NICARAGUA: GON DENIES "RECONFISCATION" POLICY AGAINST U.S.

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000244 STATE FOR WH/CEN, EB/IFD/OIA, AND L/CID STATE ALSO FOR WHA/EPSC STATE PASS TO USTR TREASURY FOR INL AND OWH SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EINV ECON USTR KIDE NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: GON DENIES "RECONFISCATION" POLICY AGAINST U.S. CITIZEN PROPERTY REFS: (A) MANAGUA 228, (B) 08 MANAGUA 1546, (C) 02 MANAGUA 877, (D) MANAGUA 236 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) During the February 26 Property Working Group meeting, Jeanette Garcia, President of the National Confiscations Review Commission (CNRC),asserted there is no government policy to "reconfiscate" U.S. property related to previously settled claims. Ruth Zapata, Head of the Office of Assessment and Indemnification (OCI),said the GON was working diligently to resolve claims under the control of the Nicaraguan Army, particularly in the case of U.S. citizen Juan Barreto. Zapata also expressed her willingness to meet with some U.S. claimants to provide a detailed explanation of their final settlement offers. Econoff pressed Magally Bravo, Executive Coordinator for property issues for the Attorney General's Office, to help resolve claims in court that have easy solutions. While the GON has recently demonstrated a willingness to resolve claims, we continue to remind our GON counterparts that, with 11 claims resolved so far this waiver year, much work remains to be done. End Summary. RECONFISCATION OF RESOLVED CLAIMS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On February 26, Econoff met with Ruth Zapata, Head of the Office of Assessment and Indemnification (OCI),Jeanette Garcia, President of the National Confiscations Review Commission (CNRC), Magally Bravo, Executive Coordinator for property issues for the Attorney General's Office, and Rebeca Zuniga, Coordinator of the Liaison Office for U.S. Citizen Claims, to hold the Property Working Group meeting. Econoff raised concerns about the CNRC's recent notices to two U.S. citizens notifying them that their previously settled claims had been ruled null (Ref A). Garcia asserted that the GON does not have a policy to "reconfiscate" property related to settled claims, explaining that only exceptional cases had been ruled null. Econoff responded that during the bilateral review of Nicaragua's property claims resolution process on December 11-12, 2008, Attorney General Hernan Estrada stated that he would not review previously settled claims (Ref B). Garcia agreed to take a look at the two U.S. settlements that had been ruled null. CLAIMS UNDER NICARAGUAN ARMY CONTROL -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Zapata reported that she met with Samuel Barreto, brother and legal representative of U.S. citizen Juan Barreto, co-owner of the Las Serranias residential complex (Ref C),on February 26 to discuss the status of the family's 28 claims under Nicaraguan Army control. (Embassy's Property Office assistant also attended the meeting) She said the government was assessing which 28 properties could be returned to the Barreto family and reappraising occupied individual lots to increase the final settlement offer. Zapata stated that it was the GON's goal to resolve the Barreto family's claims during this waiver year. She complained that the Army has been unwilling to share needed information on some properties. EXPLAINING SETTLEMENT OFFERS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Zapata offered to meet with some claimants to explain how the government determined their final settlement offers. She acknowledged that some claimants did not understand why OCI sometimes reduces the settlement offers proposed by previous governments. Econoff welcomed Zapata's willingness to explain the appraisal process and offered to schedule meetings the following week. RESOLVING CLAIMS IN COURT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Econoff pressed Bravo to help resolve claims with easy solutions in court. There are several claims that await a single court order to transfer legal title to a claimant. There are other claims in which claimants have asked for an eviction order from a judge to remove squatters or occupants from their property. Econoff also asked Bravo for assurances that the GON would not transfer property to squatters or individuals who wrongfully took control of U.S. citizen property. Bravo responded that she would do all that she could to help advance U.S. citizen claims languishing in court. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) During the last three property working group meetings, the GON has attempted to demonstrate a willingness to work with us to resolve claims. In this meeting, GON officials and the Property Office identified numerous U.S. citizen claims that could be resolved during this waiver year. While we welcome any cooperation we can get, to date the GON has resolved only 11 claims during this waiver year (Ref D). We continue to remind our GON counterparts that much work remains to be done. CALLAHAN