GOB TO JAIL OPPOSITION LEADER REYES VILLA?

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 001605 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/18 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM PINR BL SUBJECT: GOB TO JAIL OPPOSITION LEADER REYES VILLA? DERIVED FROM: DSCG 05-1 B, D ¶1. (C) Summary: Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Manfred Reyes Villa confirmed to local press December 16 that he is in hiding from GOB authorities but said he had not fled the country. Reyes Villa labeled himself a victim of political persecution and said President Morales sought to jail him "without respect for the law." The GOB denied this charge, noting Reyes Villa faces several outstanding criminal charges for allegedly mismanaging funds while prefect (governor) of Cochabamba Department and that he is not allowed to leave the country per a judicial restraining order. While the prosecution of Reyes Villa's case -- and cases against other opposition leaders -- does seem politically motivated, it is also widely believed that the charges are based in fact. End summary. Reyes Villa Prosecuted or Persecuted? ¶2. (U) On December 4, two days before national elections, local media reported that someone had made online plane reservations for badly-trailing opposition presidential candidate Manfred Reyes Villa to leave the country. Government Minister Alfredo Rada immediately denounced Reyes Villa's intentions, noting that on November 4 a Cochabamba court had issued a restraining order (in connection with a pending criminal case) that prohibited him from leaving the country. Reyes Villa's campaign denied that he had any intention to leave the country and pointed out that the reservations could have been made by anyone in his name. ¶3. (U) Still, on December 16, Reyes Villa confirmed that he had gone into hiding, and rumors swirled that he had left the country. Reyes Villa told local media via phone interviews that "government agents" had surrounded his home in Cochabamba and were following him as part of an announced plan by President Morales to jail him "regardless of the laws." Reyes Villa referred to statements by Morales December 1 that he intended to jail Reyes Villa and keep his running mate, detained ex-Prefect Leopoldo Fernandez, in prison. "Leopoldo Fernandez ran for office to get out of prison, and Reyes Villa campaigned to stay out," Morales said then. "We're going to change the justice system, and both will end up in prison. They're delinquents." ¶4. (C) Brazilian Embassy sources told us that Reyes Villa fled December 16 after he learned representatives of the GOB's Justice Ministry were going to enter his Cochabamba home to deliver him a subpoena, which they apparently did later in the day. Reyes Villa's brother and chief advisor, Erick, contacted us December 17 to assert that the charges against his brother are baseless, but offered no information about Manfred's whereabouts or plans. ¶5. (U) In a December 16 press conference, Rada commented that "if we confirm that this man (Reyes Villa) escaped from the country, it will show precisely that he has passed into the category of delinquent, that is to say, fugitive." In his conversations with the press, Reyes Villa denied that he had left the country, but said that he feared being detained without charges. "They will not imprison me the way they did to Leopoldo Fernandez, illegally, violating all the laws. They are no guarantees in challenging such a process. The country is entering into a 'syndicalist dictatorship' worse than in the 1980s." ¶6. (U) In addition to Reyes Villa and Fernandez, the opposition prefects of Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca, Beni, and Tarija also face criminal charges. Reyes Villa is not the only member of his campaign to face charges. Erick Reyes Villa is named with him as a co-defendant in cases relating to financial mismanagement from 2006 to 2008. Also, Reyes Villa's campaign chief (and leader of the Plan Progreso party) Jose Luis Paredes faces several charges of mismanagement of funds from his time as prefect of La Paz Department. Paredes announced December 17 that he would not run for mayor of La Paz in the upcoming April elections, citing his belief that the GOB was trying to use lawsuits to silence him. "I could win the [contest]," he said, "but I would have five years of confrontation with the central government, and the people of La Paz do not deserve that." Comment ¶7. (C) Opposition contacts have complained that the GOB is using its political clout to instigate judicial witch hunts under the guise of an anti-corruption crusade, and they believe the situation is set to deteriorate further. The long-delayed "Marcelo Quiroga" anti-corruption act will likely be passed into law soon after the new administration and parliament are seated January 22. The opposition believes the law will be used to pry into their finances, invent corruption charges, and prosecute leaders retroactively. Unfortunately for the opposition, the Bolivian public largely believes that these leaders have been involved in corrupt practices and that the government's charges are for the most part grounded in fact. Although almost certainly singled out for political reasons (we can expect the government's anti-corruption campaign to be weighted against its opponents, even as GOB officials are also being prosecuted),Manfred Reyes Villa and other opposition leaders have much to answer for. Creamer