VZCZCXYZ0004
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0534 0622318
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 032318Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3792
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 5408
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1617
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR 9704
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 0391
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 0047
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS QUITO 000534 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM EC
SUBJECT: EX-PRES. GUTIERREZ RELEASED FROM PRISON 
 
REF: QUITO 320 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Ex-President Lucio Gutierrez has been 
cleared of bogus sedition charges, and was released from 
prison on March 3.  Gutierrez' vindication may be partial, 
however, with other charges still pending against him for 
constitutional violations.  Rumors of his release will 
recharge the political climate, and generate debate over his 
grassroots support and declared electoral ambitions.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The president of Quito's Superior Court, Fernando 
Casares Carrera, dismissed sedition charges against 
ex-President Lucio Gutierrez.  Gutierrez, who has been 
detained since October 14, 2005, left prison on the afternoon 
of March 3.  Separate charges filed by attorney general 
Cecilia Armas with the Supreme Court on February 2 against 
Gutierrez (for 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) are still pending (RefTel).  Upon  his 
release, Gutierrez immediately declared his presidential 
candidacy for the PSP party.  Presidential advisor Jose 
Modesto Apolo told press earlier in the day that the Palacio 
administration would not attempt to prevent Gutierrez' 
release from prison.  However, the chief prosecutor of 
Pichincha province, Washington Pesantes, has announced that 
he will appeal the dismissal. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The dismissal of the sedition charges against 
Gutierrez, based solely on his public statements made while 
in exile, was fully justified, in our view.  His release will 
recharge the political atmosphere here, but the level of his 
grassroots support is an open question.  Though some claim a 
solid core of grassroots support for Gutierrez, especially in 
the sparsely-populated Amazon region from which he hails, the 
number of supporters who greeted Gutierrez and have 
maintained a vigil outside his prison have been small. 
JEWELL