TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IMPROVES ABILITY OF NEWLY

UNCLAS MANAGUA 001327

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL/LP, WHA/CEN
JUSTICE FOR OIA, AFMLS, NDDS, OPDAT
TREASURY FOR FINCEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EINV OPIC KCOR PGOV SNAR KCRIM KJUS NU
SUBJECT: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IMPROVES ABILITY OF NEWLY
CREATED NICARAGUAN NATIONAL POLICE VETTED UNIT TO FIGHT
CORRUPTION AND TRANSNATIONAL CRIME

REF: MANAGUA 00911


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: After several years of planning, a vetted
unit has been created in Nicaragua to investigate
high-profile financial, corruption-related, narcotics and
transnational crimes. The unit has been initially funded by
illicitly acquired assets of corrupt former Nicaraguan
officials that were seized in the United States and
subsequently repatriated for this purpose. Capacity and
technical assistance to unit members has commenced with funds
from INL and DOJ OPDAT. A protracted, comprehensive,
multi-disciplinary training program is being implemented to
provide the unit's personnel with the necessary specialized
knowledge to enforce the law against those who commit corrupt
acts. END SUMMARY.

Background: Fulfilling a Great Need
--------------


2. (SBU) In Nicaragua, corruption within the judiciary
constitutes a strong obstacle to anti-corruption law
enforcement efforts. There is little political will,
however, to reform this corrupted institution. Ineffective
law enforcement institutions do not deter crimes related to
corruption. Instead, within a weakened and politically
manipulated system, these institutions are particularly
vulnerable and susceptible to undue influence. Organized
criminals have taken advantage of the many corrupted
operators within the criminal justice system, from
politically militant judges who demand money to enhance their
party's coffers and line their own pockets, to law
enforcement officers who are motivated by greed or party
affiliation to ignore the law and the reappointment of a
chief prosecutor who manipulates the law and the evidence to
suit the political or financial interests of his party's
boss. Whatever the reasons for these public servants'
betrayal of the public's trust, transnational organized
criminals have benefited as the ideal of law, order and
justice in Nicaragua becomes more distant. Currently, the
intolerably high levels of corruption in the public sector,
including the judiciary, have caused Nicaragua to become a
magnet and haven to transnational criminal organizations.

Plan of Action
--------------


3. (SBU) To succeed in this setting, we must develop over
time an independent, specialized and complex set of law
enforcement components that contribute to the investigation,
prosecution and adjudication of corruption crimes. This
implies the creation of a specialized unit to deal
exclusively with corruption and related crimes. This unit
will bolster intelligence gathering and information sharing,
improve the skills of its members, centralize knowledge and
capacity to increase the effectiveness of these resources
with regards to enforcement and take over the sensitive
issues from ordinary law enforcement agencies that have been
perceived as corrupt. The unit will be strongly centralized
at the national level and staffed with hand-picked, vetted
specialists, such as financial crimes investigators and
independent prosecutors. To increase efficiency the unit will
operate as a "strike force," vested with the ability to
investigate corruption cases and the power to initiate
prosecutions. It will be located in its own building and will
report directly to the police chief and attorney general.
This will enhance independence and assure competence of law
enforcement authorities entrusted with investigating and
prosecuting corruption while providing a buffer against
political and administrative interference. Ultimately, this
arrangement will prevent corruption within the different
components of the criminal justice system.


4. (SBU) Embassy Managua considers it important to have a
well-trained, trustworthy unit to locally investigate and
seek domestic prosecution in Nicaraguan courts of high
profile corruption-related offenses. This commitment by the
Embassy, INL, the RLA program and DEA furthers the USG's
policy to assist Nicaragua develop a credible program to
combat its rampant public and private corruption.


5. (SBU) The long term value that this unit can provide
toward achieving this goal can only be realized by providing
its well intentioned and eager members the capacity and
technical tools to investigate complex criminal offenses
involving, in most instances, politically charged cases and
locally influential individuals.

Capacity Building and Training Begins
--------------


6. (SBU) RLA has begun providing specialized training for
the unit. Coordination and support has been obtained from DOJ
OPDAT, ICITAP-Colombia, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal
Investigation Division (IRS-CI) and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI).


7. (SBU) In March 2007, RLA coordinated an interactive
workshop to develop a short-term strategy to fight low-level
public corruption. DOJ OPDAT, FBI and RLA held a 3-day
workshop to develop a best practices handbook to investigate
and prosecute economic and corruption related crimes
(REFTEL). In April, seven unit members, along with other
Nicaraguan law enforcement personnel and prosecutors
participated in a second encounter to continue developing and
refining the handbook. Additional working sessions have been
scheduled for the coming months until the techniques are
ready for implementation.


8. (SBU) RLA is coordinating both basic and specialized
training on how to conduct criminal investigations. In March
2007, ICITAP-Colombia delivered a 5-day training session on
interrogation techniques to all 18 members of the vetted
unit. In addition, 2 Nicaraguan National Police internal
affairs investigators participated in the training. The
training included both theory as well as practical exercises
and provided the participants with useful tools to conduct
interrogations of suspects and defendants.


