Sunday, April 13, 2003
(04-13) 09:55 <a href=www.sfgate.com>SFGate.com-PDT MANAGUA,
Nicaragua (AP) --

Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos ordered his Interior Ministry Sunday to investigate how a U.S. company obtained government files on Nicaraguan citizens, information that was later passed on to the U.S. immigration service and other agencies.

The Associated Press reported on Friday that Atlanta, Georgia-based ChoicePoint Inc. said it bought official registry files from subcontractors in Nicaragua, as well as Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. The company has refused to name the sellers or say where those parties obtained the data.

"In the United States these are very serious offenses," Bolanos said of the apparent unauthorized disclosure of private information such as drivers' license registries, "and if there are severe penalties there, there could also be the same here, if we find someone committing this crime."

Bolanos told reporters "the Interior Ministry is investigating this to see if it is true, to see if a crime is being committed, and if so, to stop it."

Interior Minister Eduardo Urcuyo said he knew little as yet about the scheme. "The truth is that I don't know if this is an established business, or if these people are registered in this country to sell information about personal credit history, drivers' licenses or tax rolls."

The story also made headline news in Mexico, where Choicepoint reportedly got hold of voter registration lists.

Victor Aviles, the spokesman for Mexico's officials Federal Electoral Institute, said such data sales were against the law, especially if they came from someone within the institute. "If someone sold it, he is committing a crime," Aviles said.

Over the past 18 months, the U.S. government has bought access to data on hundreds of millions of residents of 10 Latin American countries -- apparently without their consent or knowledge -- allowing myriad federal agencies to track foreigners entering and living in the United States.

ChoicePoint collects the information abroad and sells it to U.S. government officials in three dozen agencies, including federal immigration investigators who've used it to arrest illegal immigrants.

While laws vary from country to country, privacy experts in Latin America question whether the sales of national citizen registries have been legal. They say government data are often sold clandestinely by individual government employees.

Most of the files appear to originate in agencies that register voters or issue national IDs and drivers licenses. The company's contracts require data sellers to declare they obtained the information legally.

By Jim Krane ASSOCIATED PRESS 12:44 p.m., April 13, 2003

Over the past 18 months, the U.S. government has bought access to data on hundreds of millions of residents of 10 Latin American countries – apparently without their consent or knowledge – allowing myriad federal agencies to track foreigners entering and living in the United States.

A suburban Atlanta company, ChoicePoint Inc., collects the information abroad and sells it to U.S. government officials in three dozen agencies, including immigration investigators who've used it to arrest illegal immigrants.

The practice broadens a trend that has an information-hungry U.S. government increasingly buying personal data on Americans and foreigners alike from commercial vendors including ChoicePoint and LexisNexis.

U.S. officials consider the foreign data a thread in a security blanket that lets law enforcers and the travel industry peer into the backgrounds of people flowing into the United States. The information can also be used with other data-mining tools to identify potential terrorists, or simply unmask fake identity documents, company and government officials say.

"Our whole purpose in life is to sell data to make the world a safer place," said ChoicePoint's chief marketing officer, James Lee. "There is physical danger in not knowing who someone is. What risks do people coming into our country represent? You may accept that risk, but you want to know about it."

Privacy experts in Latin America question whether the sales of national citizen registries have been legal. They say government data are often sold clandestinely by individual government employees.

ChoicePoint appears to be the largest – perhaps the only – vendor of foreigners' personal details, selling entire national identity databases from Latin America since 2001.

The data encompass the personal details of people living in countries from Mexico to Argentina, people who probably never imagined officials in Washington could, with a few keystrokes, read identity files meant for functionaries in Mexico City, San Salvador or Bogota.

"It's the globalization of a very unfortunate American consumer problem," said Robert Ellis Smith, a lawyer who monitors credit agencies as publisher of Privacy Journal.

Smith says Latin governments ought to protect their citizens by passing privacy laws similar to European statutes that prohibit wholesale purchases of personal information.

In Mexico, where there is already keen mistrust of the U.S. government, most citizens would be outraged to learn their addresses, passport numbers and even unlisted phone numbers are being sold to Washington, says Julio Tellez Valdes, a law professor and data protection expert at the Monterrey Technical Institute.

"We let the Mexican government control our situation, but not the U.S. government," Tellez said. "We don't live in America."

ChoicePoint says it buys the files from subcontractors in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. But it refuses to name the sellers or say where those parties obtained the data.

From Brazil, Choicepoint sells telephone numbers and details on business leaders. The company recently stopped updating its citizen registry from Argentina, because of a lack of demand and restrictions of a new privacy law, said Lee, the marketing director.

The files appear to originate in agencies that register voters or issue national IDs and drivers licenses. ChoicePoint provided partial copies of contracts, which required contractors to certify they've bought the information legally.

