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Guantánamo

Cable sobre la elección de presos por parte del Ministerio de Exteriores

EE UU aceptó las "reservas", pero dejó claro que no eran para siempre. Si otro Estado se interesaba por ellos, tendrían que decidir en ese momento si se los quedaban o los dejaban marchar.

ID:217648
Date:2009-07-22 12:37:00
Origin:09MADRID742
Source:Embassy Madrid
Classification:SECRET//NOFORN
Dunno:09MADRID351 09MADRID551 09MADRID604 09MADRID614 09TUNIS415
Destination:VZCZCXRO3425
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHFL RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH
RUEHNP RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHTRO
DE RUEHMD #0742/01 2031237
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 221237Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1002
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 0371
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA PRIORITY 0032
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 4066
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0906
RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000742

NOFORN
SIPDIS

FOR EUR/WE, NEA, S/GC, INR
PASS TO NSC FOR RASMUSSEN, BRADLEY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2024
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PHUM, MOPS, KAWK, KISL, KPAO, SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN ANALYZES GTMO FILES TO FIND "BEST FIT" FOR
RESETTLEMENT

REF: A. MADRID 614
B. TUNIS 415
C. MADRID 604
D. MADRID 551
E. MADRID 351

MADRID 00000742 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: CDA Arnold A. Chacon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1. (S//NF) SUMMARY. Following a July 2 meeting in
Washington, the Spanish MFA asked to "reserve" four
Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) detainees, pending the completion of
due diligence on their files by the Spanish security
services. Post subsequently has informed its MFA contacts on
several occasions that S/GC agreed to hold the four "for a
while" but would not reserve them indefinitely. Post has
emphasized that this indeterminate period may be only a short
period of time and has stressed that the stated USG priority
is to relocate GTMO detainees to countries that commit to
accepting them, notwithstanding expressions of interest from
other friends and allies. The MFA on July 17 upgraded its
commitment for one of the four "reserved" detainees, but - in
the face of a firm commitment by a third-country - waived its
right to first refusal on another one. Spain continues to
reiterate its decision to work with the USG in resettling a
number of GTMO detainees and Post is working with the MFA to
find the "best fit" for the GOS's criteria. As reported in
Ref A, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba publicly
stated on June 23 during his recent visit to Washington that
Spain may accept up to five GTMO detainees. END SUMMARY.

//Spain "Reserves" Four Detainee Files...//

2. (S//NF) On July 7, Luis Felipe Fernandez de la Pena, MFA
DG for North America and non-EU Europe, phoned Special Envoy
Dan Fried of the Office of the Special Envoy for the Closure
of the Guantanamo Detention facility (S/GC). The Spaniard
requested - and was granted - that Madrid be allowed to
"reserve" a Syrian (SY-489), two Palestinians (SA-049 and
WE-684), and a Yemeni (YM-252). A series of follow-up phone
calls took place between on July 16, 17, and 20, in which the
two diplomats confirmed each party's interpretation of what
had been agreed in the original July 7 phone call. They also
discussed third-country interest in some of the four cases,
based on information sharing and discussions with
third-countries prior to Madrid's request to "reserve" them
for Spain. The USG has agreed to give Madrid a right of
first refusal if - while Spain's due diligence is still
underway - another country is ready to commit to accepting
any of them. Faced with the prospect of a firm commitment by
a third-country to accept YM-252, Fernandez de la Pena in the
July 17 phone call upgraded the GOS claim from "reserved" to
"blocked," thus preventing another government from accepting
that detainee. The GOS on June 30 had submitted a non-paper
with a series of additional questions for the USG on YM-252,
the answers of which were provided to the MFA on July 16. Of
the original four detainees that Madrid spoke up for, two
Palestinians also remain "reserved" for Spain and are not
currently under consideration by other foreign governments.

//... But Lets One Slip Through Its Fingers//

3. (S//NF) However, Spain was not ready to commit to a second
detainee (SY-489) whom the same third-country had offered to
accept. When given the chance on July 17 to exercise its
right of first refusal on SY-489, Spain did not do so. As of
July 20, S/GC is in discussions with a third-country
regarding this Syrian detainee.

//Readout and Follow-up on July 2 Meeting in Washington//

4. (S//NF) On July 2 Amb. Fernandez de la Pena and Arturo
Avello, the Ministry of Interior's DG for International
Relations, held meetings in Washington with S/E Fried and
S/GC Deputy Director Tony Ricci. The Spaniards appeared
eager to express that they want to be helpful, though their
mission now is to find the "best fit" detainees for Spain.

MADRID 00000742 002.2 OF 002


They are intent on balancing the security implications with
the diplomatic implications, so ideally they would want
detainees that are a lower threat, but would result in little
friction with foreign governments (they raised Yemen,
Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan as examples). The Spaniards were
told that the USG can look into whether detainees from these
countries are possibilities for Spain and that, given the
balance the GOS is trying to achieve, Palestinians may be a
good option.

5. (S//NF) POLOFF on July 10 followed up to the July 2
meetings in Washington by providing to Fernando Prieto, MFA
DG for North America, the case file for another Syrian
detainee (SY-317) for GOS consideration. POLOFF also asked
if - in light of Spain's request to reserve the four
detainees - the GOS were interested in reviewing any
additional files. POLOFF explained that we had one more file
- that of an Uzbeki, (UZ-675) - that might interest the GOS.
Prieto contacted POLOFF on July 13 and said that the GOS had
agreed to receive the UZ-675 file, which POLOFF then passed
to the MFA that same day. In response to a question by
POLOFF, Prieto also confirmed July 7 Spanish press reports
that detainees from "neighboring countries," - ie., Tunisia,
Algeria or Morocco - would not be suitable for Spain. In our
next meeting on July 13, however, Prieto changed his story
somewhat, saying that he had spoken with Fernandez de la Pena
and the latter wanted to make sure that Washington understood
that case-by-case security considerations related to the four
Tunisian detainees originally proposed by S/GC on June 17 had
been the deciding factor in the GOS's decision, while their
nationality had been a "complementary" or secondary factor.
COMMENT: Despite the MFA's claims that case-by-case security
concerns were the priority factor, Post does not believe that
the GOS is seriously considering files on detainees from
"neighboring countries." This claim, however, allows the GOS
to portray itself as not having been influenced by pressure
from those detainees' home governments. (See Ref B).

//The Tally on GTMO Detainee Files Passed to Spain Thus Far//

6. (S//NF) To date, the GOS has received 15 GTMO detainee
case files. S/E Fried hand-delivered the files of four
Tunisians (TS-046, TS-502, TS-892, TS-894) during a visit to
the MFA on June 17; the file on the first Yemeni (YM-252) was
hand-delivered to the MFA by POLOFF the next day. During the
July 2 meeting in Washington, the GOS delegation received an
additional seven files: two Palestinians (SA-049, WE-684),
two Libyans (LY-654 and LY-709), and three Syrians (SY-307,
SY-312, and SY-489). POLOFF delivered to the MFA the file on
an additional Syrian (SY-317) on July 10, and the Uzbeki file
(UZ-675) on July 13. On July 20, POLOFF provided a file on a
second Yemeni (YM-692) who may be eligible for transfer to
Spain. S/GC has informed Post that more Yemeni files may be
provided to Spain for review.

7. (U) Special Envoy Fried has cleared this cable.
CHACON
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