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### Viewing cable 07MADRID1914, SPAIN/CT: PROPOSAL TO CREATE A SOUTHERN EUROPEAN

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07MADRID1914 | 2007-10-02 15:03 | 2010-12-11 12:12 | SECRET//NOFORN | Embassy Madrid

`

    VZCZCXRO4559
    PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV
    DE RUEHMD #1914/01 2751547
    ZNY SSSSS ZZH
    P 021547Z OCT 07
    FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3551
    RUCNSE/US SECRET SERVICE WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEHNA/DEA HQS WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC PRIORITY
    RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 3961
    RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 6048
    RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0544
    RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 3096

` `

    S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 05 MADRID 001914

    SIPDIS

    NOFORN
    SIPDIS

    FROM AMBASSADOR AGUIRRE FOR
    STATE FOR EUR, EUR/WE, S/CT, CA/EX, DS/DSS, AND DS/OP/EUR
    XXXXXXXXXXXX

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2017
    TAGS: PTER SNAR SP
    SUBJECT: SPAIN/CT: PROPOSAL TO CREATE A SOUTHERN EUROPEAN
    LAW ENFORCEMENT, COUNTERTERRORISM, AND REGIONAL
    INTELLIGENCE HUB IN BARCELONA

    MADRID 00001914 001.2 OF 005

    Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Hugo Llorens for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (
    D)

    ¶1. (S/NF) SUMMARY. In order to confront the sustained
    terrorist threat to the United States and our European
    allies, we must find innovative, flexible and proactive
    approaches to strengthen the effectiveness of international
    cooperation in the fight against terrorism. My Mission
    inter-agency team has held extensive discussions of
    prevailing threat levels in Europe and Spain's role in the
    collective security scheme of Europe and the western
    Mediterranean and believes that the creation of a
    counterterrorism and law enforcement hub in Barcelona would
    significantly bolster US regional capabilities.
    Specifically, we propose that our Consulate General in
    Barcelona become the platform for a multi-agency,
    jointly-coordinated counterterrorism, anti-crime, and
    intelligence center to work with our Spanish hosts in
    combating the target-rich environment of terrorist and
    criminal activities centered in the region. END SUMMARY.

    ¶2. (S/NF) Spain is a past and current al-Qaeda target and a
    critical player in US-EU counterterrorism efforts, due to its
    close proximity to the Maghreb and the presence of over 1
    million Muslims. Mission Spain's Country Team strategy has
    been to develop a two-nation, multi-agency approach to
    confront the terrorist threat in all its aspects. We
    leverage the human and organizational resources, in addition
    to intelligence capabilities, of relevant US and Spanish law
    enforcement agencies as we increasingly recognize and combat
    the links between terrorist networks and criminals involved
    in the contraband of goods, drug trafficking, money
    laundering, human smuggling, and document falsification. Our
    approach is to maximize our resource allocation by ensuring
    that all Mission elements have a role to play in working with
    our Spanish hosts in the fight against terror and crime.

    ¶3. (U) Barcelona is the capital of the region Catalonia and a
    city of approximately 1.6 million people located on the
    Mediterranean Sea in northeastern Spain. Situated just below
    France's southern border, the inhabitants of Spain's second
    city have historically believed themselves to be different
    culturally from the rest of Spain; a crossroads of languages,
    cultures, and history. Barcelona has become one of Europe's
    premier cities (sealed during its successful hosting of the
    1992 Summer Olympic Games), but also a haven for illicit
    activities that threaten our interests.

