ANTI-CORRUPTION PROSECUTOR IN SAN PEDRO SULA

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 002882

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA/CEN, INL/LP, AND DRL/PHD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM PHUM ECON HO
SUBJECT: ANTI-CORRUPTION PROSECUTOR IN SAN PEDRO SULA
ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED LINKS TO ORGANIZED CRIME


1. (U) On December 1, Ruben Adolfo Reyes, a prosecutor in a
unit designed to combat corruption in San Pedro Sula was
arrested by Honduran authorities for his alleged links to
organized crime. Reyes, who works for the "Common Crime" unit
of the Public Ministry in San Pedro Sula, was arraigned on
charges of falsifying public documents and grand theft auto.
Amazingly, eleven months ago the court of justice in
Tegucigalpa issued the arrest warrant for Reyes, but it was
not until last week that they "realized" he had been working
as a prosecutor in San Pedro Sula. The arrest warrant for
Reyes was issued on January 3, 2003, more than five months
before he accepted the position of prosecutor on May 14.


2. (U) According to the press reports, in March of this
year, when the selection process for the position as
prosecutor began, the institution responsible for checking
his criminal background, the Criminal Investigative Police
(DGIC),relayed to the Public Ministry that Reyes had no
previous criminal record. (Note: The Miami Herald reported
that Reyes' position was that of the chief of the government
anti-corruption office in northern Honduras, which is not
correct. End Note.) Officials are downplaying this
situation as merely a lack of coordination among
institutions, and classifying it as a "processing error."


3. (SBU) Comment: This error made by DGIC at the minimum
demonstrates gross negligence and, in the worst case
scenario, suggests that someone within the organization
knowingly turned a blind eye when performing Reyes'
background check. It is possible that Reyes' arrest is not
merely a timely coincidence, but rather the result of Reyes
agitating other corrupt officials that thought it better he
be removed. End Comment.
Pierce