ORTEGA ACCORDS ALEMAN VIRTUALLY FREE REIGN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000745

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2017
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM NU PREL
SUBJECT: ORTEGA ACCORDS ALEMAN VIRTUALLY FREE REIGN

REF: A. MANAGUA 0617


B. 2005 MANAGUA 22154

Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli. Reasons 1.4 (B,D).


1. (C) Summary: In an effort likely aimed to keep
Nicaragua's liberals divided and ensure 'buy-in" from the
Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) on the appointment of
regime-friendly Supreme Court justices and other government
positions, the Ortega government issued instructions on March
16 allowing convicted felon and former President Arnoldo
Aleman to move freely throughout the country. The price for
Aleman's freedom probably also includes PLC support for
constitutional reforms allowing consecutive presidential
re-election. Ebullient and emboldened by the news, Aleman
promised to use his newfound freedom to campaign for liberal
unity and lost no time in visiting allies, including Bishop
Bosco Vivas of Leon. Opposition leaders blamed President
Ortega for the decision, while Ortega snidely remarked that
perhaps daily La Prensa had lobbied for Aleman's newly found
freedom. End Summary.

Ortega-Aleman Pact Continues to Dominate Political Arena
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


2. (U) On March 16, Carlos Sobalvarro, the director of
Nicaragua's national penitentiary system, notified convicted
felon/former President/PLC leader Arnoldo Aleman that his
conditions of medical parole previously restricted to Managua
had been expanded to allow him free movement throughout the
country. Ebullient and emboldened by the news, Aleman
publicly vowed to use his newfound freedom to campaign for
liberal unity. Losing no time, Aleman set off on a weekend
tour to visit "friends" in several nearby towns and cities,
including Bishop Bosco Vivas of Leon. (Vivas is also a
staunch supporter of Cardinal Obando y Bravo, President
Ortega's newly minted director of the Sandinista government's
Peace and Reconciliation Council.)

Sandinistas Attempt to Dodge Responsibility
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


3. (U) When possible, the Sandinista government dodged press
inquiries on its decision. When pressed, President Ortega
snidely remarked that perhaps (right-leaning) daily La Prensa
was behind the decision. Nonetheless, independent media
clearly pointed the finger at Ortega.

ALN Calls a Spade a Spade
- - - - - - - - - - - - -


4. (U) Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance (ALN) leader/former
presidential candidate Eduardo Montealegre gave no quarter to
the Sandinista government, placing the blame squarely on
President Ortega's shoulders. The ALN leader asserted that
this latest manifestation of the Ortega-Aleman pact is proof
that Aleman's recent visit to ALN headquarters was but a
media ploy crafted to press Ortega to cede to Aleman's
request for unlimited freedom of movement, or face the threat
of imminent liberal unity. Montealegre called on the Court
of Appeals to determine once and for Aleman's guilt or
innocence. He publicly characterized PLC lawmakers as craven
enough to vote for constitutional reforms that would allow
for Ortega's consecutive presidential election and to support
the FSLN's bid for a constitutional assembly engineered to
grant Ortega powers similar to those of Venezuela's Chavez.
ALN Assembly caucus leader Maria Eugenia Sequeira shared her
conviction that Aleman is no longer a liberal democrat and
instead, is helping Ortega turn Nicaragua into a
communist-socialist regime.

MRS Pulls no Punches
- - - - - - - - - -


5. (U) For Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) National
Assembly lawmaker Monica Boltadano, the Ortega government's
"shameful release of Aleman makes a mockery of justice in
Nicaragua." Sergio Ramirez, who served as Ortega's vice
president in the 1980s and is now affiliated with the
Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS),joined the clamor
against the Ortega government's decision to expand Aleman's
medical parole. He warned that the action is a prelude to
Aleman's pardon before the 2008 municipal elections.

Comment
- - - -


6. (C) We believe that the Ortega government's decision to
grant Aleman free reign of the country is part of its
longstanding strategy to keep Nicaragua's liberals divided
and off balance, and demonstrates that the Ortega-Aleman pact
continues to dominate the country's political stage. In
essence, Aleman's free reign of the country is a de facto
pardon, perhaps a prelude to a formal pardon through a broad
amnesty/national reconciliation initiative that would be
sponsored by Obando y Bravo -- after a compliant Attorney
General files dozens of doubtful cases against ex-President
Bolanos, former Bolanos government officials, Eduardo
Montealegre, and anyone else who has dared cross the pact.
TRIVELLI