ID:217648
Date:2009-07-22 12:37:00
Origin:09MADRID742
Source:Embassy Madrid
Classification:SECRET//NOFORN

Dunno:09MADRID351 09MADRID551 09MADRID604 09MADRID614 09TUNIS415
Destination:VZCZCXRO3425
PP RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHFL RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH
RUEHNP RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHTRO
DE RUEHMD #0742/01 2031237
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 221237Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID

TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1002
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 0371
RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA PRIORITY 0032
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 4066
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0906
RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC PRIORITY

RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 MADRID 000742 

NOFORN 
SIPDIS 

FOR EUR/WE, NEA, S/GC, INR 

PASS TO NSC FOR RASMUSSEN, BRADLEY 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/21/2024 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PHUM, MOPS, KAWK, KISL, KPAO, SP 
SUBJECT: SPAIN ANALYZES GTMO FILES TO FIND "BEST FIT" FOR 
RESETTLEMENT 

REF: A. MADRID 614 
B. TUNIS 415 
C. MADRID 604 

D. MADRID 551 
E. MADRID 351 

MADRID 00000742  001.2 OF 002 


Classified By: CDA Arnold A. Chacon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 

1. (S//NF) SUMMARY.  Following a July 2 meeting in 
Washington, the Spanish MFA asked to "reserve" four 
Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) detainees, pending the completion of 

due diligence on their files by the Spanish security 
services.  Post subsequently has informed its MFA contacts on 
several occasions that S/GC agreed to hold the four "for a 
while" but would not reserve them indefinitely.  Post has 
emphasized that this indeterminate period may be only a short 
period of time and has stressed that the stated USG priority 
is to relocate GTMO detainees to countries that commit to 
accepting them, notwithstanding expressions of interest from 
other friends and allies.  The MFA on July 17 upgraded its 

commitment for one of the four "reserved" detainees, but - in 
the face of a firm commitment by a third-country - waived its 
right to first refusal on another one.  Spain continues to 
reiterate its decision to work with the USG in resettling a 
number of GTMO detainees and Post is working with the MFA to 
find the "best fit" for the GOS's criteria.  As reported in 
Ref A, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba publicly 
stated on June 23 during his recent visit to Washington that 
Spain may accept up to five GTMO detainees.  END SUMMARY. 


//Spain "Reserves" Four Detainee Files...// 

2.  (S//NF) On July 7, Luis Felipe Fernandez de la Pena, MFA 
DG for North America and non-EU Europe, phoned Special Envoy 
Dan Fried of the Office of the Special Envoy for the Closure 
of the Guantanamo Detention facility (S/GC).  The Spaniard 
requested - and was granted - that Madrid be allowed to 
"reserve" a Syrian (SY-489), two Palestinians (SA-049 and 
WE-684), and a Yemeni (YM-252).  A series of follow-up phone 

calls took place between on July 16, 17, and 20, in which the 
two diplomats confirmed each party's interpretation of what 
had been agreed in the original July 7 phone call.  They also 
discussed third-country interest in some of the four cases, 
based on information sharing and discussions with 
third-countries prior to Madrid's request to "reserve" them 
for Spain.  The USG has agreed to give Madrid a right of 
first refusal if - while Spain's due diligence is still 
underway - another country is ready to commit to accepting 

any of them.  Faced with the prospect of a firm commitment by 
a third-country to accept YM-252, Fernandez de la Pena in the 
July 17 phone call upgraded the GOS claim from "reserved" to 
"blocked," thus preventing another government from accepting 
that detainee.  The GOS on June 30 had submitted a non-paper 
with a series of additional questions for the USG on YM-252, 
the answers of which were provided to the MFA on July 16.  Of 
the original four detainees that Madrid spoke up for, two 
Palestinians also remain "reserved" for Spain and are not 

currently under consideration by other foreign governments. 

//... But Lets One Slip Through Its Fingers// 

3. (S//NF) However, Spain was not ready to commit to a second 
detainee (SY-489) whom the same third-country had offered to 
accept.  When given the chance on July 17 to exercise its 
right of first refusal on SY-489, Spain did not do so.  As of 
July 20, S/GC is in discussions with a third-country 
regarding this Syrian detainee. 


//Readout and Follow-up on July 2 Meeting in Washington// 

4. (S//NF) On July 2 Amb. Fernandez de la Pena and Arturo 
Avello, the Ministry of Interior's DG for International 
Relations, held meetings in Washington with S/E Fried and 
S/GC Deputy Director Tony Ricci.  The Spaniards appeared 
eager to express that they want to be helpful, though their 
mission now is to find the "best fit" detainees for Spain. 


MADRID 00000742  002.2 OF 002 


They are intent on balancing the security implications with 
the diplomatic implications, so ideally they would want 
detainees that are a lower threat, but would result in little 
friction with foreign governments (they raised Yemen, 
Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan as examples).  The Spaniards were 
told that the USG can look into whether detainees from these 
countries are possibilities for Spain and that, given the 

balance the GOS is trying to achieve, Palestinians may be a 
good option. 

5. (S//NF) POLOFF on July 10 followed up to the July 2 
meetings in Washington by providing to Fernando Prieto, MFA 
DG for North America, the case file for another Syrian 
detainee (SY-317) for GOS consideration.  POLOFF also asked 
if - in light of Spain's request to reserve the four 
detainees - the GOS were interested in reviewing any 

additional files.  POLOFF explained that we had one more file 
- that of an Uzbeki, (UZ-675) - that might interest the GOS. 
Prieto contacted POLOFF on July 13 and said that the GOS had 
agreed to receive the UZ-675 file, which POLOFF then passed 
to the MFA that same day.  In response to a question by 
POLOFF, Prieto also confirmed July 7 Spanish press reports 
that detainees from "neighboring countries," - ie., Tunisia, 
Algeria or Morocco - would not be suitable for Spain.  In our 
next meeting on July 13, however, Prieto changed his story 

somewhat, saying that he had spoken with Fernandez de la Pena 
and the latter wanted to make sure that Washington understood 
that case-by-case security considerations related to the four 
Tunisian detainees originally proposed by S/GC on June 17 had 
been the deciding factor in the GOS's decision, while their 
nationality had been a "complementary" or secondary factor. 
COMMENT:  Despite the MFA's claims that case-by-case security 
concerns were the priority factor, Post does not believe that 
the GOS is seriously considering files on detainees from 

"neighboring countries."  This claim, however, allows the GOS 
to portray itself as not having been influenced by pressure 
from those detainees' home governments.  (See Ref B). 

//The Tally on GTMO Detainee Files Passed to Spain Thus Far// 

6. (S//NF) To date, the GOS has received 15 GTMO detainee 
case files.  S/E Fried hand-delivered the files of four 
Tunisians (TS-046, TS-502, TS-892, TS-894) during a visit to 
the MFA on June 17; the file on the first Yemeni (YM-252) was 

hand-delivered to the MFA by POLOFF the next day.  During the 
July 2 meeting in Washington, the GOS delegation received an 
additional seven files:  two Palestinians (SA-049, WE-684), 
two Libyans (LY-654 and LY-709), and three Syrians (SY-307, 
SY-312, and SY-489).  POLOFF delivered to the MFA the file on 
an additional Syrian (SY-317) on July 10, and the Uzbeki file 
(UZ-675) on July 13.  On July 20, POLOFF provided a file on a 
second Yemeni (YM-692) who may be eligible for transfer to 
Spain.  S/GC has informed Post that more Yemeni files may be 

provided to Spain for review. 

7. (U) Special Envoy Fried has cleared this cable. 
CHACON