If ChoicePoint can sell foreigners' details to Washington, it is also in the position to sell data on U.S. citizens to foreign governments. It won't, for policy reasons.

"We don't think it's the right thing to do, so we're not doing it," Lee said.

In Mexico, ChoicePoint says it buys driving records of 6 million Mexico City residents and the country's entire voter registry and provides them to the U.S. government.

If the voter records originated with Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute, the sales are illegal, said Victor Aviles, the institute's spokesman.

"If someone sold it, he is committing a crime," Aviles said.

Tellez said low-level government workers routinely sell electronic data to marketers and pocket the profits.

A proposed privacy law under debate could hand prison terms to those who sell information on Mexicans without their permission. The bill, which also criminalizes sending Mexican data to the United States, is being opposed by the U.S. Direct Marketing Association and marketing companies like Reader's Digest and American Express.

Tellez predicted that lobbying pressure would weaken the bill.

In Colombia, ChoicePoint buys the entire country's citizen ID database, including each resident's date and place of birth, passport and national ID number, parentage and physical description.

"I don't believe 31 million Colombians authorized that," said Nelson Remolina, a Colombian lawyer and privacy expert, referring to the number of records ChoicePoint obtained. The Colombian government is only supposed to divulge records requested by name, or when permission is granted by the subject, he said.

ChoicePoint isn't just interested in Latin Americans. But Lee said the company's attempts to collect personal data elsewhere haven't fared well.

The company is prohibited from buying data troves in Europe and other regions with strict privacy laws, or where governments refuse to sell citizen data. ChoicePoint also operated in Hong Kong, South Korea and other East Asian countries until demand dried up a few years ago, he said.

Another obstacle is primitive record-keeping by governments, like those in the Middle East that still use paper, or where records are kept in non-Roman script like Arabic or Japanese, Lee said.

At U.S. agencies with access to ChoicePoint's Latin American data, officials often said they didn't know how it was used. The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, for example, declined to respond to repeated Associated Press requests for information on the Border Patrol's use of the data.

The Justice Department's $67 million four-year contract with ChoicePoint's is the largest among federal agencies. But most of that is spent by agencies looking up U.S. records – like credit and crime histories – not data from foreign governments.

Last year, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, now part of the Department of Homeland Security, paid $1 million for unlimited access to ChoicePoint's foreign databases, according to a contract provided by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

An agency official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the files were used by its investigators and Quick Response Teams to round up undocumented immigrants in non-border areas of the United States.

Although officials at the agency – now reorganized into the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement – won't say what effect the ChoicePoint data had on those investigations, figures show officers arrested 80,000 immigrants in that period.

"It's a force multiplier," the official said of the data.

Broad government contracts for ChoicePoint's Latin American data would also make the information available to federal drug agents working in Colombia, Mexico and elsewhere, along with U.S. personnel in overseas embassies and consulates.

U.S. intelligence agencies also have access, under ChoicePoint deals with the departments of Justice, Treasury, State and Energy.

Increased use of the foreign data, coupled with new rules giving immigration inspectors wide leeway to decide whether or not to allow a traveler to enter the country, could mean more Latin Americans will be blocked from the United States.

Immigrant advocates say this could eventually hurt economies dependent on money sent home by Latins working in the United States.

"These will be people who have visas to come here, but based on some information that's in the possession of the U.S. government, they're simply turned back without a hearing," said Joan Friedland, an attorney with the National Immigration Law Center in Washington D.C.

"It's the worst of all possible worlds. It weeds out the people who should be allowed to come here and doesn't do anything to weed out those who shouldn't."

AP investigative researcher Randy Herschaft and AP correspondents Traci Carl in Mexico City and Vanessa Arrington in Bogota contributed to this report

On the Net: www.choicepoint.com www.epic.org www.privacyjournal.net

Reuters, 04.04.03, 12:12 PM ET   By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Organization of American States will hold an extraordinary summit in the second half of this year to discuss spreading economic and political chaos in South America, Canadian officials said Friday. Canada has long pressed for the summit but the idea initially ran into resistance from Brazil, which was reluctant to let Ottawa take the initiative on problems mainly affecting South America. Canadian foreign ministry spokesman Patrick Riel said a meeting Wednesday in Washington of officials from the 34-nation OAS had cleared the way for the summit. "A unanimous consensus was reached on holding a special summit in the second half of 2003," he told Reuters, saying no date or venue had yet been determined. Officials said in February that Mexico had volunteered to act as host. The OAS is due to hold its next Summit of the Americas in Argentina in early 2005, but officials say Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien feels it needs to take stock of "the convulsions" that have rocked some member states. OAS leaders held their last summit, which adopted an action plan to strengthen democratic institutions, in Quebec City in April 2001 "We are very happy that consensus was reached. It will help us keep what we had done in Quebec City on track," Riel said. OAS officials are due to meet early in June to iron out details of the summit, which Riel said would help address "the current challenges" facing much of the hemisphere. Argentina is suffering from its worst economic contraction in a century, one that has also spilled over into Uruguay. Venezuela is trying to recover from a two-month violent standoff between friends and foes of President Hugo Chavez that crippled oil exports. And deadly riots swept Bolivia in February while Colombia is in the grip of a decades-long civil war. Canada said another reason to hold an interim summit was the fact that since Quebec City about a dozen OAS members had elected new leaders. There are also tensions inside the grouping over the U.S.-led war on Iraq, which Canada and Mexico did not back. Mexico is unhappy with Washington's lack of interest in a deal to legalize the status of millions of undocumented Mexicans in the United States.

