_
_
_
_

Cable sobre la petición de información de la Embajada de EE UU sobre la muerte de Ricardo Ortega

"Si por cualquier razón no respondemos completamente, podemos esperar que las autoridades españolas atribuyan su incapacidad para aclarar las circunstancias de la muerte de Ortega a la negativa estadounidense a cooperar. La prensa española mantendría sin ninguna duda que esto significa que Estados Unidos tiene algo que ocultar", explica la nota diplomática.

ID:188742
Date:2009-01-26 08:52:00
Origin:09MADRID81
Source:Embassy Madrid
Classification:UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Dunno:07MADRID1000 07PORTAUPRINCE693 08MADRID542
Destination:VZCZCXRO4846
PP RUEHLA
DE RUEHMD #0081/01 0260852
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260852Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0107
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1070
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE 0099
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 3759
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000081

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR L/DL, ALSO FOR EUR/WE AND WHA/CAR, DOJ FOR
DOJ/OFL PATRICIA REEDY, ALSO FOR DOJ/OIA, OSD FOR ISA COL
MCCLELLAND, LONDON FOR DOJ REP. DONNA MAIZEL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KLIG, PREL, SP, HA
SUBJECT: ORTEGA CASE: SPAIN SEEKS INFORMATION FROM USG IN
CASE OF JOURNALIST KILLED IN HAITI

REF: A. 07 PORT AU PRINCE 693
B. 08 MADRID 542
C. 07 MADRID 1000

1. (U) This is an action request, please see paragraph five.

2. (SBU) SUMMARY. Ricardo Ortega was a Spanish journalist
shot and killed in Haiti in 2004 while covering the unrest
there. There have been repeated suggestions in the media
here that U.S. forces fired the shot that killed him. The
Spanish National Court commenced an investigation into his
death in June 2008. We received an MLAT request in August
2008 (forwarded to DOJ) and more recently a request from the
Spanish Civil Guard for information related to the case. The
most recent request seeks information on named USG officials
in Haiti at the time of Ortega's death as well as information
regarding U.S. forces there. On January 23, Spain's Council
of Ministers authorized the declassification of a 2005 secret
investigative report on Ortega's death, and Vice President
Fernandez de la Vega told the press that Spain will "spare no
effort" to clarify the circumstances of this case. Post
requests instructions regarding a response to the Spanish
information requests. END SUMMARY.

3. (U) Ortega was fatally wounded March 7, 2004, during a
anti-Aristide demonstration in Port-au-Prince. Weeks after
his death, Aristide supporters Yvon Antoine and Haitian
Police Inspector Jean-Michel Gaspard were arrested and
investigated for their involvement in the demonstration.
Both were released and neither charged. After conducting its
own investigation in 2004, Spain's Antena 3 television
station (Ortega's employer), concluded that U.S. forces could
have fired the fatal shot. In April 2007, Spanish
authorities called on Haiti to create a joint official
commission to investigate the case, but no such commission
was formed, and the case continued within the Haitian system.
We understand Spanish Ambassador to Haiti Paulino Gonzalez,
accompanied by a Spanish special investigative envoy, called
on the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti on two occasions (in 2005 and
2007) seeking U.S. cooperation. Spanish FM Moratinos
accompanied Ortega's family to Haiti in April 2008 to
retrieve the Haitian court's investigative results, and
shortly thereafter the family disclosed the findings, which
included an assertion that foreign soldiers may have killed
Ortega. The Spanish press reported that the Haitian judge
named U.S. forces but did not include that assertion in his
findings since he had insufficient evidence.

4. (U) In August 2008, we received a MLAT request (forwarded
to DOJ), seeking contact information for two journalists who
were witnesses and also for relevant U.S. military records
(our understanding is that U.S. forces went to the scene and
rendered medical assistance after Ortega was shot). That
request did not suggest USG personnel were a target of the
investigation. On January 7, 2009, LEGAT received a request
for law enforcement cooperation from the Civil Guard. That
request (which we have e-mailed to L/DL and EUR/WE) seeks
contact information for three named U.S. officials in Haiti
at the time Ortega was shot, identification of officers
commanding U.S. military personnel in Haiti at the time,
reports regarding the activities of U.S. forces that day, and
information on ammunition used by U.S. forces (our
understanding is that no bullet was recovered from Ortega's
body). It is unclear why the Civil Guard has made this
latest request and done so outside of MLAT channels.

5. (SBU) Action request: Post requests instructions on
responding to the Spanish requests. Regarding the second
request, our recommendation is that we advise the Civil Guard
we cannot respond and that Spain should continue to pursue
any information requests relative to this case via the MLAT
channel. That said, we would appreciate DOJ cooperation in
facilitating an expeditious response to the original and any
subsequent MLAT requests, to the maximum extent consistent
with U.S. interests. If for any reason we do not respond or
do not respond fully, we should expect the Spanish
authorities to attribute their inability to clarify the
circumstances of Ortega,s death to U.S. unwillingness to
cooperate. The Spanish press would doubtless paint this as
the U.S. having something to hide. More generally, failure
to respond in a timely fashion to Spanish MLAT requests can
affect other USG priorities with Spanish judicial authorities.


MADRID 00000081 002 OF 002


6. (U) Embassy Madrid point of contact is Poloff Jenny
Cordell, tel. 34-91-587-2392, cordellj@state.gov.
CHACON
Traduce este documento »

Traducción automática. Puede que el texto traducido no sea fiel al original

Buscador de cables

Ver todos los documentos »
Más información
España pidió información a EE UU sobre la muerte en Haítí de Ricardo Ortega

Tu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo

¿Quieres añadir otro usuario a tu suscripción?

Si continúas leyendo en este dispositivo, no se podrá leer en el otro.

¿Por qué estás viendo esto?

Flecha

Tu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo y solo puedes acceder a EL PAÍS desde un dispositivo a la vez.

Si quieres compartir tu cuenta, cambia tu suscripción a la modalidad Premium, así podrás añadir otro usuario. Cada uno accederá con su propia cuenta de email, lo que os permitirá personalizar vuestra experiencia en EL PAÍS.

En el caso de no saber quién está usando tu cuenta, te recomendamos cambiar tu contraseña aquí.

Si decides continuar compartiendo tu cuenta, este mensaje se mostrará en tu dispositivo y en el de la otra persona que está usando tu cuenta de forma indefinida, afectando a tu experiencia de lectura. Puedes consultar aquí los términos y condiciones de la suscripción digital.

Archivado En

Recomendaciones EL PAÍS
Recomendaciones EL PAÍS
Recomendaciones EL PAÍS
_
_