EL SALVADOR: NEW HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN REPLACES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 001264

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2027
TAGS: ES PGOV PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: NEW HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN REPLACES
CARRILLO

REF: A. 2004 SAN SALVADOR 3558


B. 2005 SAN SALVADOR 547

C. 2005 SAN SALVADOR 2542

D. 2006 SAN SALVADOR 450

Classified By: Ambassador Charles L. Glazer, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Political Commission of the Legislative
Assembly voted June 27 to tap Oscar Humberto Luna as the
country's new Human Rights Ombudsman (PDDH),replacing
two-term incumbent Beatrice Carrillo. Luna's selection
marked a rare show of cooperation across the aisles in a
Legislative Assembly that has thus far been characterized by
entrenched polarization and gridlock. Carrillo's replacement
by Luna, a respected center-left legal scholar, returns
credibility to the PDDH, and bodes well for the continued
consolidation of the nation's democratic institutions. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) Following a May 7 deadline for nominations, the
Assembly narrowed the list of PDDH candidates to five.
Beatrice Carrillo was openly eager in pursuing a third term;
in addition to Carrillo and Luna, the list included alternate
Supreme Court Justice German Alvarez, juvenile judge Aida
Santos de Escobar, and attorney Juan Jose Zaldana. (Note:
In 2001 Zaldana was chosen to be PDDH by the Legislative
Assembly, but he was dismissed from consideration after the
influential Monsignor Tobar Astorga, Bishop of Zacatecoluca,
phoned party leaders and implored them to reject Zaldana due
to issues in his personal life with which Tobar Astorga took
exception. End note.) Ironically, Alvarez's center-right
orientation as a Supreme Court justice doomed his candidacy
in ARENA's eyes; the ruling party feared that his departure
from the Court might upset its delicate judicial mathematics.



3. (C) Although all parties carefully avoided any sharp
public criticism of Carrillo, her eccentric behavior and
flamboyant style had cost the PDDH credibility in recent
years. Following the November 2004 murder of
Salvadoran-American labor activist Gilberto Soto, Carrillo
asserted that suspects' confessions had been extracted via
torture, although independent medical exams quickly showed
these charges to be false (reftel A). Credible allegations
later arose of attempts by PDDH officers to suborn key
witnesses in an attempt to paint the murder as having been
politically motivated (reftel B). Despite a thorough
investigation that yielded a preponderence of evidence
implicating the victim's mother-in-law, an Usulutan
sentencing judge with ties to Carrillo ultimately freed all
but one suspect (reftel D). Carrillo's unabated criticism of
ARENA and the Saca administration often bordered on the
bizarre; she was virtually the sole critic of the
government's emergency services preparations for Hurricane
Adrian in May 2005, which she dismissed as "political
grandstanding". When a red tide killed a number of sea
turtles in January 2006, Carrillo cited it as yet another
failure of the Saca administration. Carrillo was a constant
and outspoken opponent of virtually every USG initiative in
the region, including CAFTA-DR, the International Law
Enforcement Academy (ILEA),and--at least initially--the
Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) project.


4. (C) Carrillo was also a poor steward of the PDDH's
limited resources, frittering away considerable sums in often
self-congratulatory large ads in leading dailies, and marking
the release of routine reports by renting ballrooms at luxury
hotels and laying on lavish hors d'oeuvres and drinks. In
September 2005, Carrillo was formally charged by the Court of
Accounts with diverting US$26,000 in PDDH funds, including
the assignment of six vehicles for her personal use and a
monthly gasoline subsidy of $2,800--then equivalent to more
than 800 gallons (reftel C). During the Assembly's recent
interviews of PDDH candidates, the union representing PDDH
employees, ASEPRODEH, pleaded with deputies to select anyone
but Carrillo, in view of such irregularties in her management
of the institution's resources.


5. (C) Notwithstanding their mild public comments of
appreciation for Carrillo's work, Luna appeared to be ARENA's
first choice from the beginning; his impeccable credentials
included his tenure as counselor with the National Judicial
Council and membership in the prestigious Juridical Study
Center. The FMLN was somewhat more effusive in its praise
for Carrillo's work, but early on their attention began to
shift toward Santos de Escobar, who has supported FMLN
policies since her failed 2000 bid to be elected PDDH. In
view of the Catholic Church's objections to Zaldana, he was
likely never considered a finalist by center-right ARENA and
PCN deputies. Given the unacceptability of FMLN sympathizer
Santos de Escobar to ARENA, the FMLN ultimately came to
recognize that Luna offered the best opportunity to achieve

consensus. The Legislative Assembly on June 28 formally
confirned Luna's selection with 79 votes in favor and the
abstentions of five PDC deputies, after which the 57-year-old
Santa Ana native was sworn in.


6. (C) COMMENT: The replacement of Carrillo was long
overdue; her politicization of the PDDH, poor management, and
erratic histrionics had robbed credibility from an
institution crucial to El Salvador's postwar evolution.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that Carrillo is eyeing the
position of Rector of the National University (UES),where
the venerable incumbent, Isabel Rodriguez, is retiring after
a lengthy tenure. The position would appear to offer a
political environment and public attention in which Carrillo
would thrive. Meanwhile, the well-qualified Oscar Luna will
roll up his sleeves and get down to the serious work of
rebuilding the PDDH. END COMMENT.
Glazer