POOR PERFORMANCE OF PT MEANS LUCIA MORETT FACES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 002234

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2019
TAGS: MX PGOV PINR PREL
SUBJECT: POOR PERFORMANCE OF PT MEANS LUCIA MORETT FACES
POSSIBLE EXTRADITION

MEXICO 00002234 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Acting Political Minister Counselor James P. Merz. Reaso
n: 1.4 (b),(d).


1. (SBU) Summary. Wanted by Colombia and Ecuador for her
connections to the FARC, Lucia Morett, a Mexican student from
the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM),did not
win a plurinominal seat for the Chamber of Deputies and
therefore will not have immunity to protect her from
extradition. Morett was at a FARC camp in Ecuador in March
2008 when the Colombian government attacked it and killed
Raul Reyes (second in command of the FARC) along with 24
others, including four other Mexican students. After
returning to Mexico, Morett faced domestic and international
investigations. Separately, in a bid to lend her symbolic
support and support her effort to secure judicial immunity,
the leftist Labor Party (PT) offered her a spot on its list
of plurinominal candidates for the Chamber of Deputies. If
the PT had won enough votes, Morett could have secured three
years of immunity from extradition. But as PT won less than
4% of the vote, it will not be able to seat her. Therefore
she is now fighting extradition, claiming she is a political
target with no involvement in terrorist activities. End
Summary.

Preemptive Politicking
--------------


2. (C) In a bid to provide Morett with immunity from
potential extradition or other legal proceedings, PT offered
Morett positions on the party's plurinominal lists for both
Mexico City's local congress and the federal Chamber of
Deputies. According to PT leaders quoted in the press, while
in negotiations with the party weeks before the elections,
Morett rejected its offer to be second on the list for the
local legislature and instead chose a lower slot on the
federal register. This proved to be a miscalculation, as the
PT,s final vote tally was too low to secure her a seat and
thus immunity.

Colombia Seeks Arrest, Ecuador Seeks Extradition
-------------- ---


3. (SBU) On July 3, two days before midterm elections in
Mexico, Colombia filed a request with Interpol to issue a red
notice for Morett's capture after a Bogota judge issued an
arrest warrant for her on terrorism charges. The Colombian
government has accused her of conspiring to commit terrorist
acts, financing terrorism, and administering resources
related to terrorism. The Mexican government has been slow
to respond to the Interpol alert, and a Mexican judge has not
yet issued a warrant for Morett,s arrest. Mexico will not
take her into custody nor extradite her unless the Attorney
General's Office (PGR) specifically seeks an arrest warrant
from a Mexican judge. According to Morett's family members,
she remains in a "safe place," and some reports say she is
even seeking refuge in Canada or, more likely, Venezuela.


4. (SBU) On July 15, Ecuador officially requested Morett's
extradition on charges of crimes against domestic security,
once it was clear that the PT had not gained enough votes to
secure her a seat in the Chamber. President Rafael Correa,
who after the bombing initially allowed Morett to stay in
Ecuador as a tourist to receive medical attention, has
distanced himself from the proceedings, arguing that by
formally requesting extradition his administration has merely
"complied" with the judicial request to bring Morett to
Ecuador to stand trial. He appears, at least publicly, to
have misgivings about pressing Mexico for her extradition,
possibly lessening prospects she will ultimately be sent to
Ecuador to face trial. (Note: Immediately following the
bombing, Morett was granted refuge in Nicaragua. End Note.)


5. (C) Colombia is suspicious of Ecuador's motivations in
seeking extradition. The Deputy Chief of Mission of the
Colombian Embassy in Mexico, Jaime Acosta, told Poloff that
he believes Morett would face much lighter charges if she is
extradited to Ecuador instead of Colombia. He suspected that
Ecuador is most likely trying to protect Morett by keeping
her out of Colombia and at the same time trying to rile
Bogota by preempting its own request. Nevertheless, without

MEXICO 00002234 002.2 OF 002


offering a concrete explanation as to why, Acosta suggested
that Mexico is more likely to send Morett to Colombia than
Ecuador, and that Colombia had made a special request to the
GOM regarding the issue.


Strategies for Her Defense: Politically Motivated Accusations
-------------- --------------


6. (SBU) With Morett,s hopes for constitutional protection
lost following the midterm elections, lefitist parties (most
notably PT and PRD) and other supporters are presently
pursuing a legal strategy in her defense. Her supporters
maintain that her extradition is politically motivated and
the 2006 Treaty on Extradition between Mexico and Ecuador
should not apply. Her defenders argue she is neither a
terrorist nor a member of the FARC, and that she was in
FARC's camp the day of the bombing only to study leftist
resistance groups. While her legal team does not clearly
explain or back up its defense, they claim to have extensive
evidence to prove their case. They also state that Mexico
has ample legal room to deny the extradition. If necessary,
they will seek "amparos" and other legal tools to protect
Morett. PRD officials have also stated they will go to
Ecuador to negotiate with Correa in order to protect her;
they secured a non-binding resolution in the Permanent
Session of Congress earlier this month, recommending to
Calderon that she not be remanded to Ecuador.

Public Opinion Divided, Subdued
--------------


7. (SBU) Morett has her supporters and detractors, but
neither side has earned significant media coverage of late.
The most vocal opponent against Morett is the Citizen's
Council for Security, Justice and Peace, a civil society
organization that has filed complaints with PGR demanding
investigations of Morett. The organziation has even made
trips to Ecuador and Colombia in efforts to press the GOM to
pursue the case. Despite such efforts, while there are
regular updates in the press, particularly in the
left-leaning Mexico City daily La Jornada published out of
UNAM, the reports tend to be short and factual rather than
passionately opinionated. On the surface, the immediate
aftermath of the bombing in Ecuador appears to have generated
more public interest than Morett's current legal battle.
Public interest has now waned, perhaps in part because this
is not the first time someone has sought to avoid legal
trouble by seeking a Congressional seat.



8. (C) Comment: The Interpol red notice and the request for
extradition put pressure on Mexico to move on Morett. As she
lost her bid for a seat in the House of Deputies, Morett
cannot seek protection behind the cloak of immunity.
Patricia Espinosa, Secretary of Foreign Relations, insists
publicly that her department is actively studying the case
but that legal proceedings could take years. With over 5,000
pages from Ecuador to review and thousands more anticipated
from Colombia, Mexico will likely drag its feet before having
to decide if and where it will send her. Mexico's apparent
reluctance to make a timely decision on Morett's case
suggests it has misgivings about arresting and extraditing
her -- presumably for internal political reasons -- but is
similarly not keen on refusing the requests of its regional
partners.
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap /

FEELEY