US embassy cable - 05BRASILIA464

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 000464 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2015 
TAGS: BR, CASC, KCRM, PGOV, PHUM, PREL, SOCI, Human Rights, TIP 
SUBJECT: THREE SUSPECTS IN CUSTODY IN STANG MURDER, BUT 
DOUBTS ABOUT INVESTIGATION EMERGE 
 
REF: A. BRASILIA 00369 
 
     B. BRASILIA 00437 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Dennis Hearne. Reason: 1.4 
(d). 
 
1. (C) By February 22, police had arrested three of the four 
suspects in the February 12 murder of US missionary Dorothy 
Stang in Para state in northern Brazil.  Both alleged gunman 
plus the middleman who hired them are now in custody.  The 
fourth suspect, the landowner who is the alleged mastermind 
of the assassination, remains at large and his attorney is 
negotiating his surrender.  To outward appearances, the case 
is moving along well.  However, many remain convinced that 
the state authorities leading the investigation are seriously 
compromised by links to large landowners, and that a full 
investigation and fair trial will not take place unless the 
case is taken over by federal authorities.  To this end, 
federal officials are reviewing their options and a decision 
on "federalizing" the case is expected in the coming days. 
The case continues to command enormous press and government 
interest in Brazil. 
(Note:  We request strict protection for identities of 
sources in this report.  End Note). 
END SUMMARY. 
 
THREE OF FOUR SUSPECTS IN CUSTODY 
--------------------------------- 
2. (C) On February 21, the third of four suspects in the 
murder of US missionary Sister Dorothy Stang was taken into 
custody by police in the northern Brazilian state of Para. 
Per refs, Stang, 73, was shot to death by two men on February 
12 on a dirt road near the town of Anapu, in the state's 
rural interior, apparently because of her activities on 
behalf of landless farmers and the rainforest.  The attack 
was witnessed by one of Stang's colleagues who escaped 
uninjured and is now under police protection.  The 
investigation is focusing on four suspects:  the two gunmen 
(Rayfran "Fogoio" de Sales and Uilquelano "Eduardo" de Souza 
Pinto), the middleman who hired them (Amair Feijoli "Tato" da 
Cunha), and the alleged mastermind (landowner Vitalmiro 
Goncalves "Bida" de Moura). 
 
3. (C) On February 19, alleged middleman Tato da Cunha turned 
himself in to police, reportedly afraid for his own safety in 
the tense region.  On February 20-21, the two gunmen were 
captured separately by police acting on tips.  Only landowner 
Bida de Moura remains at large, and authorities told us on 
February 21 that his attorney is negotiating his surrender. 
Alleged triggerman Rayfran de Sales has already confessed his 
involvement to police but thus far has refused to implicate 
Bida de Moura. 
 
STATE POLICE MAY BE COMPROMISED 
------------------------------- 
4. (C)  On February 21, Embassy Poloff, USAID Environmental 
Officer and US Consular Agent met with authorities in Belem, 
the capital of Para state at the mouth of the Amazon River. 
To outward appearances, the investigations are proceeding 
smoothly, yet there are serious concerns that the state 
police have been compromised by improper links to large 
landowners in the area who are involved in illegal land 
appropriation and deforestation.  There is a belief here that 
a full investigation and fair trial will not be realized 
unless the case is taken over by federal authorities. 
 
5. (C) State police have primary jurisdiction over murder 
cases, and the Para authorities have taken the lead in 
investigating the Stang murder.  However, because of the 
implications for federal environmental, human rights, and 
agrarian policies, the Federal Police and federal prosecutors 
are conducting their own parallel inquiry, and tensions 
between the two forces are beginning to emerge.  Manoel 
Santino, the Special State Secretary for Social Defense, who 
commands the state's two police forces (the investigative 
"Policia Civil" and the uniformed "Policia Militar") told us 
that the inquiry is proceeding quickly and that state 
investigators (deploying an "Israeli-made wiretap system", he 
told us) are convinced of the involvement of the four 
suspects.  Santino noted that Dorothy Stang had met with him 
four times in recent months to discuss tensions in the Anapu 
area, but that she had not accepted police protection. (N.b., 
Stang reported receiving numerous credible death threats in 
the past two years, so the question of why she had no police 
protection has generated some finger-pointing here.  Our 
discussions with authorities and her friends and colleagues 
suggest that she did not accept protection because she 
harbored suspicions about the loyalties of the state police 
and because she felt that if she were well-protected, 
potential assassins would then attack those around her who 
did not have protection.) 
 
6. (C) In a separate conversation, Federal Prosecutor 
Ubiratan Cazetta (strictly protect), pronounced himself 
"deeply concerned" that the investigation will be 
intentionally compromised by state authorities.  Corrupt 
state authorities are widely believed to have allowed 
lucrative large-scale illegal land appropriation and 
clear-cutting to have continued for years.  Cazetta observed 
that Dorothy Stang was "widely-known, a walking archive of 
land theft, persistent, and well-prepared", thus she became a 
"stone in the shoe of landowners and state police."  Based on 
the federal authorities' parallel investigation, Cazetta is 
convinced that the two gunmen in custody were involved in the 
killing, but he is not yet certain about the involvement of 
alleged mastermind Bida de Moura.  Cazetta minced no words, 
he told us that the state police in the rural areas are 
closely connected with large landowners and have been known 
to hire themselves out as gunmen and to intentionally 
obstruct investigations.  He said he is "very worried about 
the direction of the investigation, the speed with which 
state police settled on the four suspects, and the security 
of those in custody."  Cazetta pointed out that higher-ups in 
the conspiracy could easily "erase" the suspects now in jail, 
either by arranging for them to be killed or by allowing them 
to escape --both common scenarios in Para's jails.  Cazetta 
added that he had learned that as they were arresting gunman 
Rayfran de Sales, state police officers reportedly threatened 
him and told him how to structure his confession. 
 
