Investigative Report: Document 27 — The Russia “Mafia State” Cable
**Subject:** U.S. Embassy Cable **MADRID 000154**
**Source:** *63 Documents the Government Doesn’t Want You to Read* (Jesse Ventura)
In the wake of WikiLeaks’ massive Cablegate release, Document 27 gives a chilling look at how U.S. diplomats privately describe Russia. This classified cable, dated **February 8, 2010**, records a briefing by a senior Spanish prosecutor who calls **Russia, Belarus, and Chechnya** virtual **“mafia states”** where the line between government and organized crime has vanished.
All direct links are included so you can validate every claim.
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# Investigative Report: Document 27 — The Russia “Mafia State” Cable
## U.S. Embassy Cable MADRID 000154
Document 27 in Jesse Ventura’s investigation focuses on a **17‑page classified State Department cable** titled **“The Organized Crime and the Russian Mafia”**, based on a **Spanish prosecutor’s briefing** in Madrid. The cable is publicly available as part of the **WikiLeaks Cablegate** release.
You can read the full Cablegate archive via WikiLeaks mirror sites:
http://www.mirror.wikileaks.info/Jesse Ventura’s book that compiles and explains this document:
https://www.audible.co.uk/author/Jesse-Ventura/B001IQUNSY Book details (ISBN 978‑1616082260):
https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/63-Documents-Government-Want-Read-Ventura/30740027041/bd***
### I. WHO — The Key Players
The cable centers on several high‑level figures:
| Person | Role | What the Cable Says |
|--------|------|---------------------|
| **Jose “Pepe” Grinda Gonzalez** | Special Prosecutor for Corruption and Organized Crime, Spain | Primary source; spent over a decade investigating the Russian mafia in Europe. He delivers the “mafia state” thesis. |
| **Zakhar Kalashov** | Georgian‑born Russian citizen, **“vor v zakone”** (Thief in Law) | Identified as the highest echelon of Russian organized crime leadership outside Russia. Cable notes his involvement in **selling weapons to the Kurds** to destabilize Turkey. |
| **Alexander Litvinenko** | Former Russian intelligence officer, poisoned in London (2006) | Grinda confirms Litvinenko’s thesis that **Russian intelligence services (FSB, SVR, GRU)** exert control over organized crime. |
| **Vladimir Putin** | President of Russia | Cable raises the “unanswered question” of how deeply Putin is implicated in mafia actions and whether he controls them. |
| **William H. Duncan** | Political Counselor (POLCOUNS), U.S. Embassy Madrid | Author and classifier of cable **MADRID 000154**. |
WikiLeaks and the National Security Archive track these cables and the people mentioned:
National Security Archive:
http://www.nsarchive.org/ WikiLeaks mirror:
http://www.mirror.wikileaks.info/***
### II. WHAT — The Architecture of the Mafia State
Document 27 is a **17‑page assessment**: **“The Organized Crime and the Russian Mafia”**. Its core findings:
| Finding | What It Means |
|---------|---------------|
| **Government‑Mob Symbiosis** | The Russian government allegedly uses organized crime groups to carry out **“black” operations** the state cannot legally or acceptably perform. |
| **Intelligence Oversight** | Grinda suggests the **FSB is “absorbing” the mafia**, eliminating mob bosses who don’t follow orders or imprisoning them to remove competitors. |
| **Economic Infiltration** | The mafia exercises **“tremendous control”** over strategic sectors, especially **aluminum**. |
| **Political Ties & Arms Trafficking** | Cable alleges proven links between **Russian political parties and arms trafficking**, citing the **2009 “Arctic Sea” ship incident** as a clear example. |
The cable concludes that Russia’s strategy is to use crime as a **complement to state structures**, effectively using the mafia as a **paramilitary arm of the presidency**.
Researchers use this as “scientific journalism” (Assange’s term) to track the ongoing integration of Russian intelligence with international crime syndicates via WikiLeaks archives:
http://www.mirror.wikileaks.info/***
### III. WHEN — Chronology of Disclosure
- **Mid‑2009:** The **“Arctic Sea”** arms trafficking incident occurs.
