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### Viewing cable 07MADRID449, SPANISH INTERIOR MINISTER RUBALCABA ON DE JUANA

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07MADRID449 | 2007-03-08 19:33 | 2010-12-09 12:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Madrid

`

    VZCZCXRO0119
    PP RUEHAG RUEHROV
    DE RUEHMD #0449/01 0671933
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 081933Z MAR 07
    FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2048
    INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
    RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 6004
    RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 2516
    RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000449

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    FOR EUR/WE CLEMENTS AND CERVETTI

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2017
    TAGS: PREL SP
    SUBJECT: SPANISH INTERIOR MINISTER RUBALCABA ON DE JUANA
    CHAOS DECISION; ETA TERRORISM; KEY BILATERAL ISSUES

    REF: MADRID 432

    MADRID 00000449 001.2 OF 003

    Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDUARDO AGUIRRE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)

    ¶1. (C) Summary: During a March 7 lunch with Spanish Minister
    of Interior Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, Ambassador Aguirre heard
    the Spanish government's defense of its recent controversial
    decision to allow convicted ETA assassin Inaki De Juana Chaos
    to serve out the rest of his sentence under house arrest (see
    REFTEL for Embassy analysis on this issue). De Juana was
    close to death due to a 4-month hunger strike, and Minister
    Rubalcaba said that the decision was the correct one because
    it allowed the GOS to prevent De Juana from becoming a
    "decades-long martyr for radical ETA youth." He said the GOS
    was solely responsible for the decision, without any
    discussion with or pressure from ETA. Rubalcaba also said
    that ETA had the power to put the opposition Partido Popular
    (PP) "in the driver's seat" by assassinating one or more
    individuals of consequential PP rank or position, but was
    unsure if ETA leaders would want to do this. The Interior
    Minister said, responding to our request, he was closely
    following developments on the Couso case and the CIA flights
    issue, and was eager to see a cooling of Spanish emotions in
    both cases. Finally, Rubalcaba asked the Ambassador for
    further reasons behind the postponement of the proposed March
    visit to Madrid by Secretary Rice. The Minister expressed
    appreciation for his meetings with the Ambassador, as
    opportunities to exchange ideas and gain perspective. End
    Summary.

    //GOS Decision Saved Lives//

    ¶2. (C) Rubalcaba told the Ambassador that the decision to
    allow convicted ETA assassin Inaki De Juana Chaos to serve
    the remaining 18 months of his sentence at home under house
    arrest was the correct one. (Embassy Note: On March 1,
    incarcerated ETA member Inaki De Juana Chaos was released
    from the Madrid hospital where he was being treated for a
    hunger strike and was transferred to a hospital in San
    Sebastian. When he has recovered from the affects of the
    4-month hunger strike, he will be allowed to complete his
    sentence at home under police surveillance. De Juana had
    almost completed 17 years of a 30-year sentence for the
    murder of 18 individuals when he became eligible for early
    release in 2005. A National Court magistrate blocked De
    Juana's release in 2005 by charging him with writing letters
    threatening prison officials, and De Juana was later
    sentenced to an additional 12 years behind bars. The Supreme
    Court in February 2007 reduced that sentence to 3 years,
    leaving only 18 months remaining due to time already served,
    and setting the stage for the government's decision to
    release him). Minister Rubalcaba said that his government
    knew the decision would be controversial, but that government
    officials had not done a good job explaining to the Spanish
    people that De Juana had already served his time for the
    murders, and remained in prison only on the lesser charge of
    making threatening statements. Rubalcaba confided to the
    Ambassador that as the end of De Juana's murder sentence drew
    near in 2005, the Minister of Justice at that time did not
    want to see the convicted assassin go free. He thus sought
    to slap on an additional charge--albeit an obscure one with
    flimsy merits--that would continue the ETA member's
    incarceration. Rubalcaba said that in hindsight, it would
    have been better to allow De Juana to go free in 2005 and
    that now the Zapatero Government was "paying the price" for
    that decision.

    ¶3. (C) Rubalcaba said that at the time of De Juana's release,
    the ETA member was just hours away from suffering medically
    irreversible damage due to his hunger strike, and would have
    died in a short time if the GOS had not acted. Rubalcaba's
    view is that the decision to release De Juana saved Spanish
    lives by avoiding his transformation into a "decades-long
    martyr for radical ETA youth." Rubalcaba said the GOS was
    solely responsible for the decision, without any discussion
    with or pressure from ETA. The Minister told the Ambassador
    that despite the De Juana case becoming a rallying cry for
    ETA members in recent weeks, current ETA leaders have no use
    for him in the organization and will not want anything to do
    with him once he is freed. Rubalcaba posited that De Juana
    will likely retire to Morocco upon his release.