    //BARCELONA: PROFILE OF THE RISING THREAT//

    ¶4. (C) Large Muslim Population Susceptible to Jihadist
    Recruitment: As a result of increased monitoring of radical
    Islamist activity since the March 11, 2004 train bombings in
    Madrid perpetrated by al-Qaeda affiliates in Spain and the
    Maghreb, Spanish and US authorities have identified Catalonia
    as a major Mediterranean center of radical Islamist activity.
    In February 2007, a suspected al-Qaeda operative was
    arrested near Barcelona and charged with recruiting new
    members for a terrorist cell based in North Africa. Three
    months later, authorities detained 11 more suspected Islamist
    extremist terrorists in and around Barcelona, including at
    least one purported imam. These individuals had false
    documents, large sums of cash, and multiple mobile phones,
    and Spanish police say their aim was to recruit terrorists
    for attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan. Spanish media reported
    in July 2007 that the Iraqi terrorist group Ansar al-Islam
    had established a recruiting cell in Catalonia to route
    would-be suicide bombers through a terrorist pipeline to Iraq.

    MADRID 00001914 002.2 OF 005

    ¶5. (C) Heavy immigration - both legal and illegal - from
    North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria) and Southeast
    Asia (Pakistan and Bangladesh) has made this region a magnet
    for terrorist recruiters. The Spanish National Police
    estimates that there may be upwards of 60,000 Pakistanis
    living in Barcelona and the surrounding area; the vast
    majority are male, unmarried or unaccompanied, and without
    legal documentation. There are even more such immigrants
    from North Africa. Once here, they share a similar fate:
    they live on the edges of Spanish society, they do not speak
    the language, they are often unemployed, and they have very
    few places to practice their religion with dignity.
    Individually, these circumstances would provide fertile
    ground for terrorist recruitment; taken together, the threat
    is clear. In light of recent suspected activity, there is
    little doubt that the autonomous region of Catalonia has
    become a prime base of operations for terrorist activity.
    Spanish authorities tell us they fear the threat from these
    atomized immigrant communities prone to radicalism, but they
    have very little intelligence on or ability to penetrate
    these groups.

    ¶6. (C) Drug Traffickers, Money Launders Gravitate to the
    Region: Drug use is on the rise all across Spain, but
    particularly in Catalonia. Spain remains the principal entry
    and transshipment zone for the large quantities of South
    American cocaine, Moroccan cannabis, and Afghan heroin
    destined for Spanish and European Union consumer markets.
    Spain is also a major source and transit location for drug
    proceeds returning to South and Central America. A recent
    report by the US Department of the Treasury notes that Spain
    is the European base where drug traffickers start the process
    of cleansing their cash proceeds. US and Spanish officials
    consider Barcelona to be a key operational base for
    distribution and financing for Colombia's cocaine cartels.
    These drug traffickers view the region as a hospitable
    environment and increasingly ply their trade in and around
    Barcelona. Spanish authorities are having trouble following
    the flow of illegal drugs and laundered money through this
    region, but believe that cartels have established
    interconnected groups of front companies and continuously
    changing bank accounts to pass of drug money as legitimate
    earnings. ICE Madrid has conducted several recent
    investigations involving money launderers who are conducting
    business for the purpose of laundering illicit proceeds in
    Catalonia. These individuals represent various ethnic groups
    and nationalities, reinforcing the region's magnetic effect
    on nefarious activity.

    ¶7. (C) Trafficking in Persons and Illegal Smuggling: Spain
    remains both a transit and destination country for
    internationally trafficked persons, primarily women
    trafficked for prostitution, and we are seeing increasing
    incidences of trafficking based in Catalonia. The Department
    of Homeland Security reported that the Barcelona airport has
    seen an increase in the number of trafficking victims passing
    through in recent months. Spanish authorities tell us that
    Chinese, Romanian, and Kosovar-Albanian mafias have settled
    in Catalonia and spread down the Mediterranean coast in
    recent years, and continue to gain strength. These groups
    use their military training and criminal expertise to run
    prostitution rings, and Spanish authorities do not have a
    complete grasp of the entire spectrum of the mafias'
    activities. ICE Madrid has worked closely with the Spanish
    National Police to disrupt a child pornography ring run by a
    Russian criminal organization based in Catalonia.

