.  Financed by DOJ grant money from State/INL, the 
program focused on promoting interagency cooperation and 
providing the participants with the necessary tools to 
maximize the Mexican government's efforts to counter IP 
violations.  As in previous training programs, the 
American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico coordinated a 
hands-on training with more than 40 famous brand right 
holders.  The Mexican reaction to the course was very 
positive and the level of cooperation extended by Aduanas 
was unprecedented.  The Embassy plans to capitalize on 
the success of this event and hold additional IPR 
training as part of our cooperative efforts to strengthen 
IP protection and enforcement in Mexico.  End summary. 
 
Students and Instructors 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) The September 8-11 program was attended by 50 
Aduanas officers from across Mexico, as well as 9 law 
enforcement officials from the Office of Attorney General 
of the Republic (PGR - or the Mexican Department of 
Justice), the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property 
(IMPI - counterpart to the U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office), and the National Copyright Institute (INDAUTOR). 
Roughly half of the customs officials participated in the 
prior training program held in Monterrey on February 4-6, 
¶2009.  Our intent was to invite the same 56 Aduanas 
officers trained in Monterrey to receive additional 
training in Manzanillo as part of building a nationwide 
core team of IP experts within customs.  Our Aduanas 
counterparts attempted to accommodate this request; 
however, they hit some internal obstacles which resulted 
in only half of the customs officials being able to 
return for additional training. 
 
¶3.  (U) DOJ funded the participation of Christophe 
Zimmermann, Chief Technical Officer of the World Customs 
Organization's Anti-Counterfeit and Piracy Unit.  Thanks 
to his vast experience in IPR issues, his excellent 
ability to communicate this knowledge, and his fluency in 
Spanish, Mr. Zimmermann ensured the success of this 
seminar.  He was ably assisted by Beverly Buick of the 
Enforcement Directorate of the World Customs 
Organization.  Marie-Flore Kouame of the Department of 
Justice's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property 
Section also attended.  (Note:  Embassy DHS/CBP and 
DHS/ICE were invited to participate, but were unable to 
attend.  End note.) 
 
What We Did 
----------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Day One of the seminar was dedicated to 
presentations on the importance of IPR and the tools 
available to increase criminal enforcement and combat IP 
violations.  Mr. Zimmermann shared with the participants 
fresh insights and valuable techniques to increase 
criminal deterrence at the border, and drove them to 
reexamine their role in countering IP violations.  He 
walked the customs and law enforcement officials through 
several sample manifests and bills of lading, pointing 
out various indicators that should render the shipment 
suspect. 
 
¶5.  (U) On Day 2, through the cooperation of the American 
Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, more than 40 clothing, 
pharmaceuticals, cell phones, movies and music, software, 
and electronic devices companies, set up 22 expo stands 
 
MEXICO 00002847  002 OF 003 
 
 
to build a stronger rapport and share intelligence with 
the various customs and law enforcement officials.  Small 
groups of 3-4 participants rotated through all of the 
expo stands, spending about 25 minutes at each.  This 
gave them time to learn directly from the right holders 
how to distinguish real goods from counterfeits as well 
as understand the various techniques that counterfeiters 
use to avoid detection.  According to the participants, 
this interactive "hands-on" mechanism was most useful, 
since when customs officials are inspecting shipments, or 
when law enforcement agencies are investigating these 
cases, they usually do not have original products readily 
available with which to compare and build a case.  This 
public-private sector interaction was also useful in that 
officials developed relationships with right holders and 
now have a point of contact to call when a suspicious 
shipment is discovered. 
 
¶6.  (U) Days Three and Four were opportunities for the 
participants to utilize their newly acquired practical 
techniques.  The Port of Manzanillo customs director and 
the Aduanas directorate of operations shared with the 
participants all the bills of lading for that week's 
containers received from China, India, and Dubai.  This 
unprecedented level of cooperation allowed the 
participants, under the tutelage of Mr. Zimmmermann, to 
conduct their own risk analysis, identify suspect 
shipments, and then travel to the Port to open up the 
containers.  In a few cases, the officials actually 
discovered deliveries of counterfeit bags and trademark- 
infringing toys with a street value in the thousands of 
dollars.  Throughout the training, Mr. Zimmermann 
underscored the importance of interagency cooperation to 
gather evidence for use in building stronger criminal 
cases. 
 
