PEELING A ROTTEN ONION-SUPREME COURT OUSTS ENTIRE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 003017

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CEN, DRL, EB
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2012
TAGS: KJUS PHUM KCRM HO
SUBJECT: PEELING A ROTTEN ONION-SUPREME COURT OUSTS ENTIRE
COURT OF APPEALS OVER CORRUPTION ALLEGATION

Classified By: Political Chief Francisco Palmieri;
Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On October 23, 2002, in an unprecedented
move the Supreme Court suspended all three magistrates of the
Court of Appeals. Magistrate Mario Alberto Guzman Zuniga
(Guzman) was suspended pending the investigation of
allegations that he took a bribe. Guzman supposedly accepted
money from various Honduras Air Force officers who are
charged with pilfering money from the military retirement
fund. The other two Court of Appeals magistrates--Dagoberto
Aspra Iglesias (Aspra) and Rita Ondina Nunez Barahona (Nunez)
have also been suspended after having attempted to file a
corruption claim against Guzman with the Inspector General of
the Courts. END SUMMARY.

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JUDICIAL CORRUPTION EXPOSED
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2. (C) On October 28, 2002, the Honduran Supreme Court made
a shocking and unprecedented move when it ratified the
suspension of all three of the magistrates on the Honduran
Court of Appeals. The act temporarily rendered the Court of
Appeals inoperative and raised serious questions about the
stability of the judiciary. One of the three magistrates,
Mario Alberto Guzman Zuniga, was suspended pending the
investigation of allegations of corruption. On October 24,
Aspra went public with allegations that Guzman accepted some
$5400 in bribes from Honduran Air Force officers who are
embroiled in a legal battle in which they are charged with
pilfering money from the military retirement fund. (COMMENT:
Embassy sources indicate that much more substantial sums of
bribe money are involved in connection with the lawsuit. END
COMMENT.) Magistrates Aspra and Nunez were also suspended
after they attempted to lodge a complaint against Guzman with
the Inspector General of the Courts. The Supreme Court
appointed interim magistrates to serve on the Court of
Appeals and will reportedly name permanent replacements by
the end of the week.


3. (C) Nunez met with EmbOffs on October 29, 2002, to
discuss her role in the controversy. Nunez portrayed herself
and Aspra as unwitting victims of a corrupt judicial system,
and maintained that their suspensions are political
retaliation for publicly blowing the whistle on their fellow
judge. Nunez told EmbOffs that when she and Aspra learned of
the corrupt activities of Guzman, they attempted to lodge a
complaint with the Inspector General of the Courts (IG). The
IG purportedly refused the complaint, asserting a lack of
jurisdiction to deal with the issue. Moreover, Nunez asserts
that she and Aspra reported Guzman to the President of the
Supreme Court (Vilma Morales) on October 9, and that Morales
advised them she would "take care of it." The
self-proclaimed whistleblowers heard nothing more about the
matter for 15 days, when Aspra decided to go public with
their allegations against Guzman.

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THE PLOT THICKENS
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4. (C) Nunez insists that her and Aspra's suspensions are
retaliation, and that there are corrupt judicial forces that
seek to remove them from the bench for other ulterior motives
unrelated to this case. (NOTE: She claims that she and her
family have received death threats, a common occurrence in
Honduras. END NOTE.) Nunez mentioned that there are at
least two other major lawsuits pending before the Court of
Appeals. She charges these forces want the two of them
removed prior to the trials of the two cases. She stated
that members of the Supreme Court--including Morales
herself--have personal interest in the other cases. On the
morning of October 29, 2002, Morales told an AID official
that the Supreme Court has evidence that all three
magistrates are involved in the bribery scheme. The Public
Ministry (Office of the Attorney General) is investigating
the entire matter, and Attorney General Roy Medina publicly
stated that, under the circumstances, the suspension of all
three judges is appropriate. On October 31, the Supreme
Court is supposed to determine the fates of the judges in
question. Nunez anticipates she and Aspra will be
terminated.

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COMMENT
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5. (C) This public airing of judicial corruption opens a new
chapter in the ongoing saga of the Honduran judiciary, which
has historically been fraught with corruption and subject to
political influence. The 15 Supreme Court justices are the
first to be selected under a new system designed to
depoliticize the Honduran high court. Supreme Court
President Vilma Morales has repeatedly declared her
commitment to clean up the court system and battle judicial
corruption. This case could eventually result in the first
prosecution of a corrupt appeals court judge. However, a
contact in the Casa Presidencial told the PolChief that the
removal of Nunez and Aspra was not a positive development and
was being engineered by Supreme Court justices who seek to
control the appeals court. It is unclear whether or not
Morales is involved, but the Maduro cabinet official
indicated his concern about Supreme Court intervention in the
business of the Court of Appeals is not focused on her, but
on other Supreme Court judges.
PALMER