GUATEMALA: BERGER REPLACES MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 000612

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2017
TAGS: PGOV KCRM PHUM KJUS ASEC PTER SNAR GT
SUBJECT: GUATEMALA: BERGER REPLACES MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT

REF: GUATEMALA 494 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Ambassador James Derham, reason: 1.4 (d)


1. (SBU) President Berger annnounced on March 26 that he had
accepted the resignation of Minister of Government (Interior)
Carlos Vielmann as well as those of Civilian National Police
(PNC) Director General Erwin Sperissen and Prison System
Director Victor Rosales. On March 27, Berger named Adela
Torrebiarte as the new Minister of Government. Vielmann was
censured last week with a no confidence vote by the
Guatemalan Congress in response to the worsening situation of
citizen security, which was dramatically highlighted by the
murder of three Salvadoran legislators and their
driver/bodyguard in late February (reftel).


2. (SBU) Torrebiarte is a member of the Security Advisory
Council (CAS),a group formed under the auspices of the Peace
Accords to provide advice to the GOG on security issues.
During the past two years, CAS has developed and presented to
the Berger Administration proposals to reform the PNC and
create a national security council. Following the scandal
over the assassination of three Salvadoran parliamentarians
and their driver/bodyguard, and the subsequent murder of the
suspected culprits, the Berger Administration has expressed
greater willingness to consider the CAS proposals for
security reform. Torrebiarte told reporters she will press
for police reform during the remaining nine months of the
Berger Administration.


3. (C) Torrebiarte, who will celebrate her 58th birthday on
March 30, is one of the principal leaders of Anguished
Mothers, an anti-crime NGO founded by upper class women in
May 1995 in response to a surge in the number of kidnappings.
Anguished Mothers has been involved in security issues since
its inception, with a special interest in police reform, and
works closely with the PNC. Torrebiarte is also well-known
for her involvement in football; she was the president of the
Guatemalan Football League from 2000 to 2003. She hails from
an important private sector family and her nomination for the
post ensures that private sector influence over security
matters will not be disrupted with the departure of Vielmann.
Derham