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### Viewing cable 09MEXICO2473, SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON ZETAS AND U.S.

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09MEXICO2473 | 2009-08-21 03:03 | 2011-01-23 21:09 | SECRET//NOFORN | Embassy Mexico

`

    VZCZCXRO7753
    RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
    DE RUEHME #2473/01 2330319
    ZNY SSSSS ZZH
    R 210319Z AUG 09
    FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7982
    INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
    RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
    RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
    RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
    RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
    RHMFISS/HQ USNORTHCOM
    RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
    RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
    RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC

` `

    S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 002473

    NOFORN
    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/21/2017
    TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KCRM PINR SNAR MX
    SUBJECT: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON ZETAS AND U.S.
    MILITARY TRAINING

    Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Charles Barclay for reasons
    1.4 (b) and (d)

    ¶1. (S/NOFORN) Summary: Since 1996, U.S. Embassy Mexico
    City has maintained an electronic database of all Mexican
    military trained with U.S. funds. These records show that the
    USG has trained nearly of 5,000 Mexican military personnel,
    including members of Mexico's Special Forces (GAFEs).
    Several prominent members of the Mexican cartel Los ZETAS,
    notorious for violent attacks, previously served in the
    Mexican military's special forces units. Rumors have long
    circulated suggesting that U.S.-trained members of the
    Mexican military have become ZETAS. The Embassy actively
    vets GOM security officials selected for participation in
    U.S.-funded training programs for involvement in human rights
    abuses or other criminal activities. The U.S. also sponsors
    training activities, exercises, and exchanges that promote
    human rights within the Mexican military. Separately, the
    Mexican Government has proposed legislation to increase the
    penalty for GOM military personnel implicated in organized
    crime activities. The Embassy conducted an extensive
    cross-check of our database of Mexican military officials who
    participated in U.S.-funded training programs against lists
    of known members of Los ZETAS. The comparison of databases
    did not produce any hits. However, intelligence from other
    sources yielded the name of one individual was reportedly
    trained by U.S. forces, retired from the Mexican Military,
    was forcibly recruited into Los ZETAS, and was later
    implicated in a plan to assassinate former Mexican Deputy
    Attorney General Jose Luis Vasconceles. End Summary.

    The Raw Data

    ¶2. (SBU) Since 1996, the Embassy's Office of Defense
    Coordination (ODC) has maintained an electronic database of
    all Mexican military personnel that receive U.S.-funded
    military training. The database categorizes the individuals
    by military organization -- SEDENA or SEMAR -- as well as by
    the type of training they receive. The numbers below show
    Mexican military members trained in the U.S. and Mexico. The
    training in Mexico by U.S. personnel involves subject matter
    exchanges, seminars, conferences, and mobile training teams.
    The training conducted in the U.S. normally is
    individual-level training, although some tactical-level
    training includes special forces training. According to
    ODC's database, since 1996 the U.S. has trained the following
    number of Mexican military personnel.

    1996 - 440
    1997 - 236
    1998 - 693
    1999 - 1271
    2000 - 282
    2002 - 225
    2003 - 207
    2004 - 162
    2005 - 185
    2006 - 184
    2008 - 177
    2009 - 517 (to be completed by end of FY 09)

    Total: 4952

    ¶3. (C) From 1996-1998, the U.S. provided unit-specific
    training to 422 GAFEs. After 1998, the U.S. military
    discontinued unit level training programs, including GAFE
    training, to concentrate on specialized individual military
    training. It is possible that the U.S. provided training to
    individual GAFEs who participated as members of regular
    units.

    Cross-checking and Validating

    ¶4. (C) The Embassy's DEA office maintains a database of all
    ZETAS who have been arrested, killed, or otherwise
    identified. The database relies on a variety of sources
    including the GOM, informants, and press accounts. Los ZETAS
    is a criminal organization that guards the identity of its
    members. We cannot know the names of every one of its

    MEXICO 00002473 002 OF 002

    members. Nevertheless, we have cross-checked the names of
    the nearly 5,000 Mexican military personnel that we have
    trained since 1996 against the list of known ZETA members
    that the DEA compiles and have not found a match. (Note:
    Prior to 1996, only hard copies of military orders exist. A
    review of these files suggests they are incomplete. Where
    paper files exist, we cross checked those names against the
    DEA's list and found no matches. End Note.)

    ¶5. (S/NOFORN) Separate sensitive collateral reporting
    indicates that Rogelio Lopez Villafana, a former Mexican
    infantry lieutenant who retired from the Mexican elite
    special forces, was forcibly recruited into Los ZETAS. Lopez
    was later arrested and implicated in a plan to assassinate
    the former Deputy Attorney General for Legal and
    International Affairs, Jose Luis Santiago Vasconceles, in
    January 2008. The same sensitive collateral reporting
    indicates that Lopez received counter-narcotics operations
    training at Fort Bragg, but the records do not include the
    specific date. In response to Embassy queries, Fort Bragg
    advised us that it could not recover any record on this
    individual. Fort Bragg noted that its electronic training
    records only date back to 1996. The Mexican Army (SEDENA)
    reported to the Embassy that Lopez retired in July 2007 after
    completing 20 years and 8 months of service in the Mexican
    Army. As a result, he could have trained in the U.S. prior
    to the inception of the ODC and Fort Bragg electronic
    databases.

    Vetting and Training Provide Additional Protections

    ¶6. (SBU) Since 1998, U.S. law requires Leahy human rights
    vetting for any individual participating in U.S.-sponsored
    training. Post and ODC administers a robust human rights
    vetting program and every Mexican participant in our military
    training program is subject to these legal requirements prior
    to the training event. By law, we deny training to any
    candidate implicated in a human rights abuse.

    Raising the Stakes For Soldiers Going Bad

    ¶7. (SBU) In April 2009, President Calderon proposed a piece
    of legislation that would mandate a 60-year prison sentence
    for any member of the military that deserts and subsequently
    engages in organized crime activity. Drafters of the
    legislation hope that this bill will discourage soldiers from
    using their military training for criminal purposes. All
    major political parties agree on the bill's content.
    Adoption of the bill would represent the first time the
    federal government directly mandates a change to the Mexican
    Military Code. This point may generate some debate when the
    Mexican Congress reconvenes in September and reviews the
    bill.

    ¶8. (S/NOFORN) Comment: Critics of U.S. military training
    and conspiracy theorists have long speculated that members of
    the notoriously violent cartel Los ZETAS once received
    U.S.-funded special forces training. Since we cannot know
    the name of every Mexican soldier who has joined Los ZETAS,
    we cannot irrefutably reject this possibility. However, the
    Embassy checked all available databases and obtained no
    adverse results. Additional records based on informant
    sources only yielded one case. Since 1998, the USG has
    vetted every candidate for U.S.-funded military training for
    human rights abuses. It is impossible to guarantee that
    every Mexican soldier who receives our training in the future
    will not defect to organized crime. We remain hopeful,
    however, that the passage of harsh legislation instituting a
    60-year sentence for soldiers who become involved in
    organized crime will be a useful deterrent. End Comment

    Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at
    http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American
    Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap /

    FEELEY

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