    ¶8. (S/NF) Organized Crime and Counterfeiting: The Spanish
    government is at the forefront of European and global efforts

    MADRID 00001914 003.2 OF 005

    to combat organized crime. Major crime groups made up of
    Russians, Ukrainians, and Lithuanians have set up shop along
    Spain's eastern coast; including Barcelona, Tarragona, and
    Valencia. Most Chinese organized crime is located in
    Barcelona, and to a lesser extent Valencia. Spanish
    authorities have had a string of operational successes
    against some of these groups, but remain challenged to cope
    with the magnitude of the problem, and key organized crime
    figures and groups continue to operate in Spain. Counterfeit
    euro and US dollar bills are increasingly manufactured in and
    passed through Spain. Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and
    nearby Andorra are prime areas for this illicit movement.
    More than 25% of the EU's 500-euro notes are found along
    Spain's eastern coast, where they are presumably used in
    large-scale drug and money transactions. In addition, our
    Mission agencies have to focus more on credit card fraud
    perpetrated by a web of diversified criminal organizations,
    often comprised of immigrant communities in Catalonia.

    ¶9. (C) Port Security: The Container Security Initiative
    (CSI) team is at full strength and working with Port of
    Barcelona officials to screen US-bound shipments before they
    leave port. The port is one of Europe's busiest,
    facilitating shipping throughout the Mediterranean. In June
    2007, CSI Algeciras seized a large shipment of weapons (many
    of them stolen and with their serial numbers scratched off),
    reportedly destined for Nicaragua by way of Puerto Rico.
    Spanish authorities recently have seized many cocaine-laden
    containers in the Port of Barcelona. Our CSI colleagues
    believe the seaports along Spain's eastern Mediterranean
    coastline will see an increase in the amount of cargo passing
    through, and US and Spanish authorities will be further
    challenged to detect illegal contraband.

    //LEVERAGING SUBSTANTIAL SPANISH ASSETS//

    ¶10. (S/NF) The presence of a highly professional inter-agency
    team working out of our Consulate General in Barcelona would
    help leverage the substantial resources and expertise of
    Spanish and regional authorities in a more focused campaign,
    and serve as a force multiplier for our joint fight. The hub
    concept can also serve as a potential model of how we can
    work with our European allies in common purpose on law
    enforcement, security, and intelligence initiatives away from
    the more bureaucratic and politicized world of capital
    cities. Certainly, the Spanish government has been focused
    on terrorism for almost 40 years due to its struggles against
    the Basque terrorist group ETA. Since March 11, 2004, Spain
    has also actively worked to counter the threat from Islamic
    extremism. The Spanish political class is gradually waking
    up to the amorphous threat represented by the nexus of
    terrorism, crime, and drug trafficking, and would likely look
    favorably on our proposal. On a regional and local level,
    Catalan security forces have substantial capabilities and
    would welcome the opportunity to increase the depth and
    breadth of CT and law enforcement cooperation with the US.
    However, we would have to carefully broach this hub concept
    with the central Spanish government, who may be wary of
    ceding more authority and responsibility to Catalonia. CG
    Barcelona has maintained excellent contacts with the Spanish
    National Police, Civil Guard, Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan
    security force) and Barcelona Police, but these contacts
    could and should be put to better use by the on-the-ground
    presence of the agencies with greater experience that could
    dedicate more focused day-to-day interaction with the key
    players in the region. Embassy Madrid has established
    extensive bilateral contact with the Spanish government on
    issues of counterterrorism and law enforcement, but the USG
    now needs a regional approach that extends our focus and

    MADRID 00001914 004.2 OF 005

    reach into the entire western Mediterranean.

