same place where we had met back on September 16 th last year).

Transcription

1 February 04, Boarded Iberia Airlines flight IB122 departing Miami at 17:25 arriving in Madrid. Spain at 7:50 am on February 5 th, Upon arrival at Barajas International airport, contacted Faustinpo Gimenes at his Madrid mobile phone to let him know that I was in Madrid. Faustino sounded glad and relieved that I was indeed in Europe. I explained that I would take a taxi to my hotel and that once there I would make arrangements to rent a mobile phone and that I would contact him once I had a call back number. I checked in at the Melia Galgos Hotel located at Claudio Coello 139, room 439. Once in my room I contacted PhoneRent at and rented a cell phone from Blanca who indicated that she would bring it by the hotel around 11:30. I called Faustino to let him know that one I had the phone I would contact him and we would meet to have coffee somewhere. Once the phone arrived, around 11:00 am, I contacted Faustino and asked him to meet me at ABC Serrano Shopping Center, on Calle Serrano right across the street from the Argentinian Consulate (see picture below) same place where we had met back on September 16 th last year). We met at the shopping center s cafeteria on the fourth floor and there we sat down to review the purpose of our meeting.

2 During the conversation I indicated that Gustavo Caceres was indeed in Barcelona and that he would meet us the following day. It was my effort to ensure that he would commit to wait in Spain until we met with Gustavo Caceres. During our meeting we revisited the details of the operation through Madrid s Barajas International Airport. Faustino emphasized that there were only three flights leaving Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Madrid and that those days were Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and insisted that we had to have our people in place only on those days. At that point I argued that given those limitations, we were not in a position to order Gustavo around and that we would have to agree on what Gustavo mandated. He asked me about Jose Mejia. I told him that I did not know him in person but that he was trustworthy since he worked and reported to Gustavo directly. I asked him how many units were we to expect on this first shipment. I told him that I was not willing to go through all this trouble just for a few kilos. He said he suggested putting as many units in each large suitcase as possible. I told him that I wished we could do at least 200 this first time. He hoped so. Faustino had opened the window for me to demand that he had to stay in Spain at least three more days given the restrictions with the frequency of the flights from Bolivia. I needed to obtain his commitment so that I could hold him in Madrid until DEA from USA would arrive to supervise the operation.

3 (Above, cafeteria where we held our first meeting over coffee) Faustino seemed very satisfied, first to see me in person in Madrid and of course by having discussed the specifics of the operation. He asked me if I still wanted to get paid in merchandise. I said yes and I told him that I had all the preparations to receive my payment in form of cocaine at Miami International Airport, via America Airlines as soon as possible. He said that that would not be a problem and sort of tried to sell me on the idea of accepting cash in Euros or Dollars instead. I explained to him that I had to fulfill cocaine distribution in New York City and that I understood his argument when he sounded surprised that I would sell cocaine in New York when there was so much cocaine already in the streets of Miami. Why don t you let me pay you in Madrid with cocaine? He asked you will make a killing in Europa versus selling it on New York, he said. I told him I agreed but I was forced to supply some people in New York I owed money to. We talked about Katy not being able to fly to Spain because he visa did not come through. I told him that once we were done there I wanted Katy in Panama to help me with some business. He offered his assistance and agreed to go with her as well if needed. He asked me what kind of business I had to conduct in Panama and I said that I had a few options. Faustino asked me if I had people that would be interested in swapping cocaine for Colombian emeralds, gold or diamonds. I told I would look into it. He sounded very interested in that option. I told him I had 80 kilos in Panama and needed to get them asap to Miami. I made up a story how in Panama I had people waiting for me to ship them by sea to Miami via Haiti. He seemed to be impressed. The rest of the conversation centered on mutual sociable talk. He talked about his ex- wife, his thirteen year son who lived in Buenos Aires, about his vacation in Brazil with his son, about his relationship with Katy, and about Raul Garcia- s health, life style, the protection the Bolivian government offered Raul and the 24 detail his son Alvaro had imposed on the old man. After a couple of hours I announced that I had not slept at all since I left Miami and that I needed to head back to my hotel. We left the cafeteria, walked to the outside and parted ways on Calle Serrano. I allowed him to walk away from me about a block and I decided to follow him. I wanted to know if he had others waiting for him. He walked to the intersection of Serrano and Goya and there he went underground to get in the Metro. I turned around and went back to my hotel. I returned to my room at the Melia Galgos Hotel and tried to catch up on my sleep. The cell phone ranged around five thirty in the afternoon. He asked me if I would meet him for dinner and I accepted. I told him I would find a place to eat and that I would call him back with instructions where to meet me. I walked out of my hotel and walked in the vicinity of Calle Velasquez looking for a place to meet with Faustino. I had complained to him about the Russian restaurant he had chosen during our previous meeting in September which was a remote location of Madrid (Plaza Paja) and the food no much to our taste. He suggested an Argentinian Restaurant with good steaks and wine. The porter at the Melia suggested a couple of choices. One of them was a corner restaurant, Argentinian style that had a good reputation. I went by, wrote the address on a piece of paper and called him. He said he would meet me there at 08:00 pm.

4 I returned to the hotel to shower and went out right before eight to meet Faustino at the agreed location (Picture of the entrance of El Asador de Aranda. Argentinian Steak House in Madrid) Faustino was outside the restaurant waiting for me at a bench on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. As we open the door to enter, a lady told us that the restaurant was not ready to attend dinner customers until nine o clock. We walked out thinking on what to do for almost an hour. I considered finding a different restaurant when the chef walked outside to the bench and offered us to come in and have a glass of wine at the bar while we waited. We accepted and had a glass of wine at the bar, downstairs. In preparation for this meeting and to reinforce my obligation with Gustavo Caceres, I had spoken to my wife in Miami earlier and had coached her to follow a fake conversation I would fabricate later that evening in the presence of Faustino. Faustino knew that Gustavo s wife s name was Teresa and that they lived in Barcelona. My intent was to make him feel obligated to stick around as long as it took to meet with Gustavo later on the week.

