US embassy cable - 03GUATEMALA933

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 GUATEMALA 000933 
 
SIPDIS 
 
HARARE FOR BRUCE WHARTON 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SNAR, OVIP, KIPR, PHUM, ELAB, MARR, GT 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSS 
PRESIDENTIAL SUMMIT AND BILATERAL ISSUES 
 
Classified By: PolCouns David Lindwall for reason 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary:  The Ambassador and Foreign Minister 
Gutierrez met on April 3 to discuss the upcoming visit of the 
Central American presidents to Washington to meet with 
President Bush on CAFTA.  The Ambassador carried out 
demarches on Cuba and Iraq (septels), mentioned upcoming 
visits of USG officials to discuss GSP labor concerns and 
Article 98 Agreement, asked for expedited signing of the new 
IPR law and discussed progress in setting up CICIACS. 
Foreign Minister Gutierrez welcomed the information on the 
Presidential meeting.  He informed us of problems in the 
DECAM (GOG arms and munitions regulatory agency), and 
remedial actions being taken by the GOG to avoid arms being 
held legally by drug-traffickers.  End summary. 
 
The April 10 Presidential Meeting 
--------------------------------- 
2. (C) The Ambassador met with Foreign Minister Edgar 
Gutierrez at the Foreign Ministry on April 3 to discuss the 
upcoming meeting of the Central American Presidents with 
President Bush.  He said the Presidential meeting reflects 
something much bigger than the sum of our individual 
bilateral issues, but rather the future of the entire 
bilateral relationship and regional integration.  The 
Ambassador noted that President Bush would like to focus the 
meeting on free trade (CAFTA), and hoped that the Central 
American presidents would take advantage of this opportunity 
to keep attention focused on that theme.  If, as apparently 
had been agreed in Roatan, the Presidents were going to 
address such subjects as regional integration, agriculture 
and arms reduction, it would be useful to relate them to 
CAFTA and to keep the remarks short and conversational, not 
set-piece speeches.  Gutierrez said, "don't worry about us -- 
will keep it short." 
 
3. (C) The Ambassador noted that other bilateral themes, 
including counter-narcotics cooperation, would be a topic for 
discussion at the April 11 breakfast between President 
Portillo and WHA Acting A/S Struble.  However, the meeting 
with President Bush would not be an appropriate venue for a 
debate on certification.  The Ambassador commented that WHA 
A/S Struble would be holding a tele-briefing for the 
Guatemalan press on April 8 to draw attention to recent 
improvements in Guatemala's counter-narcotics cooperation. 
We believe that this will generate a positive climate for the 
Presidential meeting.  The Ambassador noted, however, that 
the USG decision to decertify Guatemala as a cooperating 
partner in the war on drugs would not be reviewed prior to 
the April 10 meeting, and the GOG should not expect action on 
this front prior to the summit.  Gutierrez thanked us for the 
upcoming press briefing by WHA A/S Struble, which he thought 
would be useful for setting a positive tone.  He did not push 
back on our statement that Guatemala would not be recertified 
before the April 10 meeting, and appeared satisfied that the 
USG was pleased with continuing progress and would say so in 
the April 8 press briefing.  He welcomed the April 11 
breakfast between Portillo and A/S Struble. 
 
Torture of Drug Suspects 
------------------------ 
4. (C) The Ambassador told Gutierrez that we were concerned 
that state agents may have used torture and illegal detention 
to carry out a drug seizure in Zacapa in March (septels). 
Furthermore, it appears they planted drugs on three suspects 
in order to incriminate them.  The Ambassador said he has 
already talked to the President, the Ministers of Defense and 
Government and the PNC Director about this matter, and 
received their assurances that it would not happen again. 
The Ambassador told Gutierrez that the GOG needed to ensure 
that the drug war is pursued solely by means that are legal 
and that do not violate human rights.  Actions outside the 
law will hurt, not help, re-certification. 
 
Counter-Narcotics Maritime Agreement 
------------------------------------ 
5. (C) Prior to the discussion of the Struble 
tele-conference, Gutierrez gave the Ambassador a MFA legal 
opinion on our proposed CN Maritime Agreement.  Gutierrez 
said the GOG had gotten hung up for some time on the 
sovereignty issue, but had come up with what he hoped we 
would regard as a creative solution.  We will report this 
issue septel once we have analyzed the GOG proposal. 
 