Achievements, Revelations, and Next Steps 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Feedback from the Mexican attendees was very 
positive, particularly with respect to the development of 
their skill sets in risk analysis, targeting, selecting, 
and interdicting suspect shipments.  The heavy focus on 
interagency cooperation also received high marks, as did 
the right holder's participation in instructing how to 
identify infringing goods.  Participants also appreciated 
the personal connections made among the various Mexican 
agencies, which we hope will lead to increased 
coordination and cooperation in attacking cross-border 
flows of pirated and counterfeit products. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) We cannot overstate the level of cooperation we 
received from the Port of Manzanillo customs director and 
the Aduanas directorate of operations.  As stated above, 
they gave us and the participants, including non-Aduanas 
Mexican government officials, complete and total access 
to the paperwork as well as to the port facility and the 
containers.  While the containers themselves were opened 
by Manzanillo customs officials, it was the participants 
who directed which containers were to be opened and then 
opened the boxes within the containers.  Mr. Zimmermann 
commented several times that in all his years of training 
throughout the world, he had never received such 
cooperation from the host customs administration.  This 
level of cooperation and trust is testament to the 
considerable goodwill that has developed between the 
United States and Mexico in customs matters. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Despite their enthusiasm for the program, many 
of the participating Mexican customs officials lacked 
fundamental skills that such officials should possess in 
order to assist with criminal enforcement, such as the 
basic understanding of shipping and transportation 
contract documents.  The absence of these essential 
skills impedes their ability to detect suspicious 
activity that can then be referred to law enforcement 
officials for criminal investigation.  This information 
 
MEXICO 00002847  003 OF 003 
 
 
is also critical to building strong criminal evidence. 
For this reason, future USG capacity-building IP events 
will target the development of essential customs skills 
that will be most useful to Mexican Customs officials in 
their daily tasks and that do not necessitate the use of 
advanced technology or software.  Additionally, we 
support the development of an Aduanas training academy in 
the hope that some of these fundamental skills would be 
addressed. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The Mexican officials have asked for 
additional IPR training, and have expressed a strong 
desire for Mr. Zimmermann's continued participation.  The 
Embassy plans to pursue these requests, and will continue 
to emphasize the development of essential customs 
techniques and practices, interagency cooperation, and 
collaboration with the private sector.  Perhaps the next 
training program will be to organize a roundtable for all 
49 Customs Directors together with some senior PGR 
officials throughout Mexico to sensitize them to the 
importance of intellectual property and gain their 
approval for their subordinates to practice heightened IP 
protection and enforcement efforts.  We realize that such 
a meeting of all the Aduanas leadership in Mexico would 
present a unique opportunity for the USG to discuss 
activities in other areas of concern beyond the scope of 
IP enforcement.  The Embassy will develop a plan on how 
to present all these concerns at such a roundtable. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) COMMENT:  While this program should be lauded 
as an unprecedented success, EconOff received some 
sobering feedback from some of the Aduanas officers that 
had participated in the prior training in Monterrey.  One 
official stationed in a Mexican port reported that her 
use of the techniques acquired through our training had 
resulted in the successful detention of a shipment of two 
kilos of pseudoephedrine - a key ingredient of 
methamphetamine whose import is banned by Mexico. 
Several officials were arrested, including two of her 
colleagues.  Unfortunately, she and her supervisor 
subsequently received several death threats, and both 
have been reassigned to other customs offices in Mexico's 
interior.  Through our training, we are coaching these 
officials to ask questions in an environment that often 
discourages curiosity.  Our training must be part of a 
broader, holistic USG approach to strengthen Aduanas, 
protect their personnel and encourage the inquisitive. 
END COMMENT. 
 
PASCUAL