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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MANAGUA 000419 
 
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DEPT PLS PASS TO USAID LAC 
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DEPT FOR DRL G. MAGGIO 
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NSC FOR V ALVARADO 
SOUTHCOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2018 
TAGS: PGOV CASC PHUM KDEM NU
SUBJECT: ELECTION-RELATED VIOLENCE ERUPTS ON NICARAGUA'S 
ATLANTIC COAST AS GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. MANAGUA 416 
     ¶B. MANAGUA 297 
     ¶C. MANAGUA 105 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli for reasons 1.4(B,D) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY.  On Friday, April 4 violence erupted in 
Nicaragua's North Atlantic Autonomous Region's (RAAN) capital 
of Puerto Cabezas between local government-backed opponents 
of municipal elections and supporters of elections.  Initial 
reports that at least two pro-vote supporters died in the 
clash proved untrue.  However, at least 30 were injured -- 
several seriously -- including two gunshot victims and there 
was sporadic violence throughout Friday.  On Friday evening, 
the Supreme Electoral Council finally announced it would 
delay RAAN local elections by six months (until April 2009), 
citing the lack of "technical conditions" to hold the 
elections.  The CSE decision appeared to be another 
manifestation of the "Pacto," the unspoken power-sharing 
agreement between Ortega and former President Aleman, with 
Aleman loyalists voting for formation of a quorum and then 
against the final decision.  The situation in the RAAN 
remains tense.  As of Tuesday morning, upwards of 100 riot 
police maintain watch over the airport, mayor's office, and 
governor's office.  Representatives from both sides have 
filed formal judicial complaints and leaders from nearby RAAN 
municipalities and the Autonomous South (RAAS) have 
criticized the government for suspending elections and 
provoking violence.  While the opposition and civil society 
mobilize to turn the decision around, it is not clear how 
effective they will be.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Friday, April 4 - Violence Erupts 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶2. (SBU) Early on the morning of April 4, Liberal deputies 
Enrique Quinonez, Jose Pallais, and Victor Duarte flew to 
Puerto Cabezas to meet with local leaders about the impasse 
over the government's pending decision to cancel municipal 
elections in the region scheduled for November.  Following 
their arrival, the deputies were detained at the airport by 
500-700 government-backed opponents of elections armed with 
rocks, sticks, and some guns.  Eyewitnesses report that the 
pro-FSLN regional governor and the mayor of Puerto Cabezas 
were personally directing the crowd's activities.  Assembled 
a few miles away, between 200 and 400 pro-election supporters 
were gathered in the central park to receive the deputies. 
Upon hearing that anti-vote forces were preventing the 
deputies from leaving the airport, the pro-vote supporters 
marched to the landing strip.  At the airport, violence broke 
out almost immediately, as anti-vote supporters began 
throwing rocks and beating pro-vote supporters with sticks as 
they tried to clear a way for the deputies to leave.  The 
situation escalated and eyewitnesses report that shots were 
fired and that least two people were believed dead. (Note: 
the two individuals are reported to be gravely wounded and 
were transported to hospitals in Managua.  One individual is 
reported to be on life support and not expected to survive. 
End Note.) 
 
¶3. (C) The deputies were ultimately able to leave the airport 
and later met with an interfaith religious commission which 
presented them with a letter urging that elections go forward 
as originally planned.  (COMMENT: The Moravian Church 
withdrew from the coalition at the last minute, despite 
supporting the letter the evening before, and declared that 
the church neither opposed nor supported elections.  This 
last-minute change was made after Church Superintendent Cora 
Antonio departed for the U.S.  Other Moravian board members 
were caught off guard and the other denominations were 
bitterly disappointed.  The Moravians pledged to restate 
their support upon Antonio's return to Nicaragua.  END 
COMMENT)  Shortly after deputies departed the city, 
pro-election supporters attacked both the Town Hall and the 
regional governor's offices.  They broke into the mayor's 
office, where they reportedly ruined several computers and 
 
MANAGUA 00000419  002 OF 004 
 
 
drove everyone out of the building.  Eyewitnesses report that 
police and pro-vote supporters exchanged fire for several 
minutes around 2pm local time. 
 
¶4. (C) On Friday afternoon, an estimated 100 riot police 
arrived by air from Managua and were immediately dispatched 
around the city, including to the governor's office.  As of 
Monday, April 7, the riot police were still in Puerto Cabezas 
guarding the airport, the governor's office, and the mayor's 
office.  They also reportedly monitored an assembly of 
approximately 500 pro-vote supporters who gathered in the 
central park on Saturday afternoon.  Sources report that the 
riot police have not taken any aggressive measures, but are 
simply guarding and watching.   By Friday evening, and 
following the CSE decision, most people had gone home and a 
relative calm settled over the city.  The situation remains 
calm but tense, with small-scale demonstrations but no 
violence reported. 
 