7. (C) Cazetta's fears about the involvement of the state 
police were echoed by State Congressman Airton Faleiro (of 
President Lula's left-of-center Workers' Party -PT)(strictly 
protect).  Faleiro is an environmentalist who serves on the 
State Assembly's Human Rights Committee.  Between meetings at 
the State Assembly, Faleiro pulled us into a corner and 
hurriedly whispered that he was convinced that officials in 
the state police are involved in a cover-up to protect the 
higher-ups in the Stang murder.  Similar concerns were shared 
with us by Dorothy Stang's colleagues, two nuns with her 
religious order 'The Sisters of Notre Dame' in Belem 
(strictly protect this reference).  One of the Sisters told 
us, "The cops in Anapu are all tied in with the landowners. 
As long as the state police and officials are involved, this 
case will go nowhere.  It's got to go to the federal level." 
 
8. (C) Further suspicions were raised by odd public comments 
from the attorney for alleged ringleader Bida de Moura.  The 
attorney, Augusto Septinio, helped to negotiate the surrender 
of middleman Tato da Cunha and is now negotiating the 
surrender of his own client.  Septinio told the press that, 
"I could have turned Tato in to the Federal Police but I 
decided to do the honors with the state police instead". 
Septinio added that he had been working hard to locate 
alleged gunman Rayfran de Sales in the days before Sales was 
arrested.  Left unclear was why Bida's attorney chose to 
"honor" the state police, why he was negotiating Tato's 
surrender (which leaves an impression of conflict with his 
own client's interests), and why he was so eager to contact 
the fleeing triggerman. 
 
RED HERRING SUSPECT 
------------------- 
9. (C) One element of the confession of triggerman Rayfran de 
Sales is universally disbelieved: his charge that the murder 
was ordered by Francisco "Chiquinho" de Souza, a local 
Workers' Party (PT) politician in the town of Anapu.  De 
Souza, a leader of the rural workers' union was a close 
friend of Dorothy Stang and worked with her in support of 
small farmers.  Senior officials with both the state and 
federal police with whom we spoke saw the attempt to 
implicate De Souza as a clumsy try at protecting the real 
conspirators. 
 
"FEDERALIZATION" OF THE CASE 
---------------------------- 
10. (C) A recently-passed law allows the federal government 
to take over from the states cases of grave human rights 
abuses.  The law has yet to be invoked, and the Stang murder 
may represent its trial run.  The decision on whether to take 
over a case is left to the discretion of  Federal 
Prosecutor-General Claudio Fonteles, and must be approved by 
the Supreme Federal Court.  Federal Prosecutor Cazetta told 
us that Fonteles is now considering invoking the 
"federalization" law in the Stang murder and that a decision 
should be announced in the coming days. 
 
HEIGHTENED SECURITY IN THE REGION 
--------------------------------- 
11. (C) The state and federal police have reinforced their 
presence in the interior of the state.  In addition, the Army 
has deployed approximately 180 troops to the area around the 
town of Anapu, and has approximately 1,800 more troops 
available to deploy if necessary.  Everyone we spoke with, 
from left-of-center politicians to police and government 
officials, sees the military as providing a positive 
presence.  Given the perceived weaknesses in the state 
police, the small size of the federal police unit in the 
state, and the fact that the police are chronically 
under-equipped, the Army has been able to take a helpful 
supporting role in maintaining security and supporting police 
operations.  The Army intervention was requested by Para 
Governor Simao Jatene in meetings with President Lula, and 
was approved by the State Assembly.   There is no fixed 
end-date for the Army intervention. 
 
12. (C) David Stang, brother of Dorothy, will be arriving in 
Brazil February 24 to visit the gravesite of his sister. 
Though the visit is orchestrated by Dorothy Stang's order, 
our consular agent in Belem will meet and assist as 
necessary.  The CG in Sao Paulo will greet Stang as he 
transits on his way to Belem; the Ambassador will meet Stang 
when he transits Brasilia on his way back to the U.S.  The 
Embassy continues to provide updates on the case to a number 
of Dorothy Stang's relatives. 
 
COMMENT - INTENSE PRESS AND GOB ATTENTION 
----------------------------------------- 
13. (C) The Stang murder continues to command great attention 
from the Brazilian government and press.  Federal and state 
task forces have been formed to address various elements of 
the issue, from protecting human rights activists to 
clarifying the complex web of land ownership issues at the 
heart of the disputes.  A new land-use plan for Para state is 
being hurriedly pushed forward, designed to demarcate 
protected reserves from lands available for commercial use. 
The Stang case is on the cover of both major weekly 
newsmagazines (Veja and IstoE) and progress is detailed on 
the front pages of every newspaper.  By all accounts, 
President Lula is following the case closely.  On February 21 
he told the press he would not rest until the murders were 
locked up, adding, "It is abominable that people still think 
a .38 revolver is the solution to a conflict, no matter how 
serious."  Given longstanding concerns about the performance, 
corruptibility, and low morale of state police throughout 
Brazil, coupled with specific concerns about state police 
performance on the Stang investigation, we will be watching 
closely to see whether the federal authorities decide to 
assert their jurisdiction. 
 
DANILOVICH