Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03GUATEMALA1728
2003-07-07 14:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Guatemala
Cable title:  

INTERIOR MINISTER COMMENTS ON ASSAULT AGAINST

Tags:  PHUM PGOV KCRM KJUS GT 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUATEMALA 001728 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2013
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KCRM KJUS GT
SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER COMMENTS ON ASSAULT AGAINST
PUBLISHER

REF: GUATEMALA 1658

Classified By: PolOff Robert E. Copley for reasons 1.5 (b).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUATEMALA 001728

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2013
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KCRM KJUS GT
SUBJECT: INTERIOR MINISTER COMMENTS ON ASSAULT AGAINST
PUBLISHER

REF: GUATEMALA 1658

Classified By: PolOff Robert E. Copley for reasons 1.5 (b).


1. (C) Summary: The Ambassador met on June 27 with Interior
Minister Reyes Calderon to express concern over the June 24
criminal attack of the home of newspaper publisher Jose Ruben
Zamora, and to urge a thorough investigation. Reyes Calderon
said that the Public Ministry was investigating the case,
despite the lack of cooperation by Zamora. He stressed that
he has no reason to doubt that the assault had occurred the
way Zamora described it, but added that the facts that have
surfaced so far do not add up. End Summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador paid a call on Minister of Interior
Jose Reyes Calderon on June 27 to raise, inter alia, our
concerns over the June 24 criminal attack on the home of "El
Periodico" editor and GOG critic Jose Ruben Zamora (reftel).
The Ambassador told Reyes Calderon that it is critical that
the GOG conduct a thorough investigation of the incident.
Reyes Calderon acknowledged the importance of resolving this
case and said that his Ministry was doing everything it could
to assist the Public Ministry which, he repeatedly pointed
out, is legally in charge of the investigation. Reyes
Calderon said he hoped Mr. Zamora would cooperate more fully
with the investigation because it was extremely important to
get to the truth of what happened in such a high profile
case, and his cooperation, which has so far been limited, was
essential.


3. (C) Reyes Calderon stressed that he had known Zamora
personally for many years and considered him to be a man of
honor. He commented, however, that a number of factors in
Zamora's account of the incident are unusual. For example,
Reyes Calderon said that in "typical" acts of intimidation,
the aggressors use masks to terrorize the victim and usually
destroy some of the victim's property to heighten the terror
and to demonstrate their control of the situation. According
to Zamora, the group that attacked him included a woman and
wore no masks. They spent around two hours threatening
Zamora in his house. According to Reyes Calderon, two hours
would be an extremely risky and unnecessary amount of time to

spend in the home if the goal was simply to deliver the
message that Zamora should tone down his attacks on the
government or on organized crime.


4. (C) Reyes Calderon said he had been able to inspect the
entire house and observed no sign of violence (Note: RSO and
PolOff visited the Zamora house about six hours after the
incident and observed no signs of violence in the rooms they
visited. Zamora appeared unhurt and one of his teenage sons
with whom they spoke showed no sign of physical abuse and
seemed unusually calm given his recent ordeal (reftel). End
note). No fingerprints have been found in the house except
for those of the family and household staff, according to
Reyes Calderon, who finds it strange that the attackers would
make no attempt to hide their faces, yet manage not to leave
fingerprints during two hours in the house. He also pointed
out that the Zamora house is less than one hundred yards and
in the direct line of sight of a guarded gate controlling
access to the residential area. According to Reyes Calderon,
all of the license plates recorded by the guards the morning
of the incident belonged to residents of the neighborhood
(Note: EmbOffs entered the neighborhood by a different gate
several blocks from the main entrance in an Embassy vehicle.
The guards at this gate were unsure of the location of
Zamora's house, and granted access without requesting
identification. Typically residential security guards
provide very little security and would have nothing to gain
and possibly their lives to lose if they admit to witnessing
an assault such as the one on Zamora. End note).


5. (C) The Ambassador told Reyes Calderon that, especially in
view of the political tension surrounding the electoral
campaign, clarifying the Zamora case was in everyone's
interest. He urged Reyes Calderon to continue providing all
assistance to the Public Ministry to carry out a serious and
thorough investigation.


6. (C) Comment: The attack against Zamora and his family
continues to generate significant interest in the press, and
other journalists have stepped forward to say that they, too,
have been threatened. The incident has generated concern
that political or criminal sectors opposed to change could
engage in further violence during the election campaign in
order to protect their interests. The GOG recognizes the
importance of investigating the incident, and Reyes Calderon
has told us that he is committed to providing all assistance
to the investigation. Important facts about what happened at
the Zamora residence on the morning of June 24, however, are
still not known, and the success of any investigation will
depend to a large extent on cooperation between government
investigators and Zamora.
LINDWALL