VZCZCXRO7310
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #1547 3631638
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291638Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3529
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS DAKAR 001547 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA 
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS KDEM KTIP PHUM SG
SUBJECT: Drug Trafficking Admiral Returns to Guinea-Bissau 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: Former Naval chief of staff, Admiral Jose Americo 
Bubo Na Tchuto, has returned to Guinea-Bissau.  Na Tchuto, widely 
suspected of being involved in narcotics trafficking and involvement 
in an attempted assassination of former President Joao Bernardo 
Vieira, fled from the Gambia where he reportedly was under loose 
house arrest.  A political officer working in the United Nations 
Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) told 
Poltical Counselor that Na Tchuto has sought refuge at UNOGBIS 
headquarters and is asking for protection and guarantees for his 
safety before agreeing to leave the UNOGBIS.  The Government is 
currently negotiating with UNOGBIS regarding how to proceed. 
According to the Prime Minister's diplomatic counselor, the GOGB 
would prefer that Na Tchuto be sent into exile into another country. 
 End summary. 
 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) According to the UN political officer Richard Freeman, Na 
Tchuto entered UNOGBIS headquarters in Bissau on December 28 
unannounced and without official permission.  He then requested 
protection and assistance in receiving asylum or safety guarantees 
were he to remain in country.  Na Tchuto alleges that he is not safe 
from Bissau-Guinean military and law enforcement authorities. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Na Tchuto, who is suspected of involvement in the November 
2008 attempted assassination and/or coup d'etat against the late 
former President Joao Bernardo Vieira, says that he is willing to 
face justice and defend his innocence.  However, he argues that he 
is not safe in Guinea-Bissau, citing the April beating of his 
attorney, Pedro Infanda, as proof to that effect.  (Note: Infanda 
was apparently beaten by members of the armed forces, ostensibly on 
orders from the current chief of staff, Admiral Zamora Induta, for 
publicly criticizing Zamora and Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior, 
characterizing their actions following the March assassination of 
Vieira as a "coup d'etat."  End note.)  Joseph Mutaboba, the 
Representative of the UN Secretary General (RSG) and head of 
UNOGBIS, is out of the country on vacation.  However, he has been in 
regular contact with the officer-in-charge (OIC) and is overseeing 
negotiations from afar. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Mario Lopes da Rosa, the prime minister's diplomatic 
adviser, told PolCouns that the Government is primarily interested 
in finding a country that would accept Na Tchuto as an exile.  Lopes 
da Rosa said that while it would be best, in theory, for Na Tchuto 
to be tried by national authorities for his suspected role in the 
2008 attempted assassination of Vieira, it is not "realistic." 
According to Lopes da Rosa, the government of the Gambia was unaware 
that Na Tchuto was planning to leave the country and has indicated 
it might be willing to allow Na Tchuto to return.  The GOGB will be 
making an official pronouncement regarding Na Tchuto later today, he 
said. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Comment: Na Tchuto's presence in Guinea-Bissau is 
inherently destabilizing.  Na Tchuto is widely believed to continue 
to have support among some military personnel, particularly in the 
navy.  Reportedly, before fleeing to UNOGBIS headquarters, he was 
able to deny the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Admiral Induta access 
to a navy facility, ostensibly with the armed support of at least 
some of the facility's personnel.  Moreover, the Government's desire 
to see Na Tchto sent into exile, rather than tried, is indicative of 
the poor state of Guinea-Bissau judicial capacity.  The country has 
no maximum security prison; indeed, there is no prison of any kind 
in Bissau.  Were Na Tchuto to remain in-country, authorities would 
have no effective means of preventing him from acting to destabilize 
the government.  Conversely, Na Tchuto is correct to allege that he 
would not necessarily be safe if he were to remain in Guinea-Bissau 
to stand trial.  The military and security forces have been guilty 
of arbitrary detentions and beatings of people accused of far less 
than Na Tchuto.  One thing is clear - it will be difficult for the 
Government, already weakened by the absence of newly elected 
President Malam Bacai Sanha due to illness, to focus on security 
sector reform or much else while Na Tchuto remains in country.  End 
comment. 
 
Bernicat