US embassy cable - 02TEGUCIGALPA3017

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 003017 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, DRL, EB 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/01/2012 
TAGS: KJUS, PHUM, KCRM, HO 
SUBJECT: PEELING A ROTTEN ONION-SUPREME COURT OUSTS ENTIRE 
COURT OF APPEALS OVER CORRUPTION ALLEGATION 
 
Classified By: Political Chief Francisco Palmieri; 
Reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY: On October 23, 2002, in an unprecedented 
move the Supreme Court suspended all three magistrates of the 
Court of Appeals.  Magistrate Mario Alberto Guzman Zuniga 
(Guzman) was suspended pending the investigation of 
allegations that he took a bribe.  Guzman supposedly accepted 
money from various Honduras Air Force officers who are 
charged with pilfering money from the military retirement 
fund.  The other two Court of Appeals magistrates--Dagoberto 
Aspra Iglesias (Aspra) and Rita Ondina Nunez Barahona (Nunez) 
have also been suspended after having attempted to file a 
corruption claim against Guzman with the Inspector General of 
the Courts.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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JUDICIAL CORRUPTION EXPOSED 
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2.  (C) On October 28, 2002, the Honduran Supreme Court made 
a shocking and unprecedented move when it ratified the 
suspension of all three of the magistrates on the Honduran 
Court of Appeals.  The act temporarily rendered the Court of 
Appeals inoperative and raised serious questions about the 
stability of the judiciary.  One of the three magistrates, 
Mario Alberto Guzman Zuniga, was suspended pending the 
investigation of allegations of corruption.  On October 24, 
Aspra went public with allegations that Guzman accepted some 
$5400 in bribes from Honduran Air Force officers who are 
embroiled in a legal battle in which they are charged with 
pilfering money from the military retirement fund.  (COMMENT: 
Embassy sources indicate that much more substantial sums of 
bribe money are involved in connection with the lawsuit.  END 
COMMENT.)  Magistrates Aspra and Nunez were also suspended 
after they attempted to lodge a complaint against Guzman with 
the Inspector General of the Courts.  The Supreme Court 
appointed interim magistrates to serve on the Court of 
Appeals and will reportedly name permanent replacements by 
the end of the week. 
 
3.  (C) Nunez met with EmbOffs on October 29, 2002, to 
discuss her role in the controversy.  Nunez portrayed herself 
and Aspra as unwitting victims of a corrupt judicial system, 
and maintained that their suspensions are political 
retaliation for publicly blowing the whistle on their fellow 
judge.  Nunez told EmbOffs that when she and Aspra learned of 
the corrupt activities of Guzman, they attempted to lodge a 
complaint with the Inspector General of the Courts (IG).  The 
IG purportedly refused the complaint, asserting a lack of 
jurisdiction to deal with the issue.  Moreover, Nunez asserts 
that she and Aspra reported Guzman to the President of the 
Supreme Court (Vilma Morales) on October 9, and that Morales 
advised them she would "take care of it."  The 
self-proclaimed whistleblowers heard nothing more about the 
matter for 15 days, when Aspra decided to go public with 
their allegations against Guzman. 
 
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THE PLOT THICKENS 
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4.  (C) Nunez insists that her and Aspra's suspensions are 
retaliation, and that there are corrupt judicial forces that 
seek to remove them from the bench for other ulterior motives 
unrelated to this case.  (NOTE:  She claims that she and her 
family have received death threats, a common occurrence in 
Honduras.  END NOTE.)  Nunez mentioned that there are at 
least two other major lawsuits pending before the Court of 
Appeals.  She charges these forces want the two of them 
removed prior to the trials of the two cases.  She stated 
that members of the Supreme Court--including Morales 
herself--have personal interest in the other cases.  On the 
morning of October 29, 2002, Morales told an AID official 
that the Supreme Court has evidence that all three 
magistrates are involved in the bribery scheme.  The Public 
Ministry (Office of the Attorney General) is investigating 
the entire matter, and Attorney General Roy Medina publicly 
stated that, under the circumstances, the suspension of all 
three judges is appropriate.  On October 31, the Supreme 
Court is supposed to determine the fates of the judges in 
question.  Nunez anticipates she and Aspra will be 
terminated. 
 
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COMMENT 
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5.  (C) This public airing of judicial corruption opens a new 
chapter in the ongoing saga of the Honduran judiciary, which 
has historically been fraught with corruption and subject to 
political influence.  The 15 Supreme Court justices are the 
first to be selected under a new system designed to 
depoliticize the Honduran high court.  Supreme Court 
President Vilma Morales has repeatedly declared her 
commitment to clean up the court system and battle judicial 
corruption.  This case could eventually result in the first 
prosecution of a corrupt appeals court judge.  However, a 
contact in the Casa Presidencial told the PolChief that the 
removal of Nunez and Aspra was not a positive development and 
was being engineered by Supreme Court justices who seek to 
control the appeals court.  It is unclear whether or not 
Morales is involved, but the Maduro cabinet official 
indicated his concern about Supreme Court intervention in the 
business of the Court of Appeals is not focused on her, but 
on other Supreme Court judges. 
PALMER