Under Pressure, Guatemalan Congress Voids Nomination of

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 000051

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/23
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCOR GT
SUBJECT: Under Pressure, Guatemalan Congress Voids Nomination of
Corrupt Chief of Public Defense

REF: 09 GUATEMALA 929

DERIVED FROM: DSCG 05-1 B, D


1. (SBU) Summary: On February 9, the Guatemalan Congress voted to
annul the selection of Remberto Leonel Ruiz Barrientos as head of
the Institute for Public Criminal Defenders. Though originally
chosen by a vote of 96-1 (with 61 abstentions or no-shows),the
Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) revealed extensive
derogatory information on Ruiz, implicating him in bribe-taking,
embezzlement, and sexual harassment. The Constitutional Court
ordered the Congress to review the selection. CICIG, the Ambassador
and Emboffs successfully encouraged party leaders to restart the
process and select an appropriate candidate. The Congressional
decision requires the Postulation Committee to select a new slate
of three candidates to present to Congress. End Summary.




2. (U) On February 9, the Guatemalan Congress voted to annul
Remberto Leonel Ruiz Barrientos' appointment as head of the
Institute for Public Criminal Defenders (IDPP) and to restart the
process to select a new candidate. Congress originally confirmed
Ruiz in January by a vote of 96-1. However, since then, multiple
allegations of professional impropriety cast doubt on his
suitability to lead the organization. The charges, substantiated by
the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG),
include 46 disciplinary complaints against Ruiz during his stint as
a judge in Zacapa from 1995-1998, six of which ended with a
punishment of some sort. Civil society and CICIG also accused Ruiz
of having accepted a bribe to free a prisoner accused of murder
between 1995-1998 and that he had sexually harassed multiple women.
According to CICIG, Ruiz later joined the Attorney General's office
and surreptitiously removed all of his own disciplinary files.




3. (U) The Constitutional Court ordered Congress to revisit Ruiz's
nomination after various parties questioned the integrity of the
process and Ruiz's character. Ruiz originally formed part of a
three candidate slate that had been selected by a Postulation
Committee. The other candidates included the then-head of the IDPP
Blanca Stalling and leftist candidate Fanuel Garcia. Following
public pressure to withdraw, Stalling did so. Despite questions as
to whether her departure legally tainted the process, since the law
mandates that Congress select from a panel of three, Congress
proceeded and selected Ruiz. The Constitutional Court reviewed the
case and ordered Congress to vote again, following strong pressure
from CICIG. The process will start again with the formulation of
the Postulation Committee and the presentation of a new
three-candidate slate to Congress.




4. (C) Following consultation with CICIG and other embassies, the
Ambassador and Emboffs successfully encouraged party leaders to
restart the nomination process. According to press reports, at the
beginning of the day, a sufficient number of congressmen had agreed
to reconfirm Ruiz. However, the Ambassador's intervention with
opposition leader Otto Perez Molina shifted the congressional
balance in favor of annulment. Members of the dissenting Grand
National Alliance (GANA) and Republican Front of Guatemala (FRG)
benches, usually reliable legislative partners for the governing
National Union for Hope (UNE),walked out. One influential Member
of Congress told POL/ECON Counselor that Ruiz had promised dozens
of jobs in exchange for congressional support.




5. (C) Comment: Coming in the wake of the troubled congressional
election of the new Supreme Court in fall 2009, the Congress'
selection of Ruiz was a disappointment (Ref A). The situation
forced civil society, CICIG, and the USG to again badger the
Congress into not installing an inappropriate candidate in a senior
judicial position. Politically, it is notable that FRG and GANA
broke from the governing UNE. Such dissent could be indicative that
the coalition is fraying amid pre-electoral maneuvering. We will
join civil society and CICIG in engaging closely with the Congress
to encourage a better outcome next time around.
MCFARLAND