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### Viewing cable 09BUENOSAIRES1017, ARGENTINA: CFK'S NEW CABINET CHIEF

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09BUENOSAIRES1017 | 2009-09-10 15:03 | 2010-11-30 16:04 | SECRET//NOFORN | Embassy Buenos Aires

`

    VZCZCXYZ0013
    PP RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHBU #1017/01 2531523
    ZNY SSSSS ZZH (CCY ADAEBDBB MSI7235-695)
    P 101523Z SEP 09
    FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4324
    INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
    RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

` `

    S E C R E T BUENOS AIRES 001017

    NOFORN
    SIPDIS

    C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2039
    TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR KCOR ECON AR
    SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: CFK'S NEW CABINET CHIEF

    REF: A. TDX-315/090481-08 AND TDX-315/042493-09
    ¶B. TD-314/65216-07
    ¶C. TD-314/67647-07
    ¶D. BUENOS AIRES 0126
    ¶E. BUENOS AIRES 0750
    ¶F. BUENOS AIRES 0980 AND PREVIOUS
    ¶G. TD-314/046516-08
    ¶H. 08 BUENOS AIRES 1550 AND PREVIOUS
    ¶I. 08 BUENOS AIRES 1478
    ¶J. 08 BUENOS AIRES 0322
    ¶K. TD-314/08212-07
    ¶L. TD-314/043023-09
    ¶M. TD-314/054350-09

    Classified By: CDA Thomas P. Kelly for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

    ¶1. (S) Summary: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de
    Kirchner's (CFK) promotion of former Justice Minister Anibal
    Fernandez (AF) to Cabinet Chief puts in place someone with
    six years of experience working for the First Couple, first
    as former president Nestor Kirchner's Interior Minister and
    then as CFK's Justice Minister. By dint of his office's
    physical proximity to the President's as well as his
    portfolio's constitutional responsibilities, AF is in a
    position to wield significant power and influence, and is
    already playing a key role in shaping Casa Rosada politics,
    policy, and message.

    ¶2. (S) AF has been the most accessible member of CFK's
    Cabinet for the Embassy, but, unlike his two immediate
    predecessors, he has also not been shy about vociferously
    attacking the USG (or any other target) in order to defend
    the Kirchners. Like many Argentine politicians, he is dogged
    by corruption rumors, including ties to narcotrafficking,
    according to unsubstantiated press and intelligence reports
    (ref A). Additionally, he is suspected of directing
    intelligence teams to clandestinely monitor the emails of the
    administration's political opponents, according to separate
    intelligence reports (refs B and C), and he has been linked
    to reported CFK administration efforts to secure additional
    votes illegally in Buenos Aires and Cordoba provinces ahead
    of the June midterms. Despite the varied and persistent
    accusations of corruption lodged against him, however, there
    is no hard evidence. End Summary.

    CFK Rewards Fernandez' Loyalty with Cabinet Chief Post
    --------------------------------------------- -----

    ¶3. (C) Former Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Security
    Anibal Fernandez (AF) became CFK's third Chief of Cabinet
    since she assumed office in December 2007. A longtime
    Peronist and a close ally of former President Nestor Kirchner
    (NK), AF has worked over six years for the presidential
    couple, since the first day of NK's term. He has been one of
    the administration's most outspoken public defenders, first
    while serving as NK's Interior Minister and later as CFK's
    Justice Minister. Many viewed AF's promotion to Cabinet
    Chief as a reward for securing in his hometown of Quilmes one
    of the few significant Kirchner victories in the June 28
    mid-term elections (ref E).

    Origins of the Cabinet Chief Post
    ---------------------------------

    ¶4. (C) As Cabinet Chief, AF has considerable power and
    influence. The authors of the 1994 constitutional reforms
    intended the position to be a check on presidential power as
    a watered-down prime minister, although in practice the
    Cabinet Chief has become a presidential chief of staff,
    spokesman, and all-purpose firefighter. The Cabinet Chief is
    technically responsible for the collection of national taxes;
    submitting the executive's budget request to Congress;
    co-signing executive decrees; appointing administration
    employees not designated by the President; and overseeing the
    Cabinet's ministers. Additionally, the President's Cabinet
    Chief is expected to report at least monthly to Congress,
    alternating between the Lower House and the Senate. (Note:
    The last two cabinet chiefs, Alberto Fernandez and Sergio
    Massa, appeared before Congress less than once a year; Anibal
    Fernandez will make his first such appearance this week.)

