P 272254Z OCT 08 FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6319 C O N F I D E N T I A L GUATEMALA 001333 SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER'S FAMILY

MEMBER KIDNAPPED, RELEASED Classified By: Ambassador McFarland for reasons 1.4(b,d) 1. (C) On October 19, at approximately noon, the son-in-law of human rights defender Norma Cruz, Director of NGO "Fundacion Sobrevivientes" (Survivors Foundation), was assaulted and kidnapped while walking home from a soccer game in Guatemala City. He was reportedly forced inside a vehicle where three men, two masked and one armed, threatened to kill him. He was beaten and later released a block from Cruz' home. According to the Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit (UPDDDH), neighbors reported seeing individuals in suspicious vehicles surveying Cruz' home between October 13 and 18. 2. (C) Three days later, on October 22, soon after filing a complaint with the Special Prosecutor's Office for Human Rights at the Public Ministry and the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, Cruz received three phone calls from an unidentified person who threatened to kill her. Later that same

day, a suspicious-looking car was seen parked in front of the offices of the Survivors Foundation. 3. (C) UPDDDH believes that the incident may be linked to Cruz' recent work on cases that implicate state security agents in a trafficking in persons (TIP) network. It noted that the characteristics of this incident, particularly the "express" kidnapping and the type of persons and vehicle allegedly involved, correspond to descriptions of suspected state agents provided by victims in cases documented by the Foundation. 4. (C) Norma Cruz told poloff on October 24 that she believed that the men who assaulted and kidnapped her son-in-law were "parallel security forces" working within the government, but not members of the National Civil Police (PNC). She said she reported the incident to the Public Ministry but had not contacted the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). Poloff encouraged her to contact CICIG and provided contact information. The Human Rights Unit of the PNC Criminal Investigations Division (DINC) is assisting with the investigation, and the Presidential Commission on Human Rights (COPREDEH) has been informed of the incident. 5. (U) The Survivors Foundation is a not-forprofit, apolitical social service agency that provides emotional, social, and legal support to female victims of domestic and sexual violence, trafficking in persons, and illegal adoptions. Over the past two years, it has been involved in

the investigation and prosecution of several highprofile cases, including the June 2007 disappearance and killing of 9-year-old Alba Mishel Espana in Camotan, Chiquimula, the June 2007 case of minor Jonatan Martinez Sol, who was kidnapped and later rescued during a raid conducted by the Public Ministry, and complaints filed by TIP victims implicating state agents. 6. (U) Comment: This latest act of intimidation and death threat against a family member of a human rights defender underscores the extent of impunity and violence in Guatemala, and the need for increased protection for human rights defenders and their family members. McFarland (Edited and reading.) reformatted by Andres for ease of