    //ETA Could Put PP in Driver Seat//

    ¶4. (C) Turning to broader ETA issues, the Minister discussed
    the virulent reaction to the De Juana decision by the main
    opposition Partido Popular (PP). Rubalcaba told the

    MADRID 00000449 002.2 OF 003

    Ambassador that the GOS knows ETA could "put the PP in the
    driver's seat" in advance of regional elections in May and
    national elections in early 2008 by assassinating one or more
    individuals of important PP rank or position. Rubalcaba
    quickly said his government is unsure whether current ETA
    leaders would risk taking this step, but the fear is that any
    ETA sympathizer would have the power to change the political
    calculus in Spain with one rash act. In discussing the
    December 30 ETA bombing at Madrid's Barajas airport that
    killed two individuals, Rubalcaba said that act proved the
    ETA hard-liners had won out over those favoring moderation,
    and derailed the peace process. Rubalcaba said that ETA's
    political front group Batasuna is still working every angle
    to try and gain permission to run in Basque municipal
    elections in May, but the Barajas bombing has made that
    scenario even more problematic.

    //Bilateral Issues//

    ¶5. (C) The Ambassador expressed his appreciation to Minister
    Rubalcaba for the strong level of counterterrorism
    cooperation, specifically the development of the Bilateral
    Counterterrorism Working Group. He said the working group is
    an effective vehicle to improve judicial efforts against
    terrorism in both countries. The Ambassador also reiterated
    USG support for Spain's efforts in fighting terrorism and
    said that the ongoing trial of individuals allegedly involved
    in the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings highlights the
    continued threat facing both of our countries. When the
    Ambassador conveyed continued Department and National
    Security Council interest in the possible terrorist
    designation of Barakat Yarkas, Rubalcaba replied that he was
    aware that this was still a pending issue between our
    governments and knows that it needs to be addressed. The
    Minister told the Ambassador that responding to our request,
    he was also following developments on the Jose Couso case
    (the Spanish TV cameraman killed in the Palestine Hotel
    incident in Iraq) and the CIA flights issue that have been
    the subject of much sensational press coverage in Spain in
    recent weeks. Rubalcaba said that although the Spanish
    judiciary was fiercely independent and would do what it
    thought was right, Rubalcaba had instructed his staff to
    avoid any inflammatory rhetorical comments in an attempt to
    lower the temperature on these issues.

    //S Visit to Madrid//

    ¶6. (C) Minister Rubalcaba pressed the Ambassador for the
    "real reason" why the Secretary postponed her proposed March
    visit to Spain. The Ambassador replied that the postponement
    was purely for scheduling reasons due to the Secretary's
    planned travel and had nothing to do with any problems in the
    bilateral relationship. Ambassador Aguirre noted that the
    Secretary's recent phone call with Foreign Minister

    SIPDIS
    Moratinos, informing him that she needed to testify in
    Congress on March 28, confirmed what the Ambassador had said.
    Rubalcaba seemed satisfied with the answer. The Ambassador
    reminded Rubalcaba that if sectors of the Spanish Government
    continue to insist that there are signs of a deteriorating
    bilateral relationship when no signs exist, they run the risk
    of reversing some of the improvements made in the
    relationship over the past two years. Although the GOS has
    not confirmed the Secretary's new proposed visit date of June
    1, Rubalcaba raised the possibility of the GOS eventually
    making some kind of statement confirming the visit. The
    Ambassador suggested to Rubalcaba that for security and
    logistical reasons, it was probably not wise to confirm the
    exact date of such a visit three months out, and the Minister
    agreed with the reasoning. (Note: Embassy is working with
    Washington, at the request of the Spanish MFA, to develop
    some kind of public statement indicating that S had planned
    to visit in March, is committed to coming to Spain, and that
    dates are being worked out. MFA would like to publicize a
    precise date for a rescheduled visit, but this issue is under
    discussion between the Embassy and Washington.)

    ¶7. (C) Comment. Rubalcaba said he was weighed down with the
    issues currently facing him and remarked that he "felt the
    weight of Spain on his shoulders." He is currently living
    above the Ministry due to repairs and refurbishment occurring
    at his house and said that living so close to the office made
    it hard to "disconnect": that he is having trouble sleeping
    at night. Although he shows no outward signs of stress, the
    events since the December 30 ETA bombing have clearly taken a
    toll. The Minister said that he appreciated opportunities
    such as these to exchange ideas and gain perspective and
    hopes they will continue.

    MADRID 00000449 003.2 OF 003

    AGUIRRE

`