CSE Postpones Municipal Elections 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5. (C) At 8:30 on Friday night, CSE Magistrate Roberto Rivas 
announced that municipal elections in three municipalities in 
the RAAN, Puerto Cabezas, Prinzapolka, and Waspam, would be 
suspended for six months (until April 2009) because of the 
absence of "technical conditions."  Rivas also cited the 
violence as a reason for the CSE to take the decision on an 
urgent basis.  The vote was 4 to 3, with all FSLN magistrates 
plus Rivas voting in favor and all three PLC magistrates 
voting against.  However, in a move later criticized by many 
of their own party leaders, the PLC magistrates voted for a 
quorum and to hold a vote on the suspension of elections. 
PLC Deputies, including Enrique Quinonez and Maximino 
Rodriguez, told us such a decision could not have happened 
without the express authorization of Arnoldo Aleman and have 
publicly and privately criticized the decision.  Aleman 
defended the decision of the magistrates to uphold quorum, 
calling those who criticized the PLC magistrates as 
"innocents" and noting that the FSLN magistrates could have 
simply convened their "supplentes" to convene a quorum.  In a 
move likely to create more tension and political wrangling, 
the CSE also announced that it will name interim authorities 
to govern the municipalities once the current office holders' 
terms have finished. 
 
Next Steps 
- - - - - - 
 
¶6. (C) According to Javier Williams, a prominent Atlantic 
Coast opposition politician, and several contacts in Puerto 
Cabezas, the police have begun systematically passing through 
the city to confiscate video recordings and erase digital 
pictures of the airport violence that demonstrate that 
Rivera's armed supporters opened fire on pro-vote supporters. 
 They report that efforts are being made to keep people away 
from the media for fear they might further implicate Rivera, 
the governor, and the mayor.  In addition, contacts report 
that the police are making every effort to maintain the 
peace, even promising material assistance in exchange for 
cooperation. 
 
¶7. (C) In addition to ongoing media campaigns, both anti- and 
pro-vote forces are reaching out to allies in other 
municipalities in the RAAN and the RAAS looking for support. 
The South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) Regional Council, 
together with the mayor of Bluefields, the capital of the 
RAAS, and other civil society groups has finalized a 
statement condemning the election delay and blaming Rivera, 
Yatama, and the FSLN for the violence.  Liberal leaders from 
the Mining Triangle cities of Rosita, Siuna, Bonanza, and 
Mulukuku, in the interior of the RAAN, traveled to Managua on 
Monday -- along with National Assembly deputy Victor Duarte 
-- to meet with both the Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC) 
and Vamos Con Eduardo (VCE) deputies to gain their support 
against election delays. Several leading deputies, including 
 
MANAGUA 00000419  003 OF 004 
 
 
Justice Committee Chair and PLC member Jose Pallais, have 
said the Assembly will take a number of steps, including 
legislation demanding that the CSE respect the original 
election date, filing injunctions against the CSE decision, 
and continuing to hold legislation the Ortega Administration 
wants hostage. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Civil society is also increasing its vocal 
opposition to the decision.  Movimento por Nicaragua is 
planning demonstrations in front of the CSE's Managua 
headquarters and reaching out to other NGOs to encourage them 
to participate as well.  Mayoral candidate and anti-FSLN 
Yatama leader Osorno "Blas" Coleman and Williams are trying 
to mobilize the participation of several hundred Miskito 
Indians from the RAAN living in Managua.  In addition, they 
are trying to coordinate simultaneous protests in Bluefields, 
Puerto Cabezas, Waspam, Prinzapolka, Rosita, Siuna, and 
Bonanza. 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
¶9.  (C) Friday's violence in Puerto Cabezas and the decision 
by the CSE to cancel elections on flimsy political and legal 
grounds has raised the stakes in Nicaragua's struggle for 
democracy.  The rapid and violent response of pro-election 
advocates in the RAAN appears to have shocked FSLN leaders, 
but not stopped them from pressing forward with what was 
clearly a previously planned decision to suspend the 
elections. 
 
¶10. (C) Ortega and other senior members of the administration 
have publicly advocated suspension of the elections for weeks 
under a wide range of weak excuses.  In addition to claiming 
ongoing damage from Hurricane Felix, Ortega has suggested 
that there "might be more hurricanes in the future." Other 
government supporters suggest that the current electoral 
system does not give proper respect to indigenous rights. 
Regardless, the clear motivation behind the suspension is 
two-fold: 1) the FSLN and their Yatama affiliates would 
likely lose the three municipalities due to deep resentment 
among voters over the failed hurricane response and every 
municipal victory will count in what is expected to be a 
referendum on Ortega in the November municipal elections; and 
2) as noted in ref A, there are personal financial 
motivations at stake among senior FSLN leadership from timber 
and property concessions that would be jeopardized should 
they lose control over the municipalities.  These dual 
motivations drove the CSE to act, and the outbreak of 
violence, whether orchestