ID:115995
    Date:2007-07-19 16:48:00
    Origin:07MADRID1428
    Source:Embassy Madrid
    Classification:CONFIDENTIAL
    Dunno:
    Destination:VZCZCXRO7423
PP RUEHLA
DE RUEHMD #1428 2001648
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 191648Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3045
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1228
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 2923
RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
    
C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 001428 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2017 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SP, VZ 
SUBJECT: SPANISH ATTORNEY GENERAL REVIEWS CT AND JUDICIAL 
COOPERATION WITH AMBASSADOR 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Eduardo Aguirre for reasons 1.4 b & d. 
 
1. (C) SUMMARY:  Spanish Attorney General Candido 
Conde-Pumpido told the Ambassador on July 18 that he sees 
positive signs that most or all of the twenty-nine people 
charged in the 2004 Madrid train bombings will be convicted. 
Conde-Pumpido said that US-Spain cooperation on 
counterterrorism and counternarcotics is excellent and 
productive, pointing out that Spain should soon have a legal 
attache in Washington to further strengthen ties.  He said 
that he would invite AG Gonzales to a conference of Latin 
American attorneys-general in Madrid at the end of October. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
-- GOOD SIGNS IN MADRID TRAIN BOMBINGS TRIAL -- 
 
2. (C) During a lunch meeting with the Ambassador, 
Conde-Pumpido said that, while the judges won't deliver their 
verdicts until mid-October, his analysis of the judges' 
actions points to conviction for most or all of the 
twenty-nine defendants in the Madrid train bombing case.  He 
said that, under the Spanish judicial system, once the trial 
arguments are completed, judges typically release on bail any 
defendants who they are likely to find not guilty. 
Conde-Pumpido said that it is a good sign in this case that 
the court has not released any defendants. 
 
-- STRONG JUDICIAL COOPERATION -- 
 
3. (C) Conde-Pumpido said that bilateral cooperation on 
counterterrorism, counternarcotics, and other judicial issues 
is excellent.  He expressed satisfaction that plans are 
moving ahead for the placement of a Spanish legal attache in 
Washington and noted that he had raised the issue with AG 
Gonzales when he visited Madrid last October.  Conde-Pumpido 
said that the Spanish legatt in Washington will be unusual 
for Spain but important, and should further improve 
communication on key issues.  He also said that he would host 
a meeting of all Latin American attorneys-general in Madrid 
at the end of October and would invite AG Gonzales. 
 
-- CURRENT SPANISH CASES INVOLVING THE US -- 
 
4. (C) The Ambassador raised US concerns about a number of 
ongoing Spanish legal cases.  He told Conde-Pumpido that the 
arrest of Monzer al-Kasser was an important step and that the 
US is working closely with the investigating judge on the 
extradition process.  Regarding the Couso case, in which a 
Spanish journalist was killed by a US tank shell during the 
invasion of Baghdad in April 2003, Conde-Pumpido said that he 
continues to do what he can to get the case dismissed, 
despite public pressure from the family, leftist group, and 
the press.  On the CIA flights issue, he said that the case 
is moving forward at its own pace, but is unlikely to provide 
any surprises.  The Ambassador also raised the Carrascosa 
child custody case and the Rosalini contract case, but 
Conde-Pumpido demurred, reminding the Ambassador that his job 
is different from that of the US Attorney General and that he 
does not have any authority over the issues raised in those 
cases. 
 
-- LATIN AMERICA -- 
 
5. (C) Conde-Pumpido had just returned from a trip to Latin 
America, where he had looked at rule of law programs.  He 
said that in several Latin American countries including 
Colombia, Spanish experts are working with the host 
governments to help build strong independent judiciaries. 
Conde-Pumpido also reported that Spanish Ambassador in 
Caracas Morodo had complained to him that the GOS seems to be 
taking a harder line against Hugo Chavez in an attempt to 
please the US.  The Ambassador replied that the GOS is more 
likely taking a harder line against Chavez out of concern 
about Chavez's increasingly worrisome actions. 
AGUIRRE