MURDER OF PROMINENT LAWYER TARS COLOM

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 000453

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/12/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR GT
SUBJECT: MURDER OF PROMINENT LAWYER TARS COLOM
ADMINISTRATION

Classified By: Acting Pol/Econ Couns Brian Harris for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Rodrigo Rosenberg, a respected local
attorney, was assassinated on May 10 while riding his bicycle
in Guatemala City. Following his death news media aired a
pre-recorded videotape of Rosenberg accusing President Colom,
First Lady Sandra Torres, Private Secretary to the President
Gustavo Alejos, and several members of the Board of Banrural,
a quasi-state financial institution and third largest bank in
Guatemala, of conspiring to murder him. In the tape,
Rosenberg also alleges that Colom and others in his
administration used Banrural to launder money skimmed from
public accounts, from drug trafficking and other illicit
activities. The sensational allegations have not caused a
political firestorm. The President denied involvement and
called for a thorough investigation. Two opposition leaders
called for Colom's immediate resignation. Private sector
leaders and civil society have called for a rapid and
thorough investigation of the allegations. There are rumors
that Rosenberg left additional documents and recordings to
support his case. However, even in the absence of additional
evidence, the case is a blow to the Colom government. The
Ambassador, President Colom and private and public sector
leaders have called for the involvement of the Commission
Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in the investigation
and President Colom requested the assistance from the FBI.
Regional Legatt, Leo Navarette, will arrive May 13 to
evaluate the case. We are using the situation to press with
other donors for judicial reform. End Summary.

The Murder
--------------


2. (SBU) Rodrigo Rosenberg, as he often did, took his
mountain bike for a ride on Guatemala's Avenida Las Americas
on the morning of Sunday, May 10. On Sundays, Avenida Las
Americas is closed to vehicular traffic and bolstered with
extra security to allow for pedestrians to walk, jog or bike
in a relaxed and secure atmosphere. The Sunday "ciclovia" on
Avenida Las Americas is enjoyed by Guatemalan families from
all classes and is frequented by Embassy personnel.
According to witnesses, at approximately 9:15 AM when
Rosenberg was approximately one block from Las Americas, two
vehicles with unknown assailants approached Rosenberg, and
open fired. Rosenberg was struck by three bullets and
pronounced dead at the scene. Several embassy families live
in the building next to where Rosenberg was killed and heard
the shots, and one Embassy employee saw him struggling to
rise after he had been shot.


3. (SBU) Rosenberg was a respected attorney with Masters
degrees from Cambridge and Harvard. He had served as the
Director of the Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce and was a Vice
Dean of Guatemala's Universidad Rafael Landivar's law school.
Rosenberg was also the attorney for prominent businessman
Khalil Musa who was murdered while leaving his textile
factory on April 14. Musa's daughter Marjorie, an American
citizen, was also killed in the attack. These murders have
not been solved.

The Tape
--------------


4. (SBU) Prior to his death, Rosenberg claimed to have
received numerous death threats. On May 6, the Wednesday
prior to his death, Rosenberg felt sufficiently threatened to
record a testimony to be released by the press in the event
of his assassination. In the 18 minute recording, Rosenberg
describes what he believes is a conspiracy to protect a
large-scale money laundering operation for the benefit of
senior government officials and their closest advisors.
President Colom, First Lady Sandra Torres, Private Secretary
to the President Gustavo Alejos, and the businessman Gregorio
Valdez (a major campaign financier) are all implicated in the
conspiracy. Also implicated in the money laundering
operation is Banrural, Guatemala's third-largest bank. An
audio version of the tape was played on several radio
stations at approximately 2:00 PM on May 11 and caused an
immediate political firestorm. Rumors have surfaced that an
additional 17 audio tapes and 42 documents are being held by
Rosenberg confidantes with a strict, though unknown, schedule
for release. We can not confirm the existence of such
documents.

The Allegations
--------------


5. (SBU) In the tape, Rosenberg alleges that the Colom
Administration was skimming public funds from government
programs and protecting money laundering conducted by
narcotraffickers. The alleged money laundering operations

were being handled by Banrural, a quasi-public bank in which
the government owns 30 percent of the shares. According to
Rosenberg, Banrural President Jose Angel Lopez, General
Manger Fernando Pena, and board member Gerardo de Leon ran
the operation.


6. (SBU) Rosenberg alleges that Colom and Alejos wanted to
pressure Banrural officials presumably on illegal activities
where the GOG and Banrural were both included. They
threatened to put a watchdog on the Banrural Board. Musa
was a prominent businessman who owned coffee plantations and
textile factories and was widely regarded for his integrity
and honesty. Alejos was friends with Alejandro Hildebrand,
husband of Khalil'sdaughter, Marjorie Musa. Through
Marjorie, Alejs met Musa to convince him to join the board
of Banrural. Due to its ownership interest in Banrural, the
government has the power to appoint three of its ten board
members. Alejos allegedly thought Musa's reputation for
honesty would worry Banrural managers as he would likely blow
the whistle on the money laundering operations. Alejos
obtained the board appointment for Musa but didn't make it
public.


