VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #0173/01 0441421
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131421Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2071
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000173 
 
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: GON DISMISSES MORE PROPERTY CLAIMS 
 
REF: A) 07 MANAGUA 2581, B) MANAGUA 0002, C) 07 MANAGUA 1789, D) 
MANAGUA 0106 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) During the January 31 monthly Working Group meeting on 
property issues, Government of Nicaragua (GON) officials passed 
Econoff a new list of 34 dismissed U.S. citizen claims for the lack 
of proof that the U.S. claimant owned the property and/or it had 
been expropriated.  The GON insinuated that some U.S. citizens were 
allies of Somoza and therefore not eligible for compensation.  GON 
officials added that they could not do anything about U.S. claims 
already in court.  We have requested a six-month review of the 
2007-08 waiver year to reiterate the Secretary's Section 527 
benchmarks, and to restate our expectations for GON cooperation. 
 
 
GON PRESENTS SECOND LIST OF DISMISSED U.S. CITIZEN CLAIMS 
 
¶2. (SBU) During the January 31 monthly Working Group meeting on 
property claims with Econoff, 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) passed Econoff a list of 43 U.S. citizen 
claims that the GON dismissed as "no ha lugar" in 2007.  The primary 
reason for dismissing the claims was the lack of proof that a U.S. 
claimant owned the property that had been expropriated.  The GON 
also dismissed some claims as "inadmissible" because the claimant 
already possessed the property (but still needed the title) or 
because the matter is being handled in court.  Perez asserted that 
claimants must either follow the administrative process or pursue 
the claim in court.  Thirty-four of the dismissed claims were new 
additions and nine were from the first list of rejected cases 
submitted to the Embassy in November 2007 (Ref A).  Throughout the 
meeting, Econoff pressed Perez for better cooperation on resolving 
U.S. citizen claims on a case-by-case basis agreed by the Ambassador 
and Attorney General Hernan Estrada in their December 21, 2007, 
meeting (Ref B). 
 
ALLIES OF SOMOZA 
 
¶3. (SBU) Perez said that Estrada recently instructed all GON 
agencies involved in property claims not to compensate claimants who 
had been allies of Somoza based on Decrees 3/1979 and 38/1979 [Note: 
Decree 3 ordered the confiscation of all goods of the Somoza family, 
military and government officials who had left the country since 
1977; Decree 38 ordered the confiscation of properties belonging to 
people allied to Somocismo.  End Note].  Econoff requested a list of 
U.S. citizen claimants that the GON considered "allies of Somoza," 
but Perez was noncommittal.  On February 5, the Embassy Property 
Office learned that at least two claims were dismissed because the 
U.S. citizens involved were allegedly allies of Somoza. 
 
CASES STUCK IN APPEALS COURT 
 
¶4. (SBU) Econoff requested GON assistance to advance U.S. citizen 
claims before the Property Appeals Court.  He explained that some 
U.S. citizens have been waiting nine years for a decision. 
Moreover, the court has ruled against U.S. claimants, in apparent 
contradiction of Nicaraguan law, when the U.S. citizens clearly 
demonstrated proof of ownership and/or expropriation.  Perez 
responded that the judicial branch is independent of the executive 
and there is nothing she could do in these cases. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment: We are not satisfied with Perez' explanation.  The 
Nicaraguan judicial system is politicized and lacks independence. 
For example, the Embassy has been actively engaged in assisting two 
U.S. citizens recover their property from armed squatters since 
January 27.  The U.S. citizens filed a case in court in August 2007 
to have the police remove the invaders, but no action was taken 
until the Ambassador called Estrada on February 1 to inform the 
Attorney General about the case.  On February 7, the U.S. citizens 
reported that the police came to their property to assess how many 
land invaders were there, and their lawyer will now meet the judge 
to discuss the case (septel).  End Comment. 
 
SIX-MONTH REVIEW 
 
¶6. (SBU) To conclude the meeting, Econoff told Perez that the 
Ambassador plans to meet Attorney General Estrada in February for a 
six-month review of the 2007-08 waiver year.  He noted that the 
Ambassador will review benchmarks spelled out in the Secretary's 
July 31, 2007 letter to Foreign Minister Santos regarding this 
Section 527 waiver year.  The Ambassador will propose steps to 
improve bilateral cooperation and advance the resolution of U.S. 
citizen claims. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Property Superintendent Yara Perez' participation stifled 
the constructive communication we had during our last Property 
Working Group meeting (Ref D).  Although she resisted in-depth 
discussion of individual property claims, Perez seemed to understand 
that we were not going to let these claims go away simply because 
the GON wants to dismiss them.  We want to use the Ambassador's 
six-month review to drive this point home. 
 
TRIVELLI