VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #2581/01 3472042
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 132042Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1804
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS MANAGUA 002581 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN, EB/IFD/OIA AND L/CID 
STATE FOR WHA/EPSC 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR 
TREASURY FOR INL AND OWH 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EINV ECON USTR KIDE NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: PROPERTY SUPERINTENDENT REJECTS CLAIMS FOR A 
LACK OF EVIDENCE 
 
REF: A) MANAGUA  2442 B) MANAGUA 2324  C) MANAGUA 2494  D) MANAGUA 
 
2006 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: During the November 29 monthly Working Group 
meeting on property issues, Government of Nicaragua (GON) officials 
gave Econoffs a list of 8 American citizen claims allegedly resolved 
and 18 claims rejected for "lack of evidence."  Property 
Superintendent Yara Perez repeated assertions made at previous 
meetings that many American citizen claimants had engaged in 
"improprieties" in pursuing compensation from previous governments, 
but again failed to present evidence.  The GON continues to refuse 
our requests to meet on specific claims.  GON officials appear 
intent to resolve American citizen claims according to their own 
criteria and timetable, and limit our involvement in the process. 
End Summary. 
 
 
GON PRESENTS FIRST LIST OF REJECTED AMERICAN CITIZEN CLAIMS 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) During the November 29 monthly Working Group meeting on 
property claims with Econoffs, Property Superintendent Yara Perez 
Calero, three officials from the National Confiscations Review 
Commission (CNRC), and the head of the Office of Assessment and 
Indemnification (OCI) gave Econoffs a list of 26 cases that the GON 
considered "resolved."  According to the list provided, the GON 
settled 8 cases by compensating claimants with indemnification bonds 
(BPIs).  Following through on a stated objective in the October 25 
Working Group meeting (Ref A), GON officials said that they had 
rejected the 18 claims because the claimants (a) could not prove 
they had owned the property in question, (b) could not prove that 
the GON had ever expropriated the property, and/or (c) had failed to 
present the necessary documentation. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Econoffs protested the CNRC's dismissal of the 18 American 
citizen claims, arguing that the prospect of dismissal should have 
been discussed first in the Working Group, which is the forum for 
such issues, not summarily dismissing them.  Econoff asked Perez for 
more time to review the cases and contact American citizen about the 
pending dismissal of their claims.  Perez told Econoff that once 
notified, American citizen claimants have ten days to appeal the 
decision to the CNRC.  Claimants who have not designated an official 
address in Nicaragua have ten days from publication in the local 
newspapers of the CNRC's decision to appeal.  American citizen 
claimants may also appeal to the Attorney General's Office.  If 
rejected, American citizen claimants may elect to pursue their case 
in court. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Econoffs pressed Perez for more time to review the GON's 
decisions to dismiss claims.  Perez assured us that she would give 
us time to review the 18 dismissals, but that our review would not 
be an open-ended process.  Econoff asserted that many claims require 
patience and flexibility on the part of the GON because they are 
complex and we need time to review the cases with the claimants. 
 
 
GON ALLEGES CORRUPTION 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Throughout the meeting, Perez and other GON officials 
alleged that some claimants had received "more compensation than 
they deserved" because they had overvalued their assets.  Perez also 
alleged that, in some cases, American citizen claimants had 
recovered their property and still managed to receive BPIs, 
constituting double restitution.  She lambasted the previous 
Chamorro, Bolanos and Aleman administrations for "fostering" 
lawyer-mafia networks to manipulate OCI and CNRC decisions in favor 
of their clients.  The Ortega administration would resolve cases 
according to the law, Perez asserted.  Econoff asked Perez to share 
any information that she has on such practices, and cautioned about 
generalizing without showing any evidence (Ref B). 
 
 
GON REFUSES TO INCREASE ITS INTERACTION TO RESOLVE CASES OR DISCUSS 
POLICY MATTERS 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Econoff told Perez that the Embassy's Property Office 
wanted to increase the frequency of our meetings on an informal 
basis with GON officials to resolve the 675 registered American 
citizen claims.  Econoff explained that unless the Embassy and GON 
work together to resolve these outstanding cases, it will remain a 
drag on resources for both sides and a point of contention in our 
bilateral relationship.  Perez said additional meetings were not 
necessary and would only interfere with the GON's ability to work on 
claims.  However, Perez was open to meeting directly with American 
citizen claimants to discuss their claims.  Econoff welcomed this 
offer, but emphasized that the Embassy must also be an integral part 
of this process to ensure that cases are resolved in a fair and 
transparent manner for American citizen claimants. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Until recently, the GON had also been unwilling to meet our 
DCM to discuss policy concerns related to the resolution of property 
occasions.  On three occasions, the Embassy Property Office 
requested meetings for the DCM with Property Superintendent Perez 
and/or Attorney General Hernan Estrada to discuss policy statements 
made by Perez about the prioritization of cases for natural-born 
American citizens over those of naturalized American citizens, and 
about plans to summarily dismiss Embassy-registered claims 
(paragraphs 2-4).  The DCM finally met with Perez on December 10 to 
discuss these and other issues (septel). 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: GON officials seek to "resolve" Embassy-registered 
American citizen claims by any means possible and according to their 
own timeline/strategy, and they want to limit the Embassy's 
involvement in the process.  On several occasions during the 
meeting, Property Superintendent Perez said the GON will resolve all 
property claims within 18-24 months, reiterating again the stated 
goal of the Ortega administration to wrap up all cases, including 
American citizen claims, within two years (Ref C).  Of concern to us 
is that while the administrative process accelerates, GON officials 
want to limit their engagement with the Embassy as much as possible 
so that it can resolve American citizen claims according to their 
own criteria.  We will make clear to this administration that unless 
the GON works with us to resolve Embassy-registered cases, property 
claims will inevitably become a more contentious issue in our 
bilateral relationship.  End Comment. 
 
TRIVELLI