    Under the Ks, Cabinet Chief Influence Grew
    ------------------------------------------

    ¶5. (C) Under the Kirchner administration, the cabinet chief
    position has grown in influence beyond its
    constitutionally-proscribed powers. Since 2002, the
    Argentine Congress has annually authorized economic
    "superpowers" for the executive branch. Originally enacted
    to address the 2001 financial crisis, these controversial
    superpowers enable the Cabinet Chief to redistribute federal
    funds coming from export taxes and tax collections above and
    beyond budget estimates, at the President's discretion.

    ¶6. (C) The Cabinet Chief's influence ultimately depends on
    his relationship with the First Couple. AF's immediate
    predecessor, the media-friendly Sergio Massa, reportedly had
    differences with NK over style and substance. Their tense
    relationship soured even further with NK's poor showing in
    Massa's hometown in the June 28 midterm elections (ref E).
    Alberto Fernandez (not related to AF), who served as CFK's
    and NK's first Cabinet Chief, was one of the few capable of
    moderating the temperamental First Couple. But even he was
    unable to walk the Kirchners back from their
    take-no-prisoners approach to an extended conflict with the
    farm sector, and he resigned in July 2008 out of frustration
    (ref F). Amid a cabinet that does not speak much to the
    media, Anibal Fernandez has long been one of the most visible
    spokesmen for the Kirchners, and his influence over policy
    and political decisions will likely grow in his new post.

    Embassy Interaction with Fernandez
    ----------------------------------

    ¶7. (C) AF has been for us the most accessible and
    forward-leaning member of CFK's Cabinet, welcoming USG law
    enforcement training and cooperation (ref G). Again and
    again, he has gone out of his way to rearrange his travel
    schedule to meet with visiting U.S. officials and greet
    Embassy officials at diplomatic events. Although he has
    frequently told us that he is the most "pro-American" member
    of CFK's Cabinet, we think this reflects his deep-seated
    pragmatism rather than any abiding affinity for the United
    States. Our positive working relationship with Fernandez,
    for example, did not stop him from criticizing the United
    States to protect the Kirchners, as he did during the 2007-08
    suitcase scandal (ref H). Nonetheless, he was one of the
    first Argentine officials to assure Embassy officials that
    the suitcase scandal was "water under the bridge."

    ¶8. (C) More political hack than diplomat, AF is a
    fiefdom-builder who loathes giving up control over strategic
    resources. When he moved from the Interior Ministry to
    Justice, for example, he took the internal security agencies
    with him. Many believe that even now, as Cabinet Chief, AF
    retains operational control over the law enforcement forces.

    ¶9. (C) Although AF confided to the Embassy's former LEGAT
    that he was not in a position to micromanage the Ministry of
    Justice at first, he said he immediately centralized control
    once he got the lay of the land. As Chief of the internal
    security forces, including the Border Patrol/Paramilitary
    Police (Gendarmeria Nacional), Coast Guard, federal police,
    and special airport police, AF quickly imposed a strict
    vertical hierarchy where he discouraged information sharing
    and commanded security chiefs to report directly to him. He
    has boasted to Embassy officials that while his predecessor
    at Justice, Alberto Iribarne, only signed a few ministerial
    decrees, he signed hundreds. Judicial contacts have told us
    that as Justice Minister, he even tried to pressure
    provincial judges to advise him of any judicial assistance
    requests from federal judges, but subsequently backtracked on
    that position after judges complained that the directive
    interfered with judicial independence. His micro-management
    over even routine matters in his portfolio resulted in
    bureaucratic backlogs for us. Naming participants to U.S.
    training programs, the visits of Transportation Security
    Administration teams to conduct airport/air carrier
    assessments, and clearance for U.S. Federal Air Marshals all
    required his personal approval. Once, when the DCM visited
    Fernandez's Chief of Staff at Justice, Fernandez got wind of
    the meeting while it was in progress, got into a car, and
    stormed into the office, taking over the meeting while the
    chief of staff clammed up.

    ¶10. (C) A pragmatic and politically savvy interlocutor, AF
    prefers not to include his staff in meetings with Embassy
    officials. Although he is always well-prepared, his speech
    and demeanor can sometimes be crass. On more than one
    occasion, he has taken obvious notice of an attractive
    translator during a meeting with visiting U.S. officials.
    Additionally, he has referred to the existence of local
    "demand for young genitals" when explaining the challenges
    his Ministry faces in fighting human trafficking for the
    purposes of sexual exploitation.

