VZCZCXYZ0034
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #0003 0081608
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081608Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0701
INFO RUEHGT/AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000003 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETTC KOMC GT
SUBJECT: Guatemala Response: Blue Lantern Level 3 Post-Shipment 
End-Use Check on License GC-189609 
 
REF: STATE 120755 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  In response to reftel, EmbOffs researched the 
bona fides of the arms import company Gun Depot. The research 
included an on-site inspection of Gun Depot, an interview with the 
company's owner, and records checks of both the company and the 
owner with the MOD's General Directorate for the Control of 
Firearms and Ammunition (DIGECAM).   As a result of the 
investigation, Post concluded that Gun Depot does not have a 
history of purchasing U.S.-origin re-exported weapons.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Gun Depot has been in operation in Zone 10 near the U.S. 
embassy for 15 years. The store is owned by Ricardo Umana Luna, the 
son of a former Guatemalan Supreme Court President, and in addition 
to weapons, the family manages an active but small sugar plantation 
in Escuintla, two hours south of the city. The store (inside an 
older commercial shopping area) itself is old, outdated and not 
conducive to high-traffic pedestrian activity.  Umana stated that 
he began the business as a hobby; a former sports gun amateur, he 
turned his hobby into a business.  Umana maintains a normal weapons 
inventory including rifles, shotguns and pistols, but Umana prefers 
company clients like security firms to individuals. Per reftel, 
Umana confirmed to EmbOffs that all his clients and distributors 
are local and he does not usually perform any regional transactions 
(with the exception of the one-time (reftel) purchase through a 
third-party intermediary with Centrum S.A. of El Salvador). 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Umana stated that his annual sales of U.S.-origin 
firearms are about $200,000 per year, but did not elaborate on who 
his customers were for these firearms. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Umana explained to EmbOffs that the purchase of 80 Smith 
& Wesson Model 10 Revolvers, . 38 caliber began through a third 
party intermediary named Jose Gomez.  According to Umana, Gomez 
visited Gun Depot for a two-year period talking to Umana about this 
deal and how he could not afford to miss this opportunity since 
they were "old revolvers at a good price".  After many 
conversations with Gomez, he agreed to the deal, but Umana stated 
that he does not have a relationship with Centrum S.A., Armeria 
Magnum or Salvador Luna of Nicaragua.  Umana explained that Gomez 
knew a man named Captain Mario Uceda from El Salvador and that is 
why Gomez was able to offer these weapons to him.  According to 
EmbOff industry resources, Uceda has no affiliation to Centrum S.A. 
and Gomez is a Guatemalan gunsmith who has strong connections to 
contacts in El Salvador like Centrum S.A.  After Umana received the 
reftel weapons in November 2007, he placed them in one of his two 
weapons vaults in his office at Gun Depot.  And in June 2008, Gun 
Depot was robbed and the only weapons taken were the revolvers, 
according to Umana.  (Comment: DIGECAM contacts confirmed with 
EmbOffs that a robbery occurred in June 2008, where 657 arms were 
stolen at that time.  End Comment). 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Per reftel,  Umana stated that he is not familiar with 
the regulations governing the import of U.S.-origin defense 
articles, including restrictions on unauthorized re-transfer or 
re-export. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Gun Depot has a satisfactory record with DIGECAM and has 
passed all routine inspections without incident.  According to 
DIGECAM, Gun Depot is a small-scale but well managed weapons store 
that is operating within local laws and regulations. 
MCFARLAND