THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: HONDURAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEGUCIGALPA 001349

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CEN, AND WHA/PPC, AND DS
STATE FOR INL, INL/LP, INR/C, INR/AN/IAA, AND EB
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN AND DCHA/DG/ROL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2015
TAGS: PGOV KCOR KJUS PHUM PINR ASEC EAID HO
SUBJECT: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: HONDURAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM
AT A CROSSROADS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST CORRUPTION


Classified By: Political Counselor Francisco Palmieri;
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: It is possible that the National Congress
may remove the Attorney General (AG) Ovidio Navarro and
Deputy AG Yuri Melara in the next 2-4 weeks. Last week's
indictment of the outgoing Government and Justice Minister
and the revelation of U.S. revocation of the Deputy AG's visa
are galvanizing ruling political and economic elites to take
action to "fix" an allegedly "out of control" Public Ministry
(Attorney General's Office). Despite widespread public
support for the Public Ministry's (PM) corruption
investigations, these investigations have threatened too
broad and diverse a set of political interests. As a result,
even President Ricardo Maduro joined the charge against PM
prosecutors by belittling their indictment of his ex-Minister
and questioning their lack of results in other corruption
investigations. Entrenched political and economic interests
are now mobilizing to impede any further prosecutorial
actions from reaching the next stage in the battle against
corruption in Honduras. Post believes that the PM is now
pushing to investigate corruption more deeply than it ever
has. Unless individuals of high integrity and political
independence are selected for the PM's leadership positions,
U.S. assistance to the Public Ministry may need to be
reviewed. END SUMMARY.

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A Political Lord is Touched by Prosecutorial Investigative
Process
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2. (U) Last week's indictment of outgoing Government and
Justice Minister Jorge Ramon Hernandez Alcerro (see septel
for details) was a result of the Attorney General's (AG)
Organized Crime Unit investigation of the Migration Office.
The indictment struck close to home for President Maduro.
Hernandez Alcerro, part of the President's inner circle of
presidential advisors, was Maduro's 2001 campaign strategy
director. He was also a former Foreign Minister, the lead
Honduran negotiator for the Esquipulas/Contadora peace
process, and member of the 1981 Constituent Assembly that
restored democracy to Honduras. Few Honduran political
observers believed Hernandez Alcerro was 1) involved in any
illicit activity at the Migration Office or 2) vulnerable to
prosecutorial or judicial action.


3. (C) For the political elite, Hernandez Alcerro's
indictment represents the first time a major incumbent
political player has not been able to quash an investigation.
He immediately went on the counter-attack by publicly
challenging the entire legal basis for the indictment. He
called the abuse of authority charge of aiding and abetting
the illegal departure of a minor child from Honduras
"ridiculous." It remains to be seen whether the initial
indictment will yield a trial and conviction. However, the
political damage to Hernandez Alcerro's congressional
candidacy is significant. Some National Party leaders and
officials in Pepe Lobo's presidential campaign fear that
additional charges will be imminently filed. Post also
understands that the PM's Organized Crime Unit chief
prosecutor may file additional charges soon.

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PM: Out of Control Institution or Threat to the Current
Establishment
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4. (U) Meanwhile, an orchestrated media campaign brought out
the long-overdue revelation that the U.S. revoked the visa of
the Deputy Attorney General Yuri Melara last December. The
revocation under Section 212(f) and the Department's approved
press guidance made clear that the Deputy AG lost his visa
for corrupt acts. It seems that the goal of this media
attention rather than the removal of the Deputy AG, which is
warranted, is to weaken the PM as an institution and
undermine the AG's support for these investigations. Many
anti-corruption advocates say it is ironic that just as the
PM makes its first real significant and aggressive moves
against a powerful incumbent politician other threatened
political figures are using the visa revocation to sound
alarms about the PM being an institution that is "out of
control".