    AF Denies Drug Problem, Advocates Decriminalization
    --------------------------------------------- ------

    ¶11. (C) Although he has not interfered with USG CN activity
    here insofar as we can ascertain, AF has frequently denied
    that drug trafficking is a major problem in Argentina,
    despite evidence indicating that Colombian and Mexican drug
    cartels operate in Argentina, and that Argentina leads Latin
    America in cocaine consumption. AF insists that Argentina is
    merely a transit point and continues to deny the existence of
    drug labs in Argentina. In an October 2008 workshop on
    Argentine narcotics policy, AF described press reports
    claiming that drug cartels had established production
    facilities in Argentina (ref I) as mere fiction. He is also
    a long-time advocate for the decriminalization of drug use,
    saying he dreams "of the day when drug addicts are sent to
    rehab instead of prison." AF argues that the government
    should stop focusing on small-time carriers in order to focus
    on dismantling large drug trafficking networks (ref J).

    ¶12. (S/NF) According to late December 2006 intelligence
    reporting (ref K), AF advised then Vice-President Scioli that
    he should not make counternarcotics his number one campaign
    issue when he ran for Governor of Buenos Aires province.
    Reasoning that the narcotraffickers are well-organized with
    the capacity to frame politicians, AF suggested that Scioli
    pay only lip service to counternarcotics efforts. He argued
    that Scioli should not assume the risks since drug-related
    crimes would never be resolved.

    Ties to Drug Trafficking?
    -------------------------

    ¶13. (S/NF) Unsubstantiated press and intelligence reports
    (refs A and M) suggest that AF may be financially profiting
    from narcotrafficking. These reports state that AF's ties to
    narcotrafficking date back to 1994 when AF was mayor of
    Quilmes and allegedly directed a cocaine trafficking network.
    The Embassy's DEA section has heard similar allegations from
    contacts at the Argentine Counternarcotics Secretariat
    (SEDRONAR), which has been at loggerheads with AF. SEDRONAR
    contacts told poloff that AF personally called off an ongoing
    drug investigation in Salta province near the Bolivian border
    when he got wind of the investigation.

    ¶14. (S/NF) We have no information to corroborate these
    allegations, and we are unaware of any formal legal complaint
    against him on narcotrafficking charges. However, there are
    two formal legal complaints pending against former
    subordinates -- including Federal Police officials -- for
    protecting or willfully ignoring various illegal brothels in
    the Monserrat neighborhood (within a five-block radius of
    Federal Police headquarters) in Buenos Aires City where the
    sale of drugs is suspected.

    Spying on the Opposition
    ------------------------

    ¶15. (S/NF) Intelligence reporting suggests that AF has not
    hesitated to resort to questionable means to keep tabs on
    political opponents. In mid-May 2007, AF, as Interior
    Minister, allegedly directed a private intelligence team
    composed of retired military and intelligence officers to
    clandestinely monitor the emails of provincial and federal
    government officials, business executives and journalists
    suspected of working against NK's administration (ref B). In
    September 2007, he reportedly used a private, unofficial
    investigative team to read the emails and collect derogatory
    information on then-gubernatorial candidates for Buenos Aires
    province, Francisco de Narvaez and Juan Carlos Blumberg, and
    Buenos Aires province Minister of Security Leon Arslanian
    (ref C). According to intelligence reporting in November
    2007, AF used two computer technicians to hack into
    high-level email accounts, including Chief Justice
    Lorenzetti's email (ref G). San Isidro judge Sandra
    Arroyo-Salgado (wife of Alberto Nisman, the Special
    Prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of the Argentine
    Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA)) is investigating AF's
    relationship with the two technicians, according to press
    reports. (Note: These technicians in the past have been
    associated with Argentina's State Secretariat for
    Intelligence (SIDE) and sought asylum in Uruguay.)

    ¶16. (S/NF) AF reportedly may have played a tangential role in
    illegally bolstering voter registration ahead of the June 28
    midterms, according to a June 2009 intelligence report. He
    supported efforts -- led by Interior Minister Florencio
    Randazzo and Secretary of Intelligence Hector Icazuriaga --
    to illegally procure national registry identification numbers
    (DNIs) to register ostensible supporters and secure
    additional votes in Buenos Aires and Cordoba provinces (ref
    L).

