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FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3530
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 5301
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1534
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB 9630
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 0261
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 9845
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS QUITO 000320 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EC
SUBJECT: NEW CHARGES AGAINST EX-PRES. GUTIERREZ 
 
 ¶1.  (U) Summary:  The acting attorney general Cecilia Armas 
charged ex-President Lucio Gutierrez with violating the 
constitution while President by dissolving the Supreme Court 
in April 2005, and for convoking a special session of 
Congress which selected a new court in December 2004. 
Gutierrez has been detained since he returned from 
self-imposed exile in October, on charges of attempting to 
undermine the security of the state with public statements 
made while in exile.  These are the first charges against 
Gutierrez based on acts committed while he was President, and 
arise amid growing criticism of the earlier charges.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Armas presented charges against ex-President Lucio 
Gutierrez to the Supreme Court on February 2, accusing 
Gutierrez of violating the constitution by convoking a 
special session of Congress which removed Supreme Court 
magistrates on December 8, 2004 and removing them again by 
decree on April 15, 2005, during a declared state of 
emergency in the capital.  Gutierrez is charged with 
violating Article 199 of the constitution, which states that 
the Supreme Court is independent, and cannot be interfered 
with by any other part of the government. 
 
¶3.  (U) The president of the Supreme Court, Jaime Velasco, 
will review and rule on the charges.  Velasco, however, was a 
member of the Supreme Court formed in 1997, which Gutierrez 
disbanded in December 2004.  He may therefore be barred from 
trying the case himself.  Armas is still investing four other 
allegations against Gutierrez, including for misuse of 
campaign funds and for the death of Chilean journalist Julio 
Garcia, who died of a heart attack after being exposed to 
tear gas during mass protests in April of last year. 
 
¶4.  (U) Until now, Gutierrez had only been held since his 
return in October for charges of undermining the security of 
the state with his claims, made to CNN and other news 
channels while in the U.S., that he was Ecuador's legitimate 
leader.  With the formation of the new Supreme Court in 
December 2005, Gutierrez can now be charged for other acts he 
committed as President. 
 
¶5.  (U) Approximately 30 Gutierrez supporters protested at 
the Supreme Court on February 2 and 12 have since declared a 
hunger strike.  Gutierrez is currently being held in Quito's 
maximum security Fourth Prison.  His brother, Gilmar, and 
collaborator Fausto Cobo were moved to a new maximum security 
jail west of Quito in Santo Domingo de los Colorados on 
January 21.  Meanwhile, the Patriotic Society party declared 
Gutierrez will be will be the party's presidential nominee in 
the October elections.  Few believe, however, that Gutierrez' 
candidacy will be approved by the electoral tribunal, 
controlled by other parties. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Previous charges against Gutierrez are transparent 
violations of his freedom of speech and were beginning to 
draw criticism, even from some Gutierrez opponents.  Charging 
Gutierrez with violating the constitution might put the 
prosecution on somewhat firmer ground, but not much. 
Violations of the constitution are normally ruled on by the 
Constitutional Tribunal, which was disbanded in December 2004 
by Gutierrez' congressional allies, and is in the process of 
being reconstituted by Congress.  We hope that political 
vendettas will not prevent Gutierrez from receiving a fair 
trial before the newly independent Supreme Court or more 
appropriately, from having the legality of his actions as 
president ruled on by a new Constitutional Tribunal.  At the 
least, however, political motives seem likely to continue to 
delay his day in court. 
JEWELL