NICARAGUAN MAGISTRATE CRITICIZES SUPREME COURT

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 000698 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2016 TAGS: PGOV KCOR KJUS NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUAN MAGISTRATE CRITICIZES SUPREME COURT LEADERSHIP CRISIS, CORRUPTION REF: A. MANAGUA 0304 ¶B. MANAGUA 0036 Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) Summary: During a recent discussion with RLA, Nicaraguan Supreme Court (CSJ) Justice Guillermo Vargas Sandino expressed dismay regarding the ongoing CSJ leadership crisis that began on March 16 when PLC and FSLN-affiliated justices failed to agree on the appointment of presidents and vice presidents to the CSJ plenary and four Chambers. Vargas Sandino blames partisan jockeying for the impasse, which has shut down the top of Nicaragua's judicial system, and claims he will not participate in any ad-hoc leadership solution without consensus. Vargas Sandino also voiced disgust with the blatant political patronage that determines the Court's membership and explained how the CSJ has used procedural issues to avoid presenting ex-President Arnoldo Aleman with a notification of the pending money laundering hearing against him in Panama. End Summary. FSLN, PLC HACKS SQUABBLE OVER POLITICAL SPOILS, LEAVE NICARAGUANS IN THE LURCH -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) RLA met with Nicaraguan Supreme Court Justice Guillermo Vargas Sandino on March 20 to discuss the CSJ's ongoing leadership crisis, the pending hearing against ex-President Arnoldo Aleman in Panama, and other issues. (Comment: Vargas Sandino, the longest-serving Justice, was originally appointed by former President Violeta Chamorro and is widely regarded as the only independent, non-political magistrate in the Court. His term is due to expire on December 15, and he does not believe he will be re-appointed due to his consistent opposition to politically-motivated PLC rulings. End Comment.) Vargas Sandino explained that, according to the FSLN-PLC political pact to control Nicaraguan government institutions, positions are rotated yearly between the two parties. On March 16, the terms of the presidents and vice presidents of the CSJ and the four Chambers -- Constitutional, Criminal, Civil, and Administrative -- expired. The last time magistrates were appointed, Aleman brokered a deal with the FSLN (in exchange for legal manipulation permitting Aleman greater freedom) to allow the Sandinistas to control eight of the sixteen seats in the CSJ, splitting the vote down the middle (with Vargas Sandino presumably voting Liberal). ¶3. (C) According to the Ortega-Aleman pact, the FSLN was "scheduled" to receive the CSJ presidency and presidency of the Criminal Chamber, with the PLC obtaining the vice presidency and presidency of the other Chambers. The FSLN, worried about PLC control of the Constitutional Chamber during an election year, decided to try to renegotiate the deal. (Note: The Constitutional Chamber decides election disputes and was most recently controlled by the Sandinistas, who, using legally dubious methods to achieve a quorum, issued rulings allowing the FSLN-controlled Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) to make decisions without its PLC members and ratifying CSE decisions favorable to Liberal dissident Eduardo Montealegre. End Note.) The magistrates, who Vargas Sandino has witnessed making phone calls for guidance to Aleman and FSLN leader Daniel Ortega, failed to reach an agreement during a marathon meeting on March 17. ¶4. (C) According to CSJ regulations, Vargas Sandino would, as the most senior Justice, assume temporary administration of the CSJ and Judiciary Branch until a final decision is made. However, the FSLN magistrates insisted that the CSJ operate under a committee of four justices (three would be FSLN) led by Vargas Sandino. He declined, asserting that he would not take responsibility for the Court in the absence of consensus. (Note: On March 22, the magistrates finally ratified the membership of the Administrative Chamber, which will allow the Court to at least pay its bills. Vargas Sandino was absent for "family reasons." End Note.) MAGISTRATES IGNORE JUDICIAL CAREER LAW AND EMPLOY PARTY LOYALISTS TO PERPETUATE CORRUPTION -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Vargas Sandino commented that the new and widely praised Judicial Career Law, which outlines qualifications and requirements for new magistrates, is frequently ignored and disregarded. Political connections and abject obedience to party objectives, regardless of legality, continue to trump academic qualifications and legal experience. Specifically, Vargas Sandino lamented the recent appointment of FSLN loyalist Oscar Loza to Managua's Appeals Court, as Loza is not qualified and never took the "required" exams. Vargas Sandino also remarked that Rogers Camillo Arguello, a CSJ justice who was involved in the theft of $609,000 of cocaine money from a CSJ bank account (ref B) should never have been appointed to the CSJ for the same reasons. He stated that Arguello's criminal charges for slander and defamation against a reporter who covered the story were "disgracefully" and illegally dismissed as part of a political deal. ¶6. (C) In addition to the infamous "narco dollars" case, Vargas Sandino mentioned that there are many cases where illegal payoffs have been made to Sandinista CSJ Justice Rafael Solis for a favorable result. Vargas Sandino stated that payment arrangements are made through FSLN operative Lenin Cerna. Most notable cases of payoffs for favorable results include the matters involving civil litigations to recover property by the Cerna (no relation to Lenin Cerna) and Saborio families and that of Alvaro Robelo. ¶7. (C) Vargas Sandino further explained that the Sandinistas are scheming to subvert heretofore relatively independent judicial institutions by insisting on the appointments of political hacks instead of qualified civil servants. He specifically identified the Registrars of Property in Boaco, Esteli and Chontales, the appointment of physicians and laboratory technicians in the Institute of Legal Medicine, and the appointment of public defenders. ¶8. (C) Last week's event launching a commission that will draft a proposed Code of Judicial Ethics was a mockery, claimed Vargas Sandino. The commission is chaired by Justice Ligia Molina Arguello, whom he described as one of the most corrupt judges on the Court. PANAMANIAN MLAT REQUESTS IMPEDED BY BUREAUCRATIC DELAYS -------------- -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Vargas Sandino described how the CSJ avoided complying with two MLAT requests from the Government of Panama (GOP) to notify ex-president Arnoldo Aleman of pending hearings against him in that country. In November 2005, the CSJ unanimously decided (Vargas Sandino included) after a considerable delay not to rule on an MLAT request for procedural default since the GOP had submitted the request to the wrong institution (the Attorney General rather than the National Prosecutor). ¶10. (SBU) The CSJ's Criminal Chamber split on party lines after the submission of a second GOP request. After another long delay caused by inaction on the part of PLC Chief Justice Manuel Martinez, Vargas Sandino determined that the request was incomplete because it lacked some required document certifications. On those grounds, Vargas Sandino denied the request and proposed returning it to the Attorney General so that Panama could correct the procedural deficiencies and return it on time. Naturally, the Court pigeon-holed the request until the deadline passed for re-submission. COMMENT: VARGAS SANDINO UNDER FIRE -------------- ¶11. (C) The Deputy Attorney General told RLA that Vargas Sandino's "complicity" in PLC legal delay tactics is "proof" that he is no longer independent, but another Aleman stooge. RLA later discovered, however, that the source of the information were some Sandinista justices attempting to smear Vargas Sandino's reputation. In a judicial system filled with unqualified, corrupt political hacks, Guillermo Vargas Sandino is often the only voice urging respect for justice and the rule of law -- a voice that is too often drowned out. TRIVELLI