    //OUR PROPOSAL//

    ¶11. (S/NF) Under the direction of the Deputy Chief of
    Mission and co-coordinated with the CG Barcelona, we reached
    out to the relevant agencies and sections in Mission Spain
    and came to agreement on the minimal structure and level of
    resources needed to get the hub up and running and provide
    the basis of an effective multi-agency and
    jointly-coordinated center. As this concept moves forward,
    we will fine tune staffing as required. We also will analyze
    ways to pool ICASS resources between the USG agencies
    represented to minimize the number of support staff needed.
    The Principal Officer in Barcelona would lead the center and
    would report to the Ambassador through the DCM. Each
    Assistant Attache would also report to their respective
    agency and section heads in Madrid, who would maintain
    traditional contact with their home agency headquarters in
    Washington.

    LEGAT - Assistant Legal Attache and one OMS support staff.
    The ALAT would focus liaison efforts with the Mossos
    d'Esquadra, who have the most significant law enforcement
    presence in the region. This ALAT would enhance the
    effectiveness of the Madrid LEGAT office, coordinating
    operations in the Catalonia region. The FBI's regional
    responsibilities would include counterterrorism, cyber-based
    attacks and high technology crimes, transnational organized
    crime as well as law enforcement training.

    ICE/CBP/CSI - Assistant ICE/CBP Attache, who would serve as
    the senior DHS representative in the consular district and
    would supervise CSI operations in Barcelona and Valencia. In
    addition, the representative would work with TSA to monitor
    flights departing Barcelona for the US.

    GRPO - One senior officer to work directly with Spanish
    counterparts in Barcelona and the surrounding area, and
    possibly one additional officer in a support capacity.

    DEA - A Regional Agent in Charge (RAC) plus one special agent
    to provide expertise and assistance to foreign agencies on
    narcotics and dangerous drug enforcement and control
    programs. The RAC would also participate in investigations
    of international illicit drug trafficking and would develop
    and report on tactical and strategic intelligence.

    USSS - Assistant Attache to work counterfeit US currency,
    credit card fraud, cyber crimes and traditional protective
    duties. Additionally, the Attache would assist other law
    enforcement agencies by coordinating financial crimes
    intelligence information available to them through our
    relationships with local and regional financial institutions.

    ICASS/Management/PAO - One associate management officer, one
    communications officer, and one LES support. The Public
    Affairs Officer in Barcelona would deal primarily with
    hub-related activities and strengthen our engagement with
    local Muslim communities to help counter the extremist
    messages reaching susceptible audiences.

    RSO - One RSO, one OMS, and one LES investigator to work as
    senior security staff for the consulate, represent the lead
    agency on visa and passport fraud, and assist the American
    Citizen Services unit with US victims of crime. The RSO
    would also direct residential security, law enforcement
    liaison, and local guard programs in Barcelona and monitor

    MADRID 00001914 005.2 OF 005

    the proper storage of classified information. The LES
    investigator would maintain liaison with all local and
    regional forces on matters related to Mission security.

    //WHY THE CONSULATE?//

    ¶12. (S/NF) The threat in Catalonia is clear. Barcelona has
    become a crossroads of worrisome activities, a natural
    meeting place and transit point of people and goods moving to
    and through the region from all countries bordering the
    western Mediterranean. The US needs an on-site ability to
    quickly see who and what is passing through the area from
    places such as Algiers, Tunis, Rabat, and the south of
    France. The Consulate General in Barcelona would be the
    ideal platform for the hub because it has the space
    available, secure communications and a prime location.

    ¶13. (S/NF) COMMENT: The hub concept is a field-driven
    strategic proposal to counter, disrupt, and eliminate
    terrorist and organized crime networks that cross national
    borders by breaking down regional stovepipes within USG
    departments and agencies. This center would also build host
    nation cooperation and capacity to address transnational
    threats, focusing on the entire western Mediterranean region.
    Catalonia has become a key theater of operation for those
    who would threaten our interests and national security, and
    the complex and evolving threat requires flexible interaction
    among the entire Country Team; a challenge that the hub would
    meet head-on. END COMMENT.
    LLORENS

`