VZCZCXRO6180
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHMC #0008/01 0122107
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 122107Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL MONTERREY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4176
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO PRIORITY 5260
RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUEABND/DEA HQ WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUPEUSA/HQ NORTHCOM
RUEHMC/AMCONSUL MONTERREY 9807

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTERREY 000008 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR KCRM ECON EFIN MX
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR VISITS SAN LUIS POTOSI 
 
REF: A. A) `08 MTY 349 
     ¶B. B) `08 MTY 350 
 
MONTERREY 00000008  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  On January 7, the Ambassador and the GoM's 
Secretariat of Public Security (SSP) Director of Operations 
Facundo Rosas Rosas and AmEmbassy Mexico's NAS Director, 
traveled to San Luis Potosi to tour the SSP's Training Academy. 
The facility has trained incoming SSP cadets since 2009 with NAS 
funding and instruction by U.S. and other international 
trainers.  During his visit, the Ambassador met with Academy 
Director Severino Cartagena, San Luis Potosi Governor Fernando 
Toranzo, and state Public Security Secretary Galindo Cevallos. 
This was the first visit by a U.S. Ambassador to San Luis Potosi 
in over ten years.  The Ambassador's remarks to the press at the 
Academy were covered by nearly 30 national and international 
media outlets.  His comments to the press after his meeting with 
the Governor were covered by more than a dozen San Luis Potosi 
reporters.  End Summary. 
 
SSP Training Academy 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  At the SSP Training Academy, the Ambassador toured 
the facilities and met with Academy Director Severino Cartagena. 
 Director Cartagena thanked the USG for the support and 
assistance it offered in the effort to train thousands of SSP 
cadre.  Over 3,400 cadets have received instruction under the 
program so far with most students hailing from Mexico's Federal 
District and surrounding areas.  He noted that the GoM wanted to 
change the way its law enforcement agents were trained as well 
as the public's perception of the federal police.  Federal 
Police Director Rosas declared that supervisors were now 
emphasizing people skills, declaring that it is difficult to 
know how to be tough on criminals but also empathetic with crime 
victims.  One of the lessons learned, according to Cartegena, 
was that students should first work on analyzing procedures and 
methods before being assigned to field work. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Cartagena stated that the Academy works with some of 
Mexico's finest universities and has a diverse student body. 
Women make up more than 40 percent of its cadets and 94 percent 
of the recruits possess a university degree.  Rosas observed 
that the low prevailing salary level was a barrier to attracting 
students, as was the emphasis on cadets having a university 
degree.  Many college graduates, he continued, are not 
interested in becoming police officers.  Cartagena praised the 
quality of the international instructors (who, in addition to 
the U.S., have come from Spain, Colombia, Canada, the 
Netherlands, and the Czech Republic), noting that they teach in 
teams alongside Mexican instructors.  International instructors, 
he stated, tended to share their real life experiences with 
students which was something that the Mexican teachers usually 
did not do. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The Ambassador asked when Mexican instructors would 
take over all of the teaching duties at the Academy.  Director 
Rosas replied that this year's plan was to keep improving the 
quality of the Mexican instructors.  Rosas also noted that the 
Academy was developing courses that would teach instructors to 
train other trainers.  The Ambassador inquired if the Academy 
representatives kept in contact with graduates to ensure they 
received continuing education, or if the Academy had any type of 
formal alumni network in place.  Cartagena recognized that the 
institution needed to find a way to use its recent graduates to 
recruit future cadets and to establish a continuing education 
program.  Rosas added that the Academy also needed to measure 
the impact made by individual graduates.  He declared that 
recent events in Morelia had shown that some graduates were 
doing good work.  The Ambassador commented that they might 
consider introducing a self-evaluation component as well, 
whereby graduates could assess their experiences and training. 
 
Session with Governor Toranzo 
----------------------------- 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The Ambassador met with Governor Fernando Toranzo of 
the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) at the Governor's 
residence.  Toranzo explained that he had been trained as a 
surgeon and had dedicated his career to the field of public 
health and medicine.  He had served as a state representative 
and twice as state Secretary of Health.  The Governor compared 
security problems in Mexico to an epidemic which knows no 
boundaries.  While San Luis Potosi has not been affected as 
severely as other regions of the country, it is still an issue 
which he takes seriously, he said.  Toranzo stated that in 
 
MONTERREY 00000008  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
coming days the state would reopen its state police academy, 
previously in disrepair, and which is located adjacent to the 
SSP academy.  The state plans to offer graduates from its 
academy a university-level degree.  The Governor commented that 
state law enforcement authorities work well with their federal 
counterparts.  Every Monday, he chairs a cabinet meeting with 
the heads of all federal agencies that have offices in San Luis 
Potosi.  Cooperation and information sharing is key to success, 
he concluded. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The Ambassador stated that governability was not won 
through military action or brute force.  It was won with strong 
institutions, rule of law, and the collaboration of all 
interested parties.  He noted positive signs in Tijuana, where 
the authorities conducted joint police/military operations. 
Working together, he said, generates positive results. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Turning to economic issues, Toranzo stated that he 
sought to reactivate the state's economy.  He welcomed foreign 
investment and said that he planned to travel to Mexico City to 
meet with the American Chamber of Commerce.  State development 
agencies, he continued, were offering attractive incentive 
packages to companies considering San Luis Potosi.  Toranzo 
noted that, given the state's strategic location in the 
geographic center of the country, with easy connections to the 
Pacific in the west, the Gulf to the east, and the U.S. to the 
north, his administration wanted to make San Luis Potosi a 
high-quality distribution center.  Eighty-five percent of 
Mexico's GDP is produced within a four-hour driving radius of 
San Luis Potosi.  The Ambassador spoke of Nuevo Leon's effort to 
establish an inland port, which would consist of a customs area 
and connecting distribution infrastructure.  If successful this 
could help move border activities away from the crowded 
geographic border.  The Governor noted that San Luis Potosi 
hoped to build an international cargo airport, and was looking 
at public and private financing options for this and other key 
projects.  The Ambassador suggested that the Governor learn more 
about USAID's municipal bond development program. 
 
C-4 Center 
---------- 
 
 
¶8.  (U)  Subsequent to the meeting with the Governor, the 
Ambassador toured the state's C-4 (Command, Control, 
Coordination, and Computer Center) facility, where he met with 
San Luis Potosi state Public Security Secretary Galindo 
Cevallos.  At the C-4 center, federal, state, and local law 
enforcement authorities can monitor incidents (using cameras 
posted in key locations throughout the state/city) and 
coordinate responses.  Galindo declared that San Luis Potosi's 
C-4 analysis unit was one of the best in the country. 
 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment.  The Ambassador's visit to the national 
Police Training Academy in San Luis Potosi highlighted the 
important collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. under the 
Merida Initiative at a critical time in Mexico's fight against 
organized crime.  Director Rosas took pains to publicly thank 
the Ambassador throughout the day for USG cooperation, 
particularly at the press conference.  Although Governor Toranzo 
is aligned with the PRI party, he is considered independent and 
has a good working relationship with all parties and municipal, 
state, and federal agencies.  The Governor is keenly focused on 
economic opportunities, education, public health, and security. 
San Luis Potosi's C-4 Center is considered one of the best in 
the country and a positive example of inter-agency cooperation. 
End Comment. 
WILLIAMSONB