US embassy cable - 04MADRID4830

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 004830 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2014 
TAGS: CASC, KJUS, PREL, SP, Counterterrorism, American - Spanish Relations 
SUBJECT: VISIT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT FOR MLAT SIGNING 
 
Classified By: Classified by Charge d'Affairs, a.i., Bob Manzanares; re 
asons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
1. (C) Summary.  Attorney General John Ashcroft visited Spain 
on December 17 to sign the bilateral protocols to the U.S.-EU 
Mutual Legal Assistance (MLAT) and Extradition Treaty. 
During his one-day visit, Attorney General Ashcroft also held 
separate meetings with the Minister of Justice and the 
Minister of Interior, primarily to discuss bilateral 
cooperation on terrorism investigations.  The MLAT signing 
ceremony and the press conference following the event went 
smoothly and received favorable press coverage.  During the 
bilateral meetings, GOS officials underscored their 
commitment to work with the USG to combat terrorism. 
Minister of the Interior Alonso expressed interest in 
visiting the U.S. in the next several months to meet U.S. 
counterterrorism experts.  Both the Minister of Justice and 
the Minister of Interior drew AG Ashcroft's attention to 
Spain's offer earlier in 2004 for talks on the possible 
formation of a joint GOS-USG counterterrorism investigative 
unit.  Their emphasis on the creation of a joint team seems 
to be based both on Spain's genuine desire to collaborate 
against a common menace and the Zapatero Government's 
political need to produce a tangible improvement in relations 
with the USG, preferably on a terrorism-related issue.  End 
Summary. 
 
//MLAT SIGNING AT MINISTRY OF JUSTICE// 
 
2. (U) The centerpiece of Attorney General Ashcroft's visit 
was the signing ceremony for the bilateral protocols to the 
U.S.-EU MLAT and Extradition Treaty.  The event took place at 
the Ministry of Justice, with Minister of Justice Juan 
Fernando Lopez Aguilar participating for the GOS.  The 
signing was followed by a short press conference, during 
which journalists requested details regarding the function of 
the MLAT, as well as more pointed questions regarding the 
state of USG-GOS relations.  Attorney General Ashcroft noted 
that the USG considered Spanish judicial assistance to be 
very beneficial and that the MLAT would deepen an already 
sound working relationship.  For the Spanish side, Minister 
Aguilar thanked Attorney General Ashcroft for the United 
States' contribution to global security and the fight against 
crime and terrorism."  Both Attorney General Ashcroft and 
Minister Aguilar identified enhanced counterterrorism 
capabilities as their most important priority in seeking 
improved international judicial cooperation. 
 
3. (C) Following the MLAT signing Aguilar and his senior 
staff met with Attorney General Ashcroft, Charge d'Affairs, 
senior members of Attorney General Ashcroft's delegation, and 
Legat to discuss concrete measures for improving the flow of 
law enforcement information in both directions.  Aguilar 
raised the offer by Spain's National Prosecutor to the USG 
for talks on the possible formation of a joint U.S.-Spanish 
team to investigate in terrorism investigations of mutual 
interest, with a focus on Islamic terrorism.  AG Ashcroft 
thanked Aguilar for the GOS offer and said that in the USG's 
view such joint team should have a broader scope, tackling 
the full range of terrorist threats. 
 
//MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR// 
 
4. (C) Following his meeting with Aguilar, Attorney General 
Ashcroft met with Minister of the Interior Jose Antonio 
Alonso.  Alonso said that fighting terrorism - both by ETA 
and by Muslim extremists - was among the highest priorities 
of the Zapatero Government.  Alsonso expressed Spain's desire 
to ramp up information exchanges and other forms of 
cooperation with the USG against terrorism.  He noted Spain's 
recent police successes against terrorists, listing the 
multiple arrests of Islamic radicals and ETA organizers over 
the last several months.  On ETA, Alonso said that assistance 
from abroad, including from U.S. sources in Nevada and 
California, remains an important source of support for the 
organization.  Like Aguilar, Alonso discussed Spain's offer 
of talks on the formation of a joint counterterrorism unit 
and urged the USG to take up the GOS suggestion.  Alonso said 
he would like to visit the U.S., perhaps in March or April, 
to meet with U.S. terrorism experts. 
 
5. (C) Attorney General Ashcroft welcomed a visit by Alonso, 
noting that he would be departing DOJ but that senior members 
of his delegation would remain and would be happy to help 
arrange Alonso's trip to the U.S. once the new Attorney 
General was in place.  Ashcroft said the USG is keenly aware 
of the burden Spain has borne over the last decades in its 
struggle against ETA and wanted to show its support, for 
example by having formally designated ETA as a terrorist 
organization.  Attorney General Ashcroft said Spain's caution 
with respect to recent ETA reverses was well warranted, 
particulary since he agreed with Spanish experts that 
weakened organizations could be the most dangerous.  He said 
the new MLAT and Extradition Treaty represented an important 
step forward in making the U.S. and Spain better partners, 
particularly the provisions that could facilitate the 
creation of joint teams. 
 
//COMMENT// 
 
6. (C) Attorney General Ashcroft's visit was an important 
symbol of the USG's commitment to work with Spain against 
common security threats.  His meetings with the Ministers 
revealed that, at least among the security agencies, the GOS 
understands the nature of the terrorist threat and is eager 
to work with the USG to minimize that threat.  That partly 
explains Spain's emphasis on establishing a joint 
counterterrorism investigative unit with the USG, similar to 
a unit it has developed with France.  The GOS also has a 
vital political motive for creating such a unit: it would be 
concrete evidence of USG-GOS cooperation against terrorism, 
which Zapatero needs in order to counter opposition 
accusations that he has fatally damaged Spain's relations 
with Washington.  Regardless of the political context, we 
support holding talks on the creation of a joint 
counterterrorism unit as such discussions may help us resolve 
operational/procedural issues that have impeded judicial 
cooperation in the past.  Likewise, we recommend inviting 
Minister Alonso to visit Washington as early as would be 
practicable in order to cement an already positive 
relationship with Spain's most important security official. 
MANZANARES