Friday,  April 4,  2003 <a href=www.lapress.org>LATIN AMERICA Andrés Gaudin.  Apr 3, 2003

US increases military exercises in region in war against terrorism. Under the pretext of combating terrorism, the United States plans to escalate its military build-up in Latin America. Until at least June of this year, US soldiers and military instructors are to be sent to countries across the region with the objective of carrying out bilateral or multilateral air, river and land exercises. With long-term operations already being conducted in several countries, analysts have stated that this new military build-up could lead the way to the militarization of Latin America. Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, President George Bush has asserted that Latin America could become the next operative base of Islamic groups such as Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas. In the first half of this year, new operations are to be implemented in Paraguay, the Dominican Republic and Argentina, where Exercise Eagle III will involve air forces from the US and six other Southern Cone countries. There is already a strong US military presence in the Andean region, the Amazon Basin and Central America, and plans are being developed to set up a customs and migration control program that would be supervised by the US. “One could say that Latin America is on its way to becoming a militarized region dedicated to the warmongering strategies of the White House,” said Dominican congressman Pelegrín Castillo. Operation New Horizons, which began last January and was due to run until May 31, aimed to bring some 400 US troops to the Dominican Republic every month. On March 17, however, Maj Gen. Carlos Diaz Morfa, head of the Dominican Army announced the suspension of any further joint military exercises due to the impending war in Iraq. Nonetheless, it is estimated that over one hundred US soldiers remain on Dominican soil, carrying out social programs such as the building of schools and rural clinics. A further phase of Operation New Horizons is scheduled in Paraguay between April and June. Southern Command Special Operation forces will be sent to train Paraguayan forces in anti-terrorism strategies. However, the most significant military exercises are planned for next June in Argentina, involving forces from the US, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. “Eagle III will have the added attraction of including the participation of the US Air Force, which will provide F-16s and a team of instructors highly experienced in real conflict situations,” said Commodore Jorge Reta, head of information for the Argentine Air Force. The Argentine minister of defense, Eduardo Jaunarena, has said that the US will bankroll a large part of Eagle III expenses. He admitted, however, that Congress has yet to formally authorize the entry of foreign troops into the country. Last December, the foreign ministries of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay agreed to a US proposal to carry out the joint patrolling of the Iguazú and Paraná rivers. It is still unknown when this operation will begin but the Pentagon has said that it will provide personnel, speedboats and radar equipment. Both rivers run across the so-called Triple Frontier, the shared border area of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The population of the zone is estimated at 200,000 people, including 30,000 of Arab descent (LP, Nov. 5, 2001). From the mid-90s, both the CIA and the FBI have considered the zone a haven for active and “sleeper” cells of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas. However, the Argentine vice-chancellor, Martin Redrado, retorted late last year that “no terrorist activities, whether current or in their formative stages, have been detected. The same applies to the existence of sleeper cells.” The US also intends to increase its presence in Latin America by creating a naval cordon to shield the Atlantic and Pacific coasts “from the entry of terrorist groups.” The idea was presented by the US defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, at the Summit of Ministers of Defense of the Americas in Chile last December. According to Jaunarena, the plan — outlined in the document “New Threats to Regional Security” — will be debated in a future meeting of ministers of defense. A US global customs system has also been formulated via a resolution passed by the Treasury Oct. 31, 2002. “The resolution decrees that US Customs will have their own personnel at our ports,” said lawyer Arturo Ravina. “This cannot be justified as a part of the fight against terrorism. Moreover, it is the first step towards establishing a control over our countries’ immigration,” he said. The US has already cited the war on terrorism as justification for stationing forces and intelligence personnel at bases in Ecuador, Cuba, Venezuela, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Uruguay and the Triple Frontier countries. In May, US marines will cease their long-term military maneuvers on Vieques Island in Puerto Rico. Ever since marine jets accidentally killed a civilian in 1999, hundreds of protestors have regularly disrupted exercises at the bombing range (LP, March 6, 2000 and Sept. 10, 2001). Meanwhile, the US has stepped up its military involvement in the conflict in Colombia, which many critics say will only serve to escalate the situation (LP, March 12, 2002). In 2000, US$1.3 billion of military aid was granted under Plan Colombia. (LP, April 10, 2000). The Pentagon has described the plan as being of an intermediate operational level, turning it over to two private armies, Military Professional Resources Incorporated and DynCorp. Argentine analyst Gabriel Tokatlian has warned of “the dangerous possibility of privatizing armed conflicts. The commercialization of the region’s security matters could be the threshold of a new form of internationalized private war,” he said.