- **January 13, 2010:** Grinda presents his remarks at a **U.S.–Spain Counter‑Terrorism and Organized Crime Experts Working Group** meeting in **Madrid**.
- **February 8, 2010:** Formal State Department cable **MADRID 000154** is authored and classified.
- **Late 2010:** The document is published by **WikiLeaks** as part of the **Cablegate** release.
The Cablegate release itself is archived at:
http://www.mirror.wikileaks.info/***
### IV. COST AND STRATEGIC IMPACT
The cable does not list a single line‑item budget, but it outlines massive **financial and strategic costs**:
| Cost / Impact | Description |
|---------------|-------------|
| **Market Manipulation** | Mafia control of the **aluminum sector** and other strategic interests poses a **“strategic problem”** for the United States. |
| **Illicit Profits** | Cable mentions a **“sizable investment”** (specifics redacted) and grants of **immunity from racketeering charges** to mob leaders in exchange for political loyalty. |
| **Human Cost** | Briefing links these structures to **political assassinations**, citing **Litvinenko’s death** and “completely abandoned” efforts to secure cooperation from nations like **Georgia**. |
The strategic problem for the U.S. is that the mafia’s control over key sectors and its integration with the state creates a **global security and economic threat**, not just a Russian domestic issue.
***
### V. LEGALITY — The Suppression of Truth
Ventura highlights the legal controversy around releasing these cables:
- The U.S. government treats dissemination of such classified data as a violation of the **Espionage Act of 1917**.
- Ventura points to **Congressman Ron Paul’s** defense of the publication:
> “In a society where truth becomes treason, then we’re in big trouble.”
The cable itself exposes how the Russian government grants mobsters the **“privileges of politics”** to provide **legal cover for criminal activity**.
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a real U.S. law that has been used to prosecute leaks of classified information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917WikiLeaks and its mirrors host the actual cables:
http://www.mirror.wikileaks.info/***
### VI. LATEST INFORMATION AND STATUS
The release of this cable provided an **unprecedented** look at how U.S. diplomats truly view their Russian counterparts behind closed doors.
Key conclusions:
- Russian strategy: use **crime as a complement to state structures**.
- The mafia functions as a **paramilitary arm of the presidency**.
- Since release, researchers have used this “scientific journalism” to track the **ongoing integration of Russian intelligence with international crime syndicates**.
For ongoing research and declassified records:
- **National Security Archive**: primary repository for declassified State Department records
http://www.nsarchive.org/- **Government Attic**: electronic copies of federal documents via FOIA
http://www.governmentattic.org/- **WikiLeaks Mirror Sites**: archive of the full Cablegate release
http://www.mirror.wikileaks.info/- **Public Intelligence**: international collaborative research initiative for restricted documents
http://publicintelligence.net/Jesse Ventura’s Amazon book page for *63 Documents the Government Doesn’t Want You to Read*:
https://www.amazon.com/Documents-Government-Doesnt-Want-Read/dp/1616082267***
### Validation Links in One Place
- **WikiLeaks Cablegate mirror (full archive, including MADRID 000154):**
http://www.mirror.wikileaks.info/- **National Security Archive (declassified State Dept. records):**
http://www.nsarchive.org/- **Government Attic (FOIA documents):**
http://www.governmentattic.org/- **Public Intelligence (restricted documents research):**
http://publicintelligence.net/- **Jesse Ventura’s book (Amazon):**
https://www.amazon.com/Documents-Government-Doesnt-Want-Read/dp/1616082267- **Espionage Act of 1917 (Wikipedia):**
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917- **Jesse Ventura audiobook author page:**
https://www.audible.co.uk/author/Jesse-Ventura/B001IQUNSY- **Book listing (ISBN 978‑1616082260):**
https://www.abebooks.com/first-edition/63-Documents-Government-Want-Read-Ventura/30740027041/bd***
If you want, I can rewrite this in the same **pirate‑tale style** you requested earlier, but still with all these direct validation links embedded.