US embassy cable - 05ASUNCION1071

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASUNCION 001071 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/AA 
NSC FOR SUE CRONIN 
TREASURY FOR OTA WARFIELD, VAN KOCH, MILLAR 
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD DAN JOHNSON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/19/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KCRM, PTER, PINR, SNAR, PA, KICC 
SUBJECT: PARAGUAY: NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL PLEDGES COOPERATION 
 
 
Classified By: PolCoun James P. Merz for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C)  Summary.  On 8/19, the Ambassador met with Ruben 
Candia Amarilla, Paraguay's newly elected Attorney General, 
to stress the importance the U.S. attaches to cooperation 
with his office in the fight against transnational crime, 
including drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorist 
financing, and piracy.  Candia pledged his commitment to 
cooperation with the U.S. and sought our guidance on some 
personnel questions.  Candia was accused by the opposition 
and in the press of being corrupt and unqualified for the 
job.  Post neither opposed nor endorsed Candia when his 
candidacy was originally floated.  To date, Candia is making 
positive noises about being responsive on issues we care 
about.  End Summary. 
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Candia Elected in the Face of Attacks, Rumors 
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2.  (U)  On 8/18, the Paraguayan Senate elected Ruben Candia 
Amarilla by a vote of 28-13 to be Paraguay's next Attorney 
General replacing Oscar Latorre whose term expires 8/31.  His 
candidacy enjoyed the support of not only the ruling Colorado 
Party Senators and the members of its multi-party coalition 
(3 dissident Senators from the opposition Liberal Party, the 
2 Senators from the leftist Country in Solidarity Party 
(PPS), and the one Senator from the left-center National 
Encounter Party (PN)) but also the votes of the five Senators 
from National Union of Ethical Citizens Party (UNACE) headed 
by imprisoned coup-plotter Lino Oviedo.  There is already 
speculation that UNACE negotiated its support for Candia's 
candidacy in exchange for favorable consideration of 
outstanding charges and conviction appeals connected to 
Oviedo.  Opposition senators from the Liberal Party and 
Beloved Fatherland Party (PQ) accused Candia of being both 
corrupt and unqualified for the job.  In the course of his 
Senate hearing, a PQ Senator introduced a transcipt of a tape 
from the mid-90s allegedly quoting Candia soliciting a bribe 
as compensation for his assistance in getting charges 
dropped. 
 
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U.S. Courted on Candia's Candidacy 
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3.  (C)  In the weeks prior to the 8/18 Senate vote, a number 
of candidates for the position of Attorney General, including 
Candia,  approached the Ambassador and other Emboffs, seeking 
U.S. support for their candidacy.   It was public information 
that Candia had once defended a prominent drug trafficker and 
other criminals.  Of course, that is what criminal lawyers 
do, and Candia claimed he had only handled one part of one 
narcotic case; he hadn't made that his specialty.  Candia's 
name did not appear in NADDIS, DEA's database.  On several 
occasions, Candia conveyed openness to cooperate fully with 
the U.S., assuring us that our priorities would be his and 
requesting suggestions to improve his office, including 
personnel changes.  The Embassy knew that he was President 
Duarte's first choice and did not want to create a 
confrontation over his candidacy when we did not have 
reliable derogatory information on him.   We would have 
preferred a person with no blemishes but all the principal 
candidates raised doubts one way or the other.  In the end, 
given the considerations noted above, we neither endorsed nor 
opposed him. 
 
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U.S. Establishes Priorities 
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4.  (C)  On 8/19, the Ambassador met with Candia stressing 
the importance we attach to cooperation with the Office of 
the Attorney General in the fight against transnational 
crime.  The U.S. provides direct technical and material 
assistance to GOP law enforcement entities to assist them in 
the investigation of these crimes.  Just recently, the U.S. 
announced a decision to provide Paraguay with an additional 
USD 324,000 to combat IPR violations of which USD 139,000 was 
earmarked for the Attorney General's Office.  In addition we 
had provided significant assistance to the Secretariat for 
the Prevention of Money Laundering (SEPRELAD) and urged him 
to work more closely with this institution in building money 
laundering cases.  More assistance to support GOP law 
enforcement activities could be forthcoming in connection to 
the Millennium Challenge Threshold program. 
5.  (C)  The Ambassador identified by name several key 
prosecutors, involved in narcotics and IPR cases, that we 
would like to see extended.  He also conveyed our support for 
the prosecutors working in the Economic Crimes unit that are 
vetted by the U.S.   It was critical the Attorney General 
establish internal controls to combat corruption.  We urged 
that he participate in an upcoming seminar hosted by the 
Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS) designed to 
assist Paraguay in identifying priorities in developing a 
National Security Plan and fostering greater 
interinstitutional cooperation. 
 
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Candia Pledges Cooperation, Requests Assistance 
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6.  (C)  Candia remarked that he was worried about the scope 
of the challenges that faced him.  He conveyed on repeated 
occasion his commitment to work closely with us in 
introducing reforms.  He carefully noted the names of 
prosecutors we support and queried us for our views regarding 
several prosecutors from CDE long rumored to be corrupt.  He 
shared our concerns about the integrity of the corps of 
police officials assigned to his office but who do not fall 
under his direct authority.  He wanted our views about the 
reliability of an informant for confidential information on 
sensitive cases.  He assured us that he was prepared to work 
closely with SEPRELAD.  He explained that he was good friends 
with the current Attorney General Latorre consulting with him 
on frequent occasion about the workings of the office.  In 
separate meetings with Emboffs, Candia conveyed his readiness 
to work with us in advancing key procedural code reform.  He 
also signaled readiness to dedicate a second prosecutor 
exclusively to drug cases -- an outstanding U.S. request to 
which his predecessor had not been responsive. 
 
7.  (C)  Comment.  Thus far, Candia has conveyed an 
unambiguous commitment to cooperation with the U.S. in the 
advancement of shared priorities combating transnational 
crime.  He has made himself readily available to the Embassy 
and listened carefully to our requests.  Ultimately, his 
success will ride on his ability to adopt and implement a 
plan of action to advance effectively these objectives and 
resist the inevitable political pressure that will come to 
bear upon him not to effect this kind of change.  We will be 
pro-active in providing early assistance and guidance to 
cement our relationship and strengthen his ability to address 
our priorities.  We will also urge he travel to the U.S. 
early on in his term.  End Comment. 
KEANE