<a href=usinfo.state.gov>News from the Washington File 02 April 2003 (Acting Assistant Secretary at Senate Foreign Affairs Committee) (4910)

Although the Bush administration is currently engaged with events occurring elsewhere in the world, "this does not mean we are neglecting" the issues closer to home in the Americas, says Curtis Struble, the State Department's acting assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere.

During April 2 congressional testimony in which he offered an overview of U.S. policies in Latin America and the Caribbean, Struble said the United States is deeply engaged in negotiating a hemisphere-wide free trade area, making significant contributions toward increasing regional security, and sustaining work to improve governance in the Americas.

Struble said the administration is using public diplomacy to broaden "public outreach" in Cuba, explain U.S. objectives in Colombia, conduct media campaigns in Haiti to deter immigration, and build support throughout the hemisphere for free elections.

The United States, he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is working toward a "public diplomacy strategy of broad, continuous engagement with all levels and age groups" of societies in the Americas. While the administration has increased efforts to engage those who shape public opinion, Struble said, "we also need to reach out to the average voter and the successor generation in ways that will deepen the understanding Latin Americans have of the United States on a personal level."

This means, Struble said, "more vigorous information outreach programs, creating opportunities for person-to-person interaction, and actively listening to what our neighbors are saying."

Struble said the hemisphere is at a "critical juncture" in its economic and political development. The weaker and more vulnerable economies of the region have been badly hurt by the combination of a U.S. economic slowdown, a more risk-averse attitude among international investors, and the effect on tourism and hemispheric trade resulting from the September 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, he said.

But at the same time, Struble added, "there are encouraging signs that the framework for success has been built throughout the region." As examples, he cited economic development in Mexico from the North American Free Trade Agreement, Chile's strong economic performance, and the predominance of democracy in the hemisphere, "which has brought freedom to every nation" in the region except Cuba.

Detailing U.S. help to several trouble spots in the region, Struble said Washington has provided Colombia with almost $2 billion since July 2000 to combat the intertwined problems of drug trafficking and terrorism. These resources, he said, have strengthened Colombia's democratic institutions, protected human rights, fostered socio-economic development, and mitigated the effect of violence on civilians. In addition, Struble praised the U.S. Congress for passing the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act, which he said created new jobs and new hope for Colombia's people.

On Cuba, Struble said President Bush has made clear that a rapid, peaceful transition to democracy characterized by strong respect for human rights and open markets in that country remains one of Washington's most critical foreign policy priorities. Struble regretted, however, that U.S. efforts to encourage democratic reform and transition in Cuba were answered by the Castro regime's recent arrests of dozens of opposition leaders and representatives of independent civil society, "in the most significant act of political repression in years."

The situation in Venezuela also continues to deteriorate, Struble said, which undermines that country's democracy and economy while threatening regional stability. The only politically viable solution for Venezuela, Struble continued, is a peaceful, constitutional, democratic electoral process agreed upon by both the government and the political opposition. He added that the dialogue led by the Secretary General of the Organization of American States "remains the best hope for Venezuelans to reach such a solution."

Struble said democracy also remains at risk in Haiti. The Caribbean Community (Caricom), he said, has worked closely with the United States to restore a climate of security in Haiti, which will lead to a return to full democracy through fair and free elections.

The Bush administration is optimistic about the region, Struble said, "because our problems are not intractable. We can overcome existing challenges together and bring a free, secure, and bright future to all the peoples of the hemisphere."

The following is the text of Struble's prepared remarks:

.......The situation in Venezuela continues to deteriorate, undermining Venezuela's democracy and economy while threatening regional stability. We must help Venezuela find a solution to the current impasse to avoid further harm. The only politically viable solution is a peaceful, constitutional, democratic electoral process agreed upon by both the government and the opposition. The dialogue led by the OAS Secretary General remains the best hope for Venezuelans to reach such a solution. The proposals tabled January 21 by former President Carter -- either a constitutional amendment to enable early elections or an August recall referendum -- present viable options to break the impasse..........

(end text)

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