9. (SBU) In April 2007, a senior trial attorney from DOJ's
Office of International Affairs and a former AUSA from the
District of Columbia handling extraterritorial investigations
and cases with vetted units in Colombia, Peru and elsewhere
made a presentation to select members of the vetted unit. He
emphasized the importance of teamwork, case preparation and
career development and how it contributes to the success of
the unit's goals. Additionally, he discussed a few of his
experiences working with other Latin American units in the
investigation and the prosecutorial stages of high-profile
cases.


10. (SBU) Two hand-picked vetted unit members and a
prosecutor attended a technical assistance program sponsored
by OPDAT and delivered by DOJ and FBI cyber-crime experts in
San Jose, Costa Rica. The program focused on teaching
practical aspects of forensic investigations related to
cyber-crime and other computer crimes.

Scheduled Future Training Events
--------------


11. (SBU) RLA coordinated with Plan Colombia's JSRP to visit
Colombia's specialized units in May 2007. RLA will visit the
anti-corruption, human rights, anti-narcotics, money
laundering and asset forfeiture and intellectual property
(cyber-crimes) units to observe how they are organized, learn
more about how they operate and discuss how they coordinate
their investigations with prosecutors to bring forward and
prepare cases for prosecution. We would like to replicate, to
the extent practicable, the model implemented by the
specialized units in Colombia.


12. (SBU) American Embassy Honduras and OPDAT are conducting
a practical technical assistance program that will follow up
on their strategy to combat crimes associated with violations
of intellectual property rights. The late May program will
feature the development of practical law enforcement
investigation techniques like developing an investigative
plan, planning and conducting searches and analyzing and
cataloguing the recovered evidence. RLA will assist in the
program as a facilitator and will accompany two participating
Nicaragua vetted unit members.


13. (SBU) IRS-CI International Training Division at the
National Criminal Investigation Training Academy will be
conducting a needs assessment of the unit in May 2007 in
order to design a comprehensive financial investigation
techniques training, in various progressive modules, to
provide capacity building in forensic accounting and
investigative techniques that would benefit criminal
investigators in identifying and detecting access by corrupt
public officials to financial systems.
That program will be offered in the Fall.


14. (SBU) The unit's success depends not only on the
capacity and training skills imparted to the unit members,
but also on the development of its members from the human
asset standpoint. In order to build camaraderie, team spirit
and cohesion and develop leadership skills, ICITAP-Colombia
will offer a technical assistance program on team building
and leadership to all 18-unit members in mid June.
Additionally, ICITAP-Colombia will also offer an advanced
interviewing skills and techniques course the last week of
June for all members.


15. (SBU) RLA is coordinating with DHS Central America
agents to provide training assistance to the unit regarding
criminal violations and administrative responsibilities like
money laundering, immigration and customs violations,
contraband, cyber-crime, etc. within their investigative
responsibilities.


16. (SBU) RLA is coordinating with NAS-Dominican Republic to
schedule an anti-corruption training program that emphasizes
the relationship between corruption, narcotics trafficking
and financial crimes. This program will be offered in the
fall.

Training in US Criminal Law and Procedures
--------------


17. (SBU) The unit will need, at times, to conduct
investigations and gather evidence for cases that will not be
prosecuted in local Nicaraguan courts but rather in United
States federal courts or elsewhere. RLA will provide
technical assistance to train the members of the unit in the
concepts of U.S. criminal law involving offenses like money
laundering, narcotics and arms trafficking, electronic
surveillance, undercover operations, entrapment, debriefing
and use of cooperating witnesses, plea agreements, among
others.


18. (SBU) DOJ Tax Division attorney and an investigator from
and IRS-CI will train unit members in use of international
assistance instruments like multilateral legal assistance
treaties, letters rogatory and techniques for conducting
international money laundering investigations.

Conclusion
--------------


19. (SBU) The success of the vetted unit in achieving its
mission depends on many factors. Most notably, these include
the following: the prevailing political climate; the degree
of commitment and independence from pressures by the chief of
police; and the willingness of the prosecuting agencies in
Nicaragua, and are beyond our control. Other factors, like
the motivation of and willingness of unit members to tackle
corruption -- one case at a time -- and our commitment to aid
the development of specialized skills for the unit to make
credible progress are well within our control.
Implementation, enforcement, and self-sustainability in the
short term depend on the USG not abandoning the field and
providing all the necessary tools, including equipment and
the development of human assets, to give the unit a
meaningful opportunity to wage a credible fight against the
corruption that pervades many of the public institutions in
Nicaragua. The likelihood of success will be greatly
enhanced by continued commitment to maintaining an RLA
assigned to Nicaragua. Post's request for INL and DOJ to
consider continuance of funding for Post's RLA program will
follow septel.
TRIVELLI