Article 98 Agreement 
-------------------- 
6. (C) The Ambassador advised Gutierrez of the April 10-11 
visit to Guatemala of Ambassador Marisa Lino and a team of 
USG negotiators to discuss signing an Article 98 Agreement. 
He asked that the GOG assign the highest level negotiators to 
ensure that the discussions succeed.  Gutierrez noted that he 
had already given instructions for the head of the MFA's 
legal department to meet with the USG delegation, and 
lamented that the senior officials who could initial an 
agreement would all be out of the country those dates. 
Gutierrez believes that, despite the absence from the country 
of the senior MFA officials, the discussions of an Article 98 
Agreement can make progress. 
 
IPR Law 
------- 
7. (C) The Ambassador expressed appreciation for the recent 
passage of improved IPR legislation, and said that it was 
important that the law be signed by President Portillo before 
April 8 in order for it to be taken into consideration in our 
Special 301 Review.  The Foreign Minister took note and 
promised to advise us. 
 
GSP Review 
---------- 
8. (C) The Ambassador commented that USTR would decide on 
April 15 whether to accept a GSP petition filed against 
Guatemala, based in large part on violence against labor 
leaders.  The Ambassador noted the April 4 visit of Assistant 
USTR for Labor William Clatanoff and Department of State 
Director of International Labor Affairs George White would 
give the GOG an opportunity to hear USG concerns and provide 
a GOG response.  Gutierrez said that the GOG takes this issue 
seriously, and he had asked Vice Minister Aguilera to 
represent him in meetings with the senior USG visitors, as 
Gutierrez would be in Belize that day. 
 
CICIACS 
------- 
9. (C) In early April, the GOG sent senior Guatemalan 
diplomat Maritza Ruiz de Vielmann to Washington and New York 
to discuss the modalities for OAS and UN participation in the 
commission being established to investigate threats against 
human rights workers (CICIACS).  Specifically, Ruiz was to 
explore UN willingness to have the CICIACS constituted as an 
international mission under UN auspices, like MINUGUA, as 
this was what the Human Rights Ombudsman and the NGO 
community were now demanding.  Gutierrez doubted that the UN 
would want to be responsible for a second international 
mission, but wanted to explore the option as a gesture of 
good faith.  The Ambassador commented that we viewed recent 
GOG flexibility on this matter (together with the GOG 
dropping the idea of CICIACS reporting to the GOG Peace 
Secretariat, to which the Ombudsman objected) as a positive 
 
SIPDIS 
sign, as it had convinced the human rights NGO community that 
the GOG would not obstruct efforts to establish a credible 
investigatory commission.  Gutierrez commented that he had 
placed Ambassador Ruiz de Vielmann in charge of this effort 
to demonstrate the seriousness the GOG assigns to 
establishing a credible mechanism to investigate clandestine 
groups. 
 
DECAM 
----- 
10. (C) Foreign Minister Gutierrez told the Ambassador that 
President Portillo had instructed him to inform us that the 
GOG was investigating "serious abuses" by the DECAM (the 
GOG's arms and ammunition regulatory agency belonging to the 
Ministry of Defense).  According to Gutierrez, the GOG found 
out that the DECAM has been issuing assault rifle permits to 
the bodyguards of the major narco-traffickers.  The GOG has 
temporarily invalidated all fire-arms licenses, and will 
carefully review all requests for restoring permits in an 
attempt to more carefully control the issuance of such 
licenses.  Gutierrez promised to keep us informed of progress 
(Note:  Minister of Defense Moran mentioned the same charge 
against the DECAM earlier in the week, and similarly noted 
that the GOG is in the process of cleaning it up. End note). 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
11. (C) The Guatemalans view the upcoming meeting with 
President Bush as very important for generating a modicum of 
domestic credibility for Portillo's battered presidency. 
Appearances on April 10 will be as important to them as 
substance.  With the national election campaign only five 
weeks away from officially starting, the perception that the 
U.S. views the Portillo administration negatively has 
implications for his party, the FRG.  This explains why, in 
April 5-6 press coverage, Portillo has stated he will raise 
with the President the statements made by former A/S Reich 
(GOG official corruption) and decertification.  Our 
assessment, however, is that Portillo will be statesman-like 
at the presidential meeting, and will try to convey the 
impression that, despite our doubts about his government's 
counter-narcotics cooperation, he is someone we can work with. 
HAMILTON