GUATEMALA: MURDER OF FOUR POLICEMEN ARRESTED FOR

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 000403 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KCRM PHUM KJUS ASEC PTER SNAR GT ES SUBJECT: GUATEMALA: MURDER OF FOUR POLICEMEN ARRESTED FOR ASSASSINATION OF SALVADORAN PARLIAMENTARIANS REF: A. GUATEMALA 375 ¶B. GUATEMALA 348 ¶1. (SBU) Four members of the Civilian National Police (PNC) in detention for alleged involvement in the February 19 assassination of three Salvadoran parliamentarians (reftels) were brutally murdered in a Guatemalan prison on February 25. According to media reports, at least two of the PNC suspects were decapitated and all four were repeatedly shot. A prison guard who was reportedly guarding the prisoners was also killed. ¶2. (SBU) The exact sequence of events is uncertain at this point as the media reported two versions of what happened. One account claims that the PNC members were killed by gang members in a prison riot. Another version, espoused by a group of prisoners and family members, is that the prisoners were executed by a masked team that entered into the prison under the cover of a power outage. According to the second version, the prisoners started rioting after they heard gunshots and took hostages as protection from further executions. ¶3. (SBU) Media reports noted that the alleged murderers were scheduled to be interviewed by the FBI, and implied that their murders were intended to preempt the FBI interviews. The prison warden of El Boqueron in Cuilapa, Santa Rosa, and four prison guards were released unharmed on February 26, approximately ten hours after they were taken hostage. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Public Ministry officials told Emboff February 23 that one of the suspects appeared willing to cooperate with interrogators and the fear that the alleged murderers would talk is widely viewed as having led the masterminds of the original murders to silence them. The Public Ministry has dedicated substantial resources to the getting to the bottom of these two crimes, and San Salvador-based Legatt met with prosecutors today to assess what support the FBI can provide. Derham