LA CEIBA PRISON MASSACRE UPDATE; PUBLIC MINISTRY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001258

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA/CEN, DRL/PHD, INL/LP, INR, CA, AND DS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SNAR KCRM KJUS ASEC HO
SUBJECT: LA CEIBA PRISON MASSACRE UPDATE; PUBLIC MINISTRY
ALLEGES VIOLENCE WAS PLANNED AND INDICTS 51

REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 1160

B. TEGUCIGALPA 1141

C. 03 TEGUCIGALPA 1742

D. 03 TEGUCIGALPA 861

E. 03 TEGUCIGALPA 1309


1. (U) On April 5, 2003, 68 persons, 61 of them M-18 gang
members, were killed in an incident at El Porvenir prison
near La Ceiba. Reports produced by the Public Ministry, a
Special Commission of the Honduran National Council for
Internal Security (CONASIN),and the Human Rights
Commissioner put the blame for the vast majority of deaths on
government security forces and non-gang member inmate
"trusties." PolOff met May 28 with Aida Romero, Special
Prosecutor for Human Rights at the Public Ministry, who is
leading the GOH's prosecution of these cases, to discuss the
status of the case. (See refs C-E for background on this
case.)


2. (U) Romero told PolOff that on May 3 the Public Ministry
filed criminal charges against 51 people for alleged
involvement in the deaths. Those charged included 19
Preventive Police, including eight Cobras (specially trained
police),nine Prison Police, two Army soldiers, one Air Force
soldier, 19 prison "trusties" (non-gang member inmates who
enforced discipline within the prison),and one regular
prisoner. On May 8, the judge in the case approved "watched
freedom" (akin to a mild version of office or house arrest)
for 39 people, provisionally dismissed cases against five
people (two Preventive Police, two soldiers, and the regular
prisoner) with the Public Ministry's concurrence, and closed
a case against one "trusty" who had been murdered. The
judge, Rommel Ruiz Guillen, also issued arrest warrants for
six people who failed to present themselves in court to face
the charges.


3. (U) Those involved were charged with crimes ranging from
abuse of authority to attempted and actual murder to
attempted and actual aggravated murder. None of those
charged, save for the "trusties" already in jail, were
ordered jailed by the judge, a decision being appealed by the
Public Ministry. Prosecutors argue that given the gravity of
the alleged crimes and the possibility that the defendants
may further tamper with evidence, the defendants should be
jailed. (Note: Among the problems the Public Ministry has
encountered during this investigation are missing evidence,
shell casings found at the crime scene that do not match the
weapons later given to the Public Ministry by police,
allegations that prison records have been altered, etc. End
Note.)


4. (U) Romero highlighted a troubling aspect of the cases,
namely that many of the M-18 gang members had been
transferred on February 5, 2003, to the La Ceiba prison from
Tamara Prison, the principal Honduran prison located outside
of Tegucigalpa. The then-Director General for Prisons, Luis
Beltrand Arias Ramos, ordered approximately 205 M-18 gang
members disbursed from the main prison at Tamara to various
prisons, sending 30 to El Porvenir. The stated reason for
this transfer was the conflict between M-18 and non-gang
prisoners at Tamara, including the alleged murder of a Prison
Policeman by a M-18 gang member and seizures of weapons held
by the M-18. Arias wrote a memo to Minister of Public
Security Oscar Alvarez requesting permission to transfer the
prisoners. Romero said Alvarez wrote on the corner of the
memo that Arias should follow the law. (Note: Both the Code
of Criminal Procedure and the Law of Rehabilitation of
Criminals have provisions (reportedly conflicting) with
regard to transfers of inmates from one prison to another by
prison authorities. End Note.) The law required that the DG
seek judicial approval for such a transfer. Romero indicated
that Alvarez's intention appeared to be that Arias should
follow this proper legal procedure, but Arias failed to take
this step. Romero also noted there were inconsistencies in
Arias' statements regarding the reason for transferring the
M-18 prisoners.


5. (U) Another troubling aspect, said Romero, is that on
January 5, 2003, a Prison Police instructor named Oscar
Reyneira Sanchez, who is allegedly close to Arias, was
transferred from Tamara to El Porvenir. Reyneira then
allegedly became close to the M-18 prisoners and eventually
provided the weapon used by M-18 gang leader Mario Roberto
Cerrato, AKA Boris, to kill Jose Alberto Almendarez and
injure Jose Edgardo Coca (the two top "trusty" leaders),
which started the April 5, 2003, incident. Both Arias, who
has been suspended, and Reyneira have been charged with
various murder counts, and Arias has also been charged with
abuse of authority.


6. (U) The Public Ministry is also concerned about
allegations that La Ceiba Preventive Police patrol cars were
at the prison prior to the phone call (made by a prisoner)
requesting that the Preventive Police come to the prison to
help deal with the incident. Carlos Esteban Enriques
Alvarez, Commander of the Preventive Police in La Ceiba, was
one of those indicted, but the judge ruled that he can
continue in his post, pending the start of the trial. There
are also allegations that large quantities of highly
flammable paint thinner were stored at the prison in the days
prior to the incident.


7. (SBU) Romero said that the Public Ministry is alleging
that these suspicious events were linked, and that there was
a plan to cause an incident that would lead to the killing of
M-18 gang members. Romero said she knew this theory would be
difficult to prove in court, especially given the
implications of involvement by both the then-DG for Prisons
and the Commander of Police in La Ceiba, but said that the
Public Ministry planned to press ahead. She said the Public
Ministry expected the case to go to trial this fall.


8. (SBU) Comment: The Public Ministry's allegations are
troubling, but there has been speculation from the start that
there was a possible conspiracy to kill M-18 gang members,
especially given the fact that many unarmed M-18 prisoners
were shot or beaten to death as they fled their burning cell
block. With the May 17 fire at the San Pedro Sula prison
that killed 105 Mara Salvatrucha gang members (refs A-B and
septel),the Honduran prison system and the GOH's tough
anti-gang law is drawing intense scrutiny. The trials will
be seen by many observers as a key indicator of the ability
of the Honduran legal system to hold police who commit
criminal acts responsible for their crimes. End Comment.
Palmer