US embassy cable - 05PANAMA2294

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PANAMA 002294 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN, AND INL 
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINR, SNAR, PM, POL SPECIALIST 
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT JUSTICES FACE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT IF 
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AGREES 
 
REF: PANAMA 02232 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1.  (SBU)  In the wake of a March 2005 scandal that featured 
mutual allegations of wrongdoing between four Supreme Court 
Justices, on November 14 Alianza Pro Justicia (Pro-Justice 
Alliance) dramatically submitted to the National Assembly a 
criminal complaint against eight Supreme Court Justices. 
The complaint was based on the results of a legal audit 
conducted by Alianza that severely questioned six Court 
rulings.  The National Assembly has the constitutional power 
to investigate and impeach Justices.  Many observers doubt 
that the PRD-dominated National Assembly will take any 
action against the Justices.  In Panama, it is a foregone 
conclusion that without Executive backing, nothing will 
happen in the legislature.  End summary. 
 
 
Background 
---------- 
2.  (U) In a March 2005 scandal Supreme Court Justices 
Arturo Hoyos, Winston Spadafora and Anibal Salas denounced 
Justice Adan Arjona for hiring staffers on the Executive 
branch payroll (instead of the Judicial payroll).  Arjona 
retaliated by holding a press conference questioning the 
three Justices' decisions in six cases involving narco- 
trafficking.  Arjona's accusations struck a chord with the 
Panamanian public.  President Torrijos responded by 
organizing a "Pacto para la Justicia" and forming a 
Commission to make legal recommendations on how to improve 
administration of justice (AOJ), including the appointment 
of new Justices (see reftel). 
 
The audit 
--------- 
3.  (SBU) Alianza Pro Justicia (the "Alianza" comprises 15 
civil society organizations,) on November 14 announced the 
findings of its September audit of the six cases cited by 
Justice Arjona.  The findings included a criminal complaint 
against eight Supreme Court justices -- practically the 
entire Court minus Arjona and Justice Lee (Note:  Justice 
Lee was not involved in any of the six cases.  Justice 
Spadafora and his alternate Justice Cardenas were involved 
in some of the six cases and therefore the criminal 
complaint included both of them, making a total of eight 
Justices.)  Volunteer litigation lawyers studied the rulings 
in each of the cases for Alianza's audit.  These lawyers and 
a Drug Prosecutor who also contributed to the audit 
requested that Alianza did not disclose their names to avoid 
retaliation against them in their legal practices. 
 
4.  (SBU) Alianza's audit showed "serious concerns" about 
the rulings in two of the six cases.  The audit found 
"issues" with the other four cases, Castillo explained, but 
they were more open to interpretation.  The two cases were 
those involving Colombian citizen Lorena Henao Montoya and 
Belize national Fernando Requena Duval.  Henao Montoya had 
been charged with crimes against public health and the 
national economy and forgery of documents (all related to 
drug trafficking).  Henao's brother, her late husband, and 
her current common-law husband all were members of the Cali 
Cartel.  With Justice Arjona dissenting, eight Justices 
declared that Lorena Henao's detention in Panama was illegal 
and set her free.  Fernando Requena was detained for 
narcotrafficking.  Julio Cesar Espinosa was detained while 
he was trying to help Requena escape from jail.  Espinosa 
confessed that he was paid $40,000 by Requena to free him. 
With Arjona dissenting, the other Justices declared 
Espinosa's detention illegal.  On January 19, 2004, Requena 
escaped with the help of several armed individuals who broke 
into a public hospital where Requena was undergoing a 
medical checkup, shooting their weapons in the air. 
Requena's whereabouts remain unknown. 
 
5.  (SBU) Alianza strongly believes that the plaintiffs 
should have not been released from jail as the Justices had 
"much information and evidence" linking them to crimes. 
Ironically, Colombian authorities arrested Lorena Henao 
Montoya at the instant that she set foot in the Bogota 
airport following her deportation from Panama some months 
ago.  A Colombian court later found Henao Montoya guilty 
based on the file provided by the Panamanian Public 
Ministry.  (Note:  Henao is currently serving sentence in 
Colombia for narcotrafficking and money laundering.  End 
note). 
 
6.  (SBU) After the audit was completed in September, 
Castillo met with the Panamanian Executives Association's 
(APEDE) legal group (about 20 lawyers) in a closed-door 
meeting to ask their opinion.  Castillo claimed that the 
group strongly agreed that an immediate formal complaint be 
submitted.  Castillo then met, also in a closed-door 
meeting, with representatives of Panama's Council for the 
Private Enterprise (CoNEP), the Chamber of Commerce, Civic 
Clubs, and the National Bar Association.  Except for the 
National Bar Association President Mercedes de Grimaldo, all 
of the others also agreed to take immediate action. 
 
7.  (SBU) Castillo admitted that deciding to move forward 
and submitting the complaint before the National Assembly 
was not an easy one.  "I was scared.  I am still sometimes 
concerned," she claimed.  "These two cases directly involve 
the Cali Cartel.  We have been very careful in not 
mentioning them, but you never know which interests we are 
hitting," Castillo exclaimed. 
 
8.  (SBU) Castillo said that Alianza was very careful not to 
charge the Justices with corruption.  Alianza does not have 
any "smoking gun" evidence to prove corruption, though it is 
implied.  The charges filed were for abuse of authority and 
infringement of duties by public servants and were based on 
the Penal Code, the Judicial Code and the Constitution.  On 
November 17, media reported that the National Assembly 
President Elias Castillo and Commissioner Freidi Torres (a 
former Majority Leader) have asked Alianza for evidence to 
justify their criminal complaint.  Magaly Castillo claimed 
that Alianza submitted to the Assembly a tape from Justice 
Adan Arjona's press conference implicating his colleagues in 
wrongdoing, authenticated copies of all the sentences, 
authenticated copies of the Colombian prosecutor's legal 
opinion, authenticated copies of the Colombian court ruling 
against Henao, and a copy of Alianza's legal audit.  "We 
should not need to submit anything else.  All the 
legislators need to do is read the cases.  It is so obvious, 
it is disgusting," Castillo said. 
 
Their expectations 
------------------ 
9.  (SBU) Castillo said that she doubts the National 
Assembly will take any action against the Justices.  She 
also explained that National Bar Association President 
Mercedes de Grimaldo had opposed submitting criminal 
complaint, considering it "a waste of time," although she 
agreed that the sentences were highly questionable. (Note: 
According to media reports, Grimaldo supports the criminal 
complaint alleging that there is enough evidence to prove 
wrongdoing by the Justices.  End note). 
 
10.  (SBU) According to Castillo, Alianza proceeded with the 
criminal complaint because it was "the right thing to do" 
and because it received strong backing from a heterogeneous 
group of business people, blue collar workers, the Catholic 
Church and several other Christian Churches.  "How much more 
representative can we get?" Castillo asked. 
 
Comments: 
-------- 
11. Like Castillo many Panamanians such as those who had 
participated in live radio talk shows in the past few days 
doubt that the National Assembly will take steps against the 
Justices.  President Torrijos, whose Democratic 
Revolutionary Party (PRD) controls the assembly, could take 
this opportunity to shake up the Court and possibly impeach 
one or more justices.  But allegations that several cases 
before the Court (the CEMIS case, above all) may involve him 
and other high-ranking government officers, lead many to 
believe that he is not eager to pick a fight with the Court. 
 
Eaton #