5. (C) Despite the political outcry, there is widespread
public support for the PM's actions against corruption and
the U.S. visa revocation. Both presidential candidates and
President Maduro have called for Melara to resign. However,
Hernandez Alcerro's indictment (and other pending cases
against Liberal party leader Jaime Rosenthal and officials in
the previous administration of Liberal President Carlos
Flores) has sent shivers throughout both parties' political
establishments.


6. (C) The Embassy believes that the PM is pushing to
investigate corruption more deeply than it ever has in its
entire existence. In doing so, it has threatened a broad and
diverse set of political interests. The AG,
withstanding pressure from leaders of his own National
Party, has supported his prosecutors in these investigations.
Now, it appears that the ruling political and economic elites
are galvanizing to take action to "fix" the Public Ministry
by dismissing the AG as part of a package deal to dismiss the
discredited Deputy AG.


7. (C) The National Congress named a special commission to
investigate the Yuri Melara case but its mandate also appears
to extend into the AG's handling of the Melara case.
Dismissal of the AG would pave the way for a new PM
leadership team, empowered by the National Congress, to purge
the chief prosecutors and their closest confidants in the
front-line Organized Crime, Human Rights, and Corruption
Units. Those political and economic elites proposing this
course of action claim that such a "global" solution is
needed in order to save the PM as an institution.

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President Maduro Joins the Charge Against the Public Ministry
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8. (C) Perhaps due to frustration over not obtaining other
high-profile corruption victories or a personal concern for
the fate of a long-time political associate, President Maduro
joined the charge against the lead prosecutor in the
Hernandez Alcerro case. The President spoke out on
consecutive days about the PM's current prosecutorial
priorities and the substance of its cases. First, Maduro
publicly belittled the indictment of his former Minister,
saying that the prosecutors should not be spending their time
on such a minor case. He suggested that their efforts would
be more productively directed toward investigating last
fall's gasoline tax fraud scandal. On the following day,
Maduro went further and called the work of the Organized
Crime Unit and its chief prosecutor on the Hernandez Alcerro
case "a waste of time" on a case of no importance. He then
suggested that the unit's work should be on the gasoline tax
fraud scandal or drug trafficking cases or combating gang
violence.


9. (C) Notwithstanding the President's desire to reorient the
PM's focus, the general public appears to be solidly behind
the PM's indictment of the Minister and the U.S. revocation
of the Deputy AG's visa. However, the President's comments
have accentuated the view of elites that the PM is not
directing its efforts to the country's top anti-corruption
and law enforcement priorities. Given this opening,
entrenched (and corrupt) political and economic interests are
now poised to do all they can to impede any further
prosecutorial actions from reaching the next stage in the
battle against corruption in Honduras. It is possible that
the National Congress will move to dismiss the AG and Deputy
AG as early as next week in an emergency session or when the
Congress reconvenes in July.

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COMMENT:
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10. (C) There are some serious problems at the Public
Ministry that stem from a number of different factors,
including an under-funded budget and the AG's own autocratic
management style. However, there is no guarantee that
removing the AG will correct those problems. It is difficult
to understand, from an American rule of law perspective, how
President Maduro's comments help the situation. He has
completely undercut the standing of the prosecutors and
publicly questioned their work. Unless individuals of high
integrity and political independence are selected for the
PM's leadership positions, it is likely that the end result
of any changes at the PM will be the complete paralysis of
all investigations and prosecutorial actions on pending
corruption cases. President Maduro's decision to speak out,
during the week when he signed and celebrated a Millennium
Challenge Account compact, raises questions about the timing
of his comments, if not his motives. If the National
Congress does remove the AG and ends up appointing another
set of political cronies to run the PM, it might be necessary
to conduct a review of U.S. assistance to the Public Ministry
in order to evaluate how the GOH's battle against corruption
is proceeding and whether U.S investment in the rule of law
and administration of justice has suffered a significant
setback. END COMMENT.
Palmer