7. (SBU) To undermine Alejos' ability to use Musa as
leverage, Pena and Lopez met in March 2009 with Musa in a
restaurant in Guatemala's posh Zone 10. The objective of the
meeting was to dissuade Musa from accepting the board
position. According to Rosenberg, Musa responded that it
wasn't his idea to join the board, rather, the government had
asked him to join and he had agreed. If Pena and Lopez had
an objection to his appointment they should take it up with
President Colom. Rosenberg alleges that following this
meeting Banrural management reached an accommodation with the
Colom Administration. Shortly thereafter, on April 14,
Khalil Musa, and his daughter Marjorie (who had acted as the
initial go-between to set up the meeting between Musa and
Alejos) were murdered.


8. (SBU) Following this double homicide, the Musa family
asked Rodrigo Rosenberg, their long-time attorney and family
friend, to look into the circumstances surrounding the
murder. Rosenberg alleges he was upset by the Colom
administration's claim that the Musas were killed over an
internal dispute involving employees of their textile plant.
Rosenberg pursued leads pointing to corruption at Banrural
and among senior Colom administration officials, including
the President himself. As part of his investigation,
Rosenberg claims to have met with the President, Guastvo
Alejos, the Board of Directors of Banrural, and businessman
and Colom-campaign supporter Gregorio Valdez. Rosenberg
claims that Alejos and Valdez warned him that if he pursued
his investigation he would be killed.

The Reaction
--------------


9. (SBU) Following revelations contained in the Rosenberg
tape, print media commentators together with private sector
leaders and civil society called for an immediate and
thorough investigation into the allegations. Opposition
leader Otto Perez Molina called for President Colom to step
down and was joined by former presidential candidate
Alejandro Giamattei. Anti-corruption crusader and
Congresswomen Nineth Montenegro joined opposition party
congresswomen Roxana Baldetti in calling for a floor debate
in Congress on the issue. (Note: this motion has so far been
unsuccessful. End note.)


10. (SBU) President Colom's spokesperson, Fernando Barillas,
hastily assembled a press conference to deny the allegations
and call for an investigation. President Colom called an
impromptu meeting of the diplomatic community to explain his
side of the story and ask for international assistance in the
investigation. During the meeting President Colom looked
agitated and unsure of himself. He welcomed the involvement
of the CICIG to help with the investigation and expressed
grudging support for a draft law to improve the transparency
of the Supreme Court selection process (septel). Late in the
evening, President Colom, flanked by his entire cabinet,
delivered a nationwide television address calling for a full
investigation and warning of the "danger to democracy" of
opposition in the public and private sector who would seek to
use the scandal to destabilize the government.


11. (C) On May 12, Ambassador McFarland called opposition
leader Otto Perez Molina to ask for support for the Supreme
Court reform law. Perez Molina expressed support for the law
and thought there was a possibility it would pass Congress.
The Ambassador, together with other ambassadors in the Donor
Dialogue Group (USG currently heads) called on Roberto
Alejos, President of Congress and brother of President
Colom's Private Secretary Gustavo Alejos, to press for a

swift, objective and professional prosecution and to avoid
politicization of the scandal. The Ambassador also made a
similar statements to the press.

The Other Side of the Story
--------------


12. (C) An immediate family member of the Musas confirmed to
us some of Rosenberg's testimony, such as the stormy meeting
between Khalil Musa and the directors of Banrural. He said,
however, that he does not see how Colom or Alejos could have
benefited from the Musas' death. He thinks Rosenberg was
depressed and unstable and may have drawn unwarranted
conclusions about the murder. The family member does
believe, however, that the Musas murder my have been related
to the Banrural affair.


13. (C) Comment: The scandal erupting around the Rosenberg
tapes in one of the greatest challenge yet to the Colom
administration's credibility. The President's ability to
take swift action to address the allegations and solve the
murders of Khalil and Marjorie Musa and Rodrigo Rosenberg
will determine whether he is able to recover political
capital or whether the scandal will grow and undermine his
ability to govern. The embassy has privately pledged to
support a rapid and transparent investigation, particularly
since the death of Amcit Marjorie Musa. The Ambassador has
stressed the need for a full investigation. The seriousness
with which the Guatemalan political class is taking
Rosenberg's allegations reflect to a large extent their lack
of confidence in the Colom Government and their satisfaction
at any scandal that could undermine him. While Rosenberg's
statement does not convincingly explain the motive behind
Khalil Musa's murder, if additional evidence surfaces, it may
serve to answer this question or undermine the case
altogether.

14 (C) The fact that these allegations have found resonance
reflects several factors: the dramatic nature of Rosenberg's
video; a general perception that corruption (but not outright
murder) is a problem in the Colom government; and different
opposition groups determined to use it to political
advantage, or out of fear. For its part, the GOG is intent
on dismissing the allegations as part of a "destabilization"
attempt.


15. (C) Our objectives should be to keep the investigation
impartial and on track, through support of the Minsterio
Publico and CICIG and to discourage the GOG and opposition
groups from politicizing this. We should continue to use
this case to move our judicial reform agenda to pass the law
to make transparent the selection of the judiciary in
September.
McFarland