US embassy cable - 04TEGUCIGALPA1339

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 001339 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL/IL, DRL/PHD, AND INL/LP 
STATE FOR WHA/PPC AND WHA/CEN 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN 
DOL FOR ILAB 
DOJ FOR OPDAT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, SMIG, KWMN, ELAB, PGOV, PREL, KJUS, HO 
SUBJECT:  Honduras TIP Update: EmbOffs Meet with Attorney 
General and Supreme Court President on Prosecutions 
 
REF: (A) Tegucigalpa 926 
 
     (B) Tegucigalpa 576 
     (C) Tegucigalpa 382 
     (D) Tegucigalpa 116 
     (E) Tegucigalpa 70 
     (F) 03 Tegucigalpa 2965 
 
1.  Summary: EmbOffs met recently with the Honduran Attorney 
General and the Supreme Court President to emphasize the 
critical nature of successful prosecutions as part of an 
overall GOH strategy to combat trafficking in persons. 
Honduras has also been active in recent months on a number of 
trafficking in persons (TIP) fronts.  This cable provides an 
update on these efforts.  End Summary. 
 
EmbOffs Meet With AG and SC President 
------------------------------------- 
 
2. PolCouns and PolOff met June 2 with Attorney General (AG) 
Ramon Ovidio Navarro and his assistant Jaime Banegas 
(subsequently sworn in as Director of Prosecutors June 9), 
and June 7 with Supreme Court (SC) President Vilma Morales to 
emphasize the critical nature of successful prosecutions as 
part of an overall GOH strategy to combat trafficking in 
persons.  PolOffs gave both copies of the 2003 TIP, Human 
Rights, and Supporting Human Rights and Democracy reports in 
Spanish.  PolOffs emphasized that the 2004 TIP report would 
be released shortly and UNDERSCORED the importance of TIP in 
the bilateral agenda. 
 
3. The AG said the Public Ministry, which he heads and 
includes all prosecutors, is committed to combating TIP and 
to sharing information with the Embassy.  PolOff noted the 
close contact between EmbOffs and the Special Prosecutors for 
Organized Crime, Children's Issues, and Women's Issues.  The 
AG agreed this was important, and subsequently held a meeting 
June 7 with prosecutors from the Organized Crime and 
Children's Issues offices to discuss Public Ministry efforts 
against TIP and commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC) crimes. 
He welcomed G/TIP-funded training via DOJ/OPDAT planned for 
later this year.  He pledged that the GOH would make a 
concerted effort this year to prosecute TIP cases more 
aggressively. 
 
4. The Supreme Court President, who oversees the entire 
judiciary, said there is a growing knowledge of TIP crimes 
among judges, and the links to other crimes such as document 
fraud and money laundering.  She also pledged to raise the 
importance of combating TIP and TIP-related crimes at the 
next meeting of the GOH's inter-agency committee on the 
application of the new Code of Criminal Procedure.  She 
explained that a revision of the Penal Code is under 
consideration and suggested that it would be an opportunity 
to strengthen laws against TIP.  Post subsequently provided 
her with a copy of the USG's model TIP law for consideration. 
 
5. Morales said she understood the importance of following 
cases all the way through to the end.  She noted that in some 
instances, there were alleged threats against judges involved 
in TIP-related cases.  (Note:  Post notes that there was also 
speculation about possible corruption by judges in those 
cases.  End Note.) 
 
6. PolOffs discussed with both the AG and SC President the 
importance of the Chinese cases, particularly the December 
2003 arrests of Chinese naturalized Hondurans Hu Weng Rong 
and He Jia Bin in San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa, 
respectively, for involvement in an alien smuggling ring for 
PRC nationals using fraudulent documents.  Both are still in 
jail.  (See refs D-F and septel for more information on the 
various Chinese smuggling cases.)  The AG and SC President 
have discussed these cases together and have been very 
responsive to U.S. interest in these cases. 
 
GOH Continues Raids of Massage Parlors 
-------------------------------------- 
 
7. Honduran authorities continue to take action against the 
commercial sexual exploitation of children in Honduras.  Most 
recently, on May 1 three owners of massage parlors were 
arrested (two Hondurans and one Nicaraguan) and seven of 
these establishments were closed.  Three of the seven had 
minor children working at the time they were raided.  The 
Special Prosecutor for Children has been and continues to 
conduct operations jointly with the police, the Honduran 
Institute for Children and the Family (IHNFA), judges, and 
Casa Alianza, to rescue CSEC victims and arrest and prosecute 
those responsible for these victims' exploitation. 
 
Casa Alianza Signs Agreement with Immigration 
--------------------------------------------- 
8. The NGO Casa Alianza signed an agreement with the Ministry 
of Government and Justice and the Directorate of Immigration 
on April 22 to protect children that are TIP/CSEC victims 
outside Honduras.  As part of the agreement, the GOH 
committed to informing Casa Alianza about any repatriation of 
minors. 
 
TIP Seminars Planned for August 
------------------------------- 
 
9. The Honduran government is planning seminars for late 
August in the Caribbean coast cities of Tela (a tourist 
destination) and Puerto Cortes on the prevention and 
eradication of the CSEC and trafficking in women and 
children.  The seminars are modeled after seminars held in 
Tegucigalpa and La Ceiba in 2003, and in San Pedro Sula and 
Santa Rosa de Copan in January 22-23, 2004.  The Embassy 
brought in first a U.S. NGO expert and then G/TIP Senior 
Reporting Officer Phil Linderman (ref C) to be keynote 
speakers at the seminars.  The Embassy is working with IIP to 
arrange to bring in the same NGO expert in August (ref A and 
subsequent e-mails). 
 
Palmer