5 Once inside the restaurant and taking advantage that we were the only two patrons at the bar, I dialed my wife s number in Miami. I saluted her and had small talk before I asked for Gustavo. I asked Teresa if she mind putting her on speaker so that Faustino could be part of the conversation. She agreed. Teresa explained that Gustavo was at work and that he would not be home until very late. I told her if she knew about he coming to Madrid to meet Faustino and me and she said that those were his plans. Faustino motioned in agreement and I ended the conversation with small talk asking about their children. I ended the phone call. In Faustino s smile I could read a sense of relief. We were summoned by a waiter to walk upstairs to a dining table waiting for us. We followed to our dinner table. The conversation was very cordial and social. For over an hour we discussed Bolivian politics, Colombia s FARC, Venezuelan crisis and other topics of common interest. Suddenly the conversation turned to business and he pushed his chair close to mind as in an effort to talk privately keeping the other close by customer from listening. He said that he had a serious concern and his face somewhat transformed from friend to prosecutor and accuser. He fist asked me if I had total confidence and trust in Gustavo Caceres. I told him 100%. To clarify and to sound genuine I told him that I trusted Caceres with my life and that I had a few questions about Jose Mejia since I only knew of him but had never met him. He said that that morning he had received a phone call from Katy, from La Paz and she had told him about the result of an investigation on Gustavo Caceres. He accused Caceres of being a very dangerous man and cautioned me to be on my toes. I flatly denied any accusation and asked for specifics. He said that the report from Katy indicated that Gustavo was lying to me about his whereabouts and that at times when Gustavo was to be in Barcelona he was in Miami instead. I looked at with total disbelief and asked him to be more specific. He went on to say that they had evidence that indeed Gustavo had been to the United States during the Thanksgiving holidays visiting his daughter as I had told them because Gustavo s to him showed that the IP address generated in USA, but he said that two days ago he had received an from Gustavo where he tells Faustino that he was in Barcelona waiting to meet in Madrid. Faustino said that Gustavo had lies because that particular came up with an IP address from Miami, USA. His whole demeanor changed and questioned my trust and knowledge of this man. I felt very uncomfortable since I knew the truth and returned the argument against him. Acting very angry I demanded an explanation why he had waited all these many hours to tell me that discovery. I said that I did not understand nor appreciated the lack of loyalty on his part by not disclosing that information much earlier. Are you sure you are being sincere? He questioned me. Are you sure you know this individual as well as you claim?. He sounded almost desperate. To calm him down I told him that it worried me as well what he had discovered but that I was not versed in IT technology and that there had to be an explanation for such information. I think he is working for DEA or some other organization and he is setting you up. He accused. Or maybe It is you who is working for the DEA?

6 I insisted that I trusted Gustavo and told him that I would do my due diligence in checking things out to protect us both. He ordered more wine and stopped eating. My mind was racing to find a way out of that situation without losing him for good. Let s have a glass of wine and we will work it out, I told him. I excused myself to go to the men s room and walked away. There was no one in the men s room and I approached a urinal. I had the phone number for the US Embassy in speed dial. About to walk back to the table I was grabbed from the back of my neck by somebody. I was pulled from the collar of my jacket backwards. I never for one second suspected Faustino. I felt that I was about to get mugged and my only reaction was to turn around and in a defensive mode hit the person in front of me with the base of the palm of my right hand against his front head. As Faustino fell to the floor, an announced man walked in the men s room and asked if there was a problem. Faustino leaped to his feet and we both assured the stranger that all was fine. We walked to the table without saying a ward to each other. Once there and ask what had gotten into him. I was very upset angry and surprised. He sat down and motioned me to seat. Let me see you re your mobile phone, he asked extending his hand. Don t you fucking question me or who I call you show me your cell phone, I demanded. He handed his cell phone, I took it together with mine and threw them both against the tile floor and without hesitation I got up from my chair and started pounding on both phones, with my foot until they were destroyed. I knew I was making a scene, I had no choice, He was very apologetic and kept rubbing his face with both hands. I am out of here I said. This is fucked up!.

7 I called for the check and for the few minutes before the check arrived, not a word was said. We walked downstairs towards the entrance and found each other at the outside bench where we had met earlier. He again apologized and I felt that he was really feeling bad. Look, I said, you don t take any phone calls from Gustavo until I investigate what the hell is going on. He agreed. He then asked me to be extremely careful. He believed that Gustavo was using me to settle some account with the authorities and the he was going to throw me under the bus. I told him that his thinking made sense and that I would take all kind or precautions. I insisted not make a final judgment until I found out more. I repeated that I was not happy with what has just happened inside the restaurant. He again apologized and he parted ways. Faustino walked south on Velazquez. I walked away in the opposite direction and walked for about an hour digesting what had just happened and ensuring that nobody was following me. I arrived to my room close to 03:00 am and sent urgent s to S.A Greg Balls, and to S.A. John Nolan in the USA, asking for directions. The common denominator was that I needed to leave the country to another location in Europe. I packed and left the hotel around 05:00 am and headed to Madrid s airport without a destination. One at Barajas I couldn t find a flight to neither Rome nor Paris. Other destinations were just too far. I finally settled for an Iberia Airlines to Lisbon Portugal.

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