US embassy cable - 04TEGUCIGALPA400

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000400 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/B, INL/LP, DRL/PHD, AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KJUS, KCRM, SNAR, PINR, HO 
SUBJECT: NEW HONDURAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: THE LAW IS GOOD, IF 
A MAN USES IT LAWFULLY 
 
REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 381 
     B. 03 TEGUCIGALPA 2844 
     C. 03 TEGUCIGALPA 1615 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Francisco Palmieri; 
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary:  On February 17 Ramon Ovidio Navarro Duarte 
was sworn in as Honduras' next Attorney General (AG), 
replacing outgoing AG Roy Edmundo Medina Nolasco.  Navarro, a 
Honduran Supreme Court Justice, is expected to assume his new 
responsibilities on March 12.  Navarro is a Nationalist Party 
(PN) member and long-time associate of ex-president Rafael 
Callejas.  Navarro maintains close contact with other members 
of the Honduran political/economic elite who are committed to 
maintaining the status quo.  As such, it remains to be seen 
what type of zeal he will demonstrate at the Public Ministry 
(PM) to aggressively pursue criminal and corruption cases 
against high level individuals.  Post believes, however, that 
he will improve the PM's performance in prosecuting low-level 
street crime and in working more collaboratively with the 
other judicial and law enforcement entities in Honduras.  End 
Summary 
 
2. (C) On February 17 Ramon Ovidio Navarro Duarte was sworn 
in as Honduras' new Attorney General (AG), replacing outgoing 
AG Roy Edmundo Medina.  Navarro, a Honduran Supreme Court 
Justice, is expected to assume his new responsibilities on 
March 12 (ref A).  Navarro is linked to the "Dark Side" of 
the Nationalist Party (PN) and is a long-time associate of 
ex-president Rafael Callejas, who himself has been accused of 
corrupt practices.  Navarro was, in fact, an integral member 
of Callejas' legal defense team during his mid-1990's 
corruption scandals.  Callejas, who still exerts enormous 
influence within the PN, was instrumental in orchestrating 
Navarro's selection as AG and Navarro, despite being a 
sitting Supreme Court Judge, is still a member of Callejas' 
legal team.  Navarro is also a close friend of Honduran 
Supreme Court President Vilma Cecilia Morales, and maintains 
strong personal relationships with Honduran National 
University Rector Guillermo Arias Perez Cadalso and Honduran 
Foreign Minister Leonidas Rosa Bautista, all Nationalists who 
supported his candidacy. 
 
3. (C) Navarro's selection as the new AG was guided by high 
ranking Nationalist Dark Side members of congress, including 
the President of Congress, Porfirio (Pepe) Lobo, Gilberto 
(Picho) Goldstein, Rodolfo Irias Navas, and Oswaldo Ramos 
Soto, all of whom might have something to fear from an AG 
with the political will to aggressively pursue high level 
corruption cases.  Not necessarily the most qualified for the 
job, his selection and nomination moved forward without a 
concerted effort by either the Liberal Party or the 
non-Callejas faction of the PN to derail it.  Although 
Honduran law requires the selection of the AG to be an open 
and transparent process, the rapidity of the congressional 
vote limited the coordination of any of the other candidates 
and their supporters, reminding one of fixed deals in smoke 
filled rooms. 
 
4. (U) Other candidates who had made the AG short-list were: 
Lidia Estella Cardona Padilla (Supreme Court Judge); Carlos 
Africo Madrid (Supreme Court Representative on the National 
Election Tribunal); Luis Enrique Galeano Milla (private 
attorney); and Roberto Lagos Banegas (private attorney).  All 
AG candidates were PN members.  The new Deputy Attorney 
General is Yuri Fernando Melara Berlios, a Liberal Party 
member, in keeping with tradition that the second in command 
at the PM represent the main opposition party. 
 
5. (C) Comment:  After current AG Medina's dismal 
performance, many civil society and justice sector actors 
hoped that a new more aggressive, crusading, and ethical AG 
might usher in a new mind-set at the PM.  Such a lead 
prosecutor might have been able to dent the pervasive 
corruption and sense of impunity that permeates Honduran 
society.  However, Navarro's selection as the new AG signals 
that probably little will change at the PM.  This is a 
disappointing development, particularly after the 
international community's and Honduran civil society's 
concerted efforts to promote the rule of law in Honduras and 
the significance of choosing a highly qualified AG.  While 
Navarro was the presiding judge in the recent conviction and 
sentencing of PN deputy Armando Avila Panchame, persistent 
rumors emanating from high levels within the Government of 
Honduras (GOH) indicate that Avila Panchame was "sacrificed" 
in an effort to demonstrate to the U.S. Navarro's commitment 
to combating drug trafficking and corruption at the highest 
levels (ref A).  Post believes that Navarro will improve the 
PM's performance in prosecuting low-level crime and in 
working more collaboratively with the other judicial and law 
enforcement entities in Honduras.  Despite Medina's poor 
leadership and the overall problems with the PM, there are 
many strong individual prosecutors untainted by allegations 
of corruption or incompetence that mar many in the PM. 
 
6. (C) Comment Continued:  It appears that Navarro is not 
likely to improve the rule of law in Honduras or lead an 
effort for needed reforms.  Thus, his selection will likely 
not change a legal system which is desperately in need of 
improvement.  End Comment. 
 
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Biographic Information 
---------------------- 
 
7. (C)  Ramon Ovidio NAVARRO Duarte was born in Trujillo, 
Honduras, on September 17, 1938.  He was selected as a member 
of the newly reformed Honduran Supreme Court of Justice in 
2002 and continued in that capacity prior to being selected 
as the new AG.  Navarro remains an active Nationalist Party 
member and is clearly identified with the Dark Side of the 
party.  Prior to joining the Supreme Court Navarro was a 
professor of labor law at the Honduran National Autonomous 
University (UNAH).  At one point, Navarro served as Vice 
Minister at the Honduran Ministry of Government and Justice 
and was head of, and legal advisor to, the Honduran Institute 
of Social Security. 
 
8. (U) Navarro has considerable judicial experience and is 
known as an able litigator.  He was a judge in the Court of 
Appeals in San Pedro Sula, an appellate level Administrative 
Law Judge, and an interim judge for the Honduran Registry of 
Property.  Navarro holds a 1965 degree in law from UNAH and 
his Bachelors degree is from a local university in San Pedro 
Sula.  Navarro is married to Ingrid E. Vasquez.  He does not 
speak English. 
 
PALMER