FORMER ANTI-CORRUPTION COURT HEAD BELIEVES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 004190

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/19/2015
TAGS: PGOV KJUS PE
SUBJECT: FORMER ANTI-CORRUPTION COURT HEAD BELIEVES
POLITICAL MOTIVES WERE BEHIND HIS TRANSFER

REF: LIMA 1375

Classified By: D/Polcouns Art Muirhead for Reason 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) SUMMARY. A series of personnel transfers in Lima's
courts were announced 9/1, including that of Saul Pena, who
had served as Chief Judge of an Anti-Corruption Court Chamber
the past four years. Pena told Emboff on 9/16 that pressure
from the GOP, linked to his persistent investigation of the
use of false signatures to register President Toledo's Peru
Posible Party for the 2000 elections, was the reason for his
transfer. Pena said that at the time of his removal, he had
been on the verge of requiring testimony from "prominent
individuals" regarding witness-tampering in this case.
Nevertheless, other anti-corruption figures have accepted
Pena's transfer as part of the normal rotation and promotion
process of the court. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Judge Maria Zavala, President of the Lima Superior
Court, announced a series of changes in the make-up of local
tribunals on 9/1. The Special Anti-Corruption Court, which
has been instrumental in recovering tens of millions of
dollars stolen from the GOP by former Fujimori Intelligence
Advisor Vladimiro Montesinos, had two of its long-time
members, Chief Judge Saul Pena and Associate Justice Sara
Mayta, transferred to the Lima Appellate Court. Besides the
replacements for Pena and Mayta, nine judges were named to
fill positions on the three new Anti-Corruption Court
Chambers, bringing the total number of justices in this
specialized group to 18. In her press conference, Judge
Zavala stressed the quality and experience of the individuals
being brought on to the Anti-Corruption Court, and singled
out Pena's replacement, Carolina Lizarraga, who just returned
to Peru after completing a Masters program at Yale.


3. (C) Judge Pena told D/Polcouns on 9/16 that he thought his
transfer to the Lima appellate court had been engineered to
remove him from jurisdiction over a number of sensitive
cases, in particular the investigation of President Toledo's
Peru Posible Party having used false signatures to register
for the 2000 elections (Ref B). Pena went so far as to claim
that all the other transfers had been set up as a "smoke
screen" to make his removal seem more routine. He said he
was sure that Zavala had been "gotten to" by influential
people in Peru Posible who wanted him removed from the false
signatures inquiry, especially considering that as an
outgrowth of the investigation, he had twice ordered
President Toledo's sister Margarita held under house arrest.
Pena said as he had delved further into the case, he had
received many calls from Congressmen and other politicians
urging him to "take it easy."


4. (C) Pena observed that as a result of evidence of
witness-tampering in the case (one of the prime accusers of
Margarita Toledo, Carmen Burga, was spirited out of the
country, but later returned),he had been about to require
testimony from several other prominent individuals. When
Emboff commented that we had heard allegations that former
Interior Minister (and current Peru Posible SecGen) Javier
Reategui had coordinated the removal of Burga, Pena confirmed
that Reategui had been mentioned in the witness-tampering
inquiry, but he did not specify in what fashion.


5. (C) Pena said he also believed it possible that his
removal may have been part of a deal between the Toledo
Administration and executives of the justice sector to
provide more funds to Peru's judiciary. Pena said Walter
Vasquez, the current President of the Supreme Court (and
chief executive of the entire judiciary),cared little for
judicial reform, was concentrating his energies on obtaining
more funding for the courts, and would be prepared to cede to
pressures from the executive branch if it were to get him
more money.


6. (U) Other anti-corruption figures took a less
conspiratorial view of the personnel changes in the courts.
Former Special Prosecutor Luis Vargas Valdivia said that
although the transfer of Pena would inevitably cause a delay
in the Peru Posible investigation, his selection for the
appellate bench should still be seen as a step up, and a vote
of confidence. The head of the local branch of the Judiciary
Control Office (OCMA),Sergio Salas, pointed out that some of
Pena's decisions in the Peru Posible case had been overruled,
leading Salas to conclude that Pena was worn-out, and his
removal was "necessary."


7. (C) COMMENT: In the course of the conversation, Pena
admitted that there was more to his frustration about the
transfer than just the possibility of subversion of the
pursuit of justice. Even though his new job in the appellate
branch is technically a promotion, his salary will actually
be less, and he will have fewer administrative support
resources at his command. Pena is also very concerned that
he will lose the bodyguards he was given when he came to the
Anti-Corruption Court, putting himself and his family at
risk. It would be unfortunate if this shake-up led the other
anti-corruption judges to conclude that controversial
decisions can push them out on a limb without police
protection, and they end up not pursuing cases aggressively
as a result. END COMMENT.
STRUBLE