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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 003017 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. --------------------------JUDICIAL CORRUPTION EXPOSED --------------------------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. ----------------THE PLOT THICKENS ----------------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. ------COMMENT ------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 (Edited and reading.) reformatted by Andres for ease of