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FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0222
INFO ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USNORTHCOM
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 000081 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/26 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MX
SUBJECT: GARCIA LUNA TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS 
 REF: 10 MEXICO 53 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Gustavo Delgado, Political Minister Counselor; REASON: 
1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Public Security Secretary Garcia Luna appeared 
before Congress on January 21 to discuss Mexico's security 
situation and the country's struggle with escalating rates of 
narco-related violence.  Garcia Luna reiterated his call for police 
reorganization, sought to deflect some of the blame for security 
woes from the federal government, and tried to put a positive spin 
on crime statistics.  Despite some criticism from the opposition, 
Garcia Luna's hearing was far less tense than his last appearance 
in September.  Nevertheless, the security debate will assume a more 
heated tone come the next legislative session and as the state 
electoral contests draw closer.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Summoned to Speak 
 
-------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Public Security Secretary (SSP) Genaro Garcia Luna 
testified before the Permanent Commission on Government, 
Constitutional Points, and Justice on January 21 after being 
summoned by the Permanent Committee earlier this month to explain 
Mexico's escalating rates of violence.  The Committee - which holds 
session while Congress is adjourned until February 1 - requested 
Garcia Luna speak to the current state of the country's security 
situation.  It also asked that the Secretary of the Navy, Mariano 
Francisco Saynez, appear to explain the Navy's actions during the 
December 16 operation against cartel capo Arturo Beltran Leyva. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Garcia Luna's testimony came on the heels of President 
Calderon's announcement that the SSP's Federal Police will replace 
the military as the primary security player in Ciudad Juarez, which 
set off a volley of criticism from Calderon's detractors and some 
supporters alike that the GOM's broader security strategy has 
failed.  Indeed, 2009 set new record levels of narcotics-related 
violence, including a dramatic increase in Ciudad Juarez homicide 
rates from 130 executions in 2006, 148 in 2007, 652 in 2008, to 
well over 2000 in 2009, according to statistics from respected 
Mexico City daily, "Reforma."  Nevertheless, local press described 
Garcia Luna's hearing as more congenial and "light" than his 
September 24 congressional appearance, in which legislators 
repeatedly called for his resignation and accused him of being a 
"murderer" for civilian deaths during law enforcement operations. 
 
 
 
Defense of GOM Strategy: It's Old News 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Public Security Secretary's testimony focused on a 
number of key issues, some of which were repeats from his September 
24 appearance and other public discussions.  Garcia Luna 
highlighted GOM security accomplishments and defended the 
administration's strategy, reporting that between December 1, 2006 
and December 31, 2009, the GOM had made some 99,115 
narcotics-related arrests.  He did not, however, indicate how many 
of those arrested had been tried or even formally charged with a 
crime, an omission that has been the standard from him and other 
GOM officials.  He also underscored efforts to improve the Mexico's 
intelligence apparatus, including the Federal Police's own work to 
modernize and inaugurate a technologically up-to-date Intelligence 
Center. 
 
 
 
Adding Context, Casting Blame 
 
-------------------------------------- 
 

¶5. (SBU) Garcia Luna repeated many themes the GOM has presented 
before in other venues.  He sought to place Mexico's security woes 
in a broader context, arguing that the 2009 homicide rate, 14.7 for 
every 100,000 inhabitants, is actually lower than the 1999 figure. 
He noted that the 2009 rate makes Mexico safer than a number of 
other countries, including Russia, Brazil, Colombia, and El 
Salvador.  The security czar also looked to divert some of the 
blame from the federal government to state and local leaders, and 
argued that 93 percent of all crimes committed in Mexico are those 
that fall under state or municipal authorities, while only 7 
percent are of federal responsibility.  Additionally, Garcia Luna 
claimed that an increase in domestic drug consumption - up to 4.7 
million consumers in Mexico, including 1.7 users of cocaine and 3 
million marijuana - is to blame for escalating crime rates since a 
larger local market offers fertile ground for organized criminal 
groups.  Finally, Garcia Luna noted that a "historic" absence in 
institutional investment in public security (meaning by past 
administrations) had created large spaces of impunity easily 
exploited by criminal groups. 
 
 
 
Proposals 
 
------------ 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) By way of concrete proposals, Garcia Luna suggested 
addressing the state and local crime problem by reiterating his 
call to reorganize Mexico's police by eliminating municipal 
corporations in favor of 31 state-led forces (reftel).  Speaking in 
general terms, he also told his congressional audience that Mexico 
must create a legal framework to guarantee the strengthening of 
security institutions, protect systems containing information on 
criminal information, institutionalize the police force throughout 
the country, and revitalize a civic culture of respect.  Garcia 
Luna said the federal government will continue to use the military 
in a frontal attack against drug trafficking organizations, and 
called the Army a "bulwark" in counternarcotics operations. 
 
 
 
Congressional Response 
 
------------------------------ 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Despite the hearing's more affable mood, legislators 
prodded Garcia Luna on several topics.  Worker Party (PT) Senator 
Ricardo Monreal said that the positive figures quoted by the SSP 
chief were "tricks," and the PRI bloc warned they might even be 
false.  According to press reports, Garcia Luna evaded tougher 
questions on progress made against money laundering and in using 
recently approved asset forfeiture legislation.  Institutional 
Revolutionary Party (PRI) Senator Ricardo Fidel Pacheco argued that 
it is difficult to believe in Garcia Luna's vision of improvements 
when the public holds the opposite perception.  Revolutionary 
Democratic Party (PRD) and PT legislators also agreed that the 
Secretary's distinction between federal, state, and local level 
crimes is a means of politicizing the problem.  What is needed 
instead, they claimed, is a shared vision of Mexico that goes 
beyond one government and its party. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
------------ 
 
 
 
¶8. (C) Despite some criticism from opposition sectors, Garcia 
Luna's testimony seems a far cry from his experience in September. 
Garcia Luna (and the GOM) is far from invulnerable to rhetorical 
attack:  several of his key points were repeats of past messages; 
end-of-year narco-violence numbers set new records; and the partial 
replacement of the military with the Federal Police in Ciudad 
Juarez is being billed as a defeat of Calderon's security strategy. 
He and the GOM are, however, coming off of recent counternarcotics 
victories that may have temporarily taken some of the wind from the 
opposition's sails.  Nevertheless, when Congress again convenes on 
February 1 and parties gear up for a series of gubernatorial 
contests, the speechifying will undoubtedly again assume a far more 
testy tone. 
FEELEY