    Transparency
    ------------

    ¶17. (C) Although AF once bragged to the Embassy's former
    LEGAT that he has a "transparent and honest style," he did
    little as Justice Minister to fortify his agency's
    anti-corruption efforts or enhance governmental transparency.
    Admittedly, the MOJ's Anti-Corruption Office (ACO) was a
    weak unit to begin with, but it made no headway during AF's
    tenure. Contacts who work for the Cabinet Chief's government
    accountability and transparency unit have expressed concern
    that the GOA will become even less transparent under his
    watch. They note that since AF took over as chief of the
    internal security forces, criminal statistics are no longer
    public information. Indeed, despite public alarm over rising
    insecurity, AF refuses to acknowledge a rise in robberies and
    kidnappings and instead has argued that insecurity is only "a
    sensation fed by the media."

    Corruption
    ----------

    ¶18. (C) Like many Argentine politicians, AF has been dogged
    by rumors of corruption. In recent years, some Embassy
    contacts have alleged that AF has a corrupt relationship with
    the Japanese computer company, NEC. When AF was mayor of
    Quilmes (1991-1995), he was charged with several counts of
    corruption, becoming a fugitive for 48 hours. Although he
    was later acquitted, he has continued to face accusations of
    corruption from the opposition, and the allegations remain
    fresh in the minds of some Argentines. When CFK named him
    Minister of Justice, one judicial contact told us that many
    in the judicial system considered the appointment "ironic"
    and called AF the "fugitive from Quilmes."

    Bio Data
    --------

    ¶19. (SBU) AF began his political career in 1983, working
    first as an advisor to the budget committee of the Buenos
    Aires provincial Senate. From 1985 to 1987, he served as the
    administrative secretary for the Peronist party (PJ) in the
    Buenos Aires provincial Senate. He also simultaneously held
    positions in the municipal councils of Quilmes and Florencio
    Varela. In 1991, AF was elected mayor of Quilmes. In 1995,
    he won a provincial Senate seat where he presided over the
    Commission on Public Health and Control over Addictions. He
    was named provincial government secretary in 1997, labor
    secretary in 1999, and the province,s first labor minister
    in 2001. AF served in former President Eduardo Duhalde's
    cabinet as secretary general of the presidency in January
    2002, and then as production minister in October of the same
    year. He switched allegiance to NK in 2004 when the Peronist
    party split into two factions - one that supported NK and
    another that supported Duhalde. Since then, Duhalde
    supporters have called him a traitor and the "first Kirchner
    convert." In 2007, CFK tapped him to serve as her Justice
    Minister and on July 7 she named him Cabinet Chief.

    ¶20. (SBU) AF was born in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province on
    January 9, 1957. A public accountant, AF received his law
    degree while serving as Interior Minister. Although the
    Kirchners stifled AF's ambitions to run for Governor of BA
    province in 2007 when they tapped then Vice President Daniel
    Scioli for the job, AF's power and influence within the
    Kirchner Cabinet has steadily grown. He accompanied CFK to
    the United States in July when she went to the OAS to discuss
    the political crisis in Honduras. He also accompanied her in
    May 2007 when she addressed the American Jewish Committee as
    Senator and First Lady. During that visit, he met with the
    U.S. Attorney General, FBI officials, and State Department
    officers on TIP-related issues. AF lives in the trendy
    waterfront Puerto Madero neighborhood in Buenos Aires City
    with his wife and one son. A fan of technology, he carries
    multiple cell phones and his office has six television sets
    permanently tuned in to every local news channel. He speaks
    limited English.

    Comment: Handle with Care
    -------------------------

    ¶21. (S) For USG officials, Anibal Fernandez has long been the
    most readily accessible GOA cabinet member. That has
    continued since he became Cabinet Chief, assuming more
    importance than ever. Fernandez has far better access to the
    ruling first couple than any other member of the Cabinet;
    perhaps only reclusive Casa Rosada staffer Carlos Zannini has
    more influence with the Kirchners. Given AF's importance,
    accessibility, and the absence of hard evidence to
    substantiate the allegations described above, we continue to
    meet and work with him. At the same time, there are enough
    rumors about Fernandez -- even in this rumor-plagued,
    conspiratorial society -- to approach interactions with him
    with some caution.

    KELLY

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