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Viewing cable 06BUENOSAIRES625, ARGENTINA POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR MARCH 17
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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
06BUENOSAIRES625 | 2006-03-17 18:57 | 2011-04-03 00:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Buenos Aires |
Appears in these articles: http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1362537-la-ficcion-de-los-carteles-extranjeros |
VZCZCXYZ0039
PP RUEHWEB
DE RUEHBU #0625/01 0761857
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 171857Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3859
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION PRIORITY 5427
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 1311
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 5219
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 0868
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR 4045
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 1798
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID PRIORITY 1663
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO PRIORITY 5414
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO PRIORITY 5028
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 0174
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0044
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHNA/DEA WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000625
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC, AND INR/R,
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SNAR AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA POLITICAL ROUNDUP FOR MARCH 17
REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 0451
¶B. BUENOS AIRES 0497
¶C. BUENOS AIRES 0562
Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for Reasons 1.4 (B)(D).
¶1. (U) Reftels and other Mission reporting available at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires
¶2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
-- ACEVEDO STEPS DOWN FROM TUMULTUOUS GOVERNORSHIP
-- NARCOTICS UPDATE: THAT WHICH WAS LOST IS NOW FOUND
-- TELERMAN TAKES THE HELM
-- MISIONES PROVINCE IN FLAMES
--------------------------------------------- --
Acevedo Steps Down from Tumultuous Governorship
--------------------------------------------- --
¶3. (SBU) The Governor of Santa Cruz Province, Sergio
Acevedo, abruptly resigned on March 15 for what he claimed
were ""strictly personal reasons."" Acevedo declined to give a
press conference, answer questions or give any further
justification for his departure. This unanticipated and
unexplained mid-term resignation has led to much speculation.
The most frequently reported hypotheses center around
several high profile social and political incidents that
occurred in his province in recent months. Incidents such as
the controversy surrounding the repatriation of provincial
funds from Swiss banks (deposited by Acevedo,s predecessor,
President Kirchner, just before the 2001 economic crash), the
conflict with oil and gas workers in February (Reftel A) -
which involved roadblocks, salary demands, one killed police
officer and a heavy Gendarmeria presence ) and President
Nestor Kirchner,s apparent reluctance to associate himself
with the governor recently, have all played into theories as
to what precipitated the resignation. Vice-governor Carlos
Sancho will replace Acevedo. (COMMENT: Others cite the
infighting between Kirchner insiders, Local Secretary Carlos
Zannini, Minister of Planning Julio De Vido and Acevedo.
Sources report that De Vido has been keen on ousting Acevedo
as a means to position himself for his run at the
Governership in 2007. Acevedo told DCM the morning after his
resignation that pressure from Buenos Aires (i.e. President
Kirchner and Casa Rosada officials) made it impossible for
him to govern the province and comply with his mandate as
governor. The resignation of Acevedo narrows Kirchner's
already limited circle of advisors and removes from the scene
one of Kirchner's more honest and pro-U.S. officials. END
COMMENT.)
¶4. (U) In related news, the salary demands first heard at
the Las Heras oil workers protests in Santa Cruz, appear to
have had their desired effect: on March 15 the GOA announced
that in April the taxable income floor will be raised to 2400
AR pesos (estimated 800 US dollars) per month for single
people and 3200 AR pesos (estimated 1066 US dollars) for
married couples.
--------------------------------------------- ------
Narcotics Update: That which was lost is now found
--------------------------------------------- ------
¶5. (C) On March 18, responding to an anonymous phone tip the
Federal Police searched a shipping container bound for Spain
looking for cocaine. A cursory search of the container
failed to turn up any narcotics, but after a second call the
Federal Police completely unloaded the container and
discovered between 300 and 350 kilos of cocaine concealed
inside a shipment of frozen fish. Gendarmeria General Anibal
Maizteguai confirmed to DEA that the shipment included the
160 kilos of cocaine that the Gendarmeria had previously lost
during a botched controlled delivery operation. He asserted
that the seizure contained the exact number of identically
wrapped packets bearing the same seal as the lost cocaine,
and agents who worked that case were even able to identify
the incisions they had made on some of the packets to test
for purity prior to the controlled delivery operation.
(COMMENT: If as seems likely, the cocaine is indeed the 160
kilos lost during the recent controlled delivery, this could
help defuse press criticism regarding the botched operation.
News sources and pundits have loudly criticized the handling
of the controlled delivery while largely ignoring the fact
that eight of the nine suspects in that case are already in
custody. END COMMENT.)
¶6. (C) The Federal Police believe the seizure is related to
the February 23 seizure in Argentina of 200 kilos in a
similar shipment (Reftel B) and the March 9 seizure of 400
kilos located in frozen fish by Spanish authorities following
information provided by GOA law enforcement. Also of note,
the cocaine not believed to be part of the control deliver
bore the marking common to the Salta based Motok family. The
Motok family, the second biggest narcotics transportation
crime group based in Argentina, was a major target of the DEA
funded Northern Border Task Force (NBTF) and has been largely
dismembered. (COMMENT: The fact that this seizure appears to
connect three of the highest-profile narcotics investigations
of the year serves to illustrate the complex and
interconnected nature of narcotics smuggling operations in
Argentina. END COMMENT.)
-----------------------
Telerman Takes the Helm
-----------------------
¶7. (U) On March 13, Jorge Telerman was formally sworn in as
Mayor of Buenos Aires, following the March 7 vote in the
Buenos Aires legislature to remove Anibal Ibarra from office.
(Reftel C) In his inaugural speech, Telerman acknowledged
the ""weaknesses of the State"" that allowed the Cromagnon
tragedy that precipitated the downfall of his predecessor.
Telerman praised President Kirchner and the Buenos Aires
legislature. Telerman also thanked on several occasions his
political ""teacher and father,"" 1980s Peronist Party (PJ)
strongman Antonio Cafiero, who brought Telerman into
politics. Vice President Daniel Scioli, several Cabinet
members, and a host of Peronist leaders from the Capital and
Buenos Aires province were in attendance.
¶8. (U) Telerman has announced he plans to form a cabinet
modeled on the cabinets of the provincial governors. His
nominations are largely all Kirchneristas or from Ibarra's
team, including Raul Fernandez as Secretary General, Donato
Spacavento as Minister of Health, Javier Gonzalez Fraga as
Production Minister, and Diego Gorgal as Minister of
Government.
¶9. (C) Bio Note: In the 1970s, Jorge Telerman was active in
the Communist Youth Federation, along with former Mayor
Anibal Ibarra. Telerman started his career as a journalist
in the 1980s on ""Badia y Compania"" TV show on Channel 13.
Through his personal friendship with Antonio Cafiero, who he
met in 1981, he became Cafiero's spokesman when he was
Governor of Buenos Aires province (1987-1991). He later
served under Foreign Minister Guido di Tella in the Menem
administration. He became Menem's Ambassador to Cuba in
¶1998. In 1999, he served as Eduardo Duhalde's spokesman and
campaign advisor during Duhalde's 1999 presidential campaign.
Telerman was one of two Peronists that Anibal Ibarra
incorporated into his administration when he became Buenos
Aires Mayor in 2000, with Telerman serving as Ibarra's
Secretary of Communication (July 2000-2003). Telerman ran on
SIPDIS
Ibarra's reelection ticket as the Deputy Mayor and head of
the City Secretariat of Social Development (mid-2003 ) Nov.
2005). Since November 14, 2005 Telerman has been the acting
Mayor of Buenos Aires. Jorge Telerman was born November 29,
1955 in Buenos Aires City. He is married and has children.
¶10. (C) Although Jorge Telerman has long been active in the
Peronist Party, he has had difficult relationship with the
current head of the Buenos Aires City branch of Peronism,
Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez. His friction with Fernandez
and his reputation for independence has earned him the
moniker of ""Non-PJ Peronist,"" a characterization that
Telerman does not deny. Telerman recently told the
Ambassador that he does not consider himself a Peronist, but
does have good relations with the Buenos Aires Peronists.
---------------------------
Misiones Province in Flames
---------------------------
¶11. (U) On March 13, a group of 3,000 farmers and forestry
workers in the central Misiones town of San Vicente
vandalized the town hall, demanding that Mayor Luis Benitez
be removed from office. Although these protesters were not
professional piqueteros responding to a larger piquetero
organization or leader, as we have seen in other instances,
they did employ the same tried and true tactics: the
protesters stormed the municipal building and adjacent police
station with sticks and stones, set it on fire and obstructed
firefighters, access to the blaze. The day of riots left
the building completely destroyed and the streets strewn with
litter.
¶12. (U) The group of agricultural workers, which began as a
collection of roughly 400 people demanding the federal
subsidies last Tuesday, had grown to an angry mob of 3,000
within a week. They accuse Benitez of misappropriating
$99,000 pesos in federal subsidies disbursed to the
municipality as federal relief for farmers following the
severe droughts in January and February. They are also
accusing Benitez of illicit enrichment, irregularities in his
administration and neglect of local roads. Following the
arson seventeen people were arrested, though eleven were
later released. The director of the local hospital confirmed
32 injured, the majority of which were police officers.
¶13. (U) Mayor Benitez has defended himself by blaming the
media for ""political intentionality,"" and strongly accused a
local radio station and television channel of encouraging
people for the last three months to ""attack police and burn
the town hall."" The radio and television stations he blames
are owned by a vocal opponent of his administration. Also
pointing fingers in a similar direction is the secretary of
the Agricultural Producers Association of Misiones (APAM),
the group that initiated the demands a week ago. He says he
thinks the main perpetrators were ""government operatives
supported by anti-Benitez councilmen"" who infiltrated the
group and provoked violence. The investigating judge that
arrested the protesters has said that he too suspects
""infiltrators"" and that he will investigate at least one
member of the city council. He has also said he will
investigate the radio station for ""instigating violence.""
¶14. (U) The episode, while abnormally violent, is not the
first symptom of political instability in the town. San
Vicente has had seven mayors in the last eight years.
Benitez,s predecessor is a fugitive wanted on corruption
charges, and even Benitez himself has previously been accused
of corruption. In 2005 he was dismissed on charges of
mismanagement of funds and illicit enrichment, only to regain
his seat through appeal. Benitez has said publicly he will
not resign, but has asked the city council for a leave of
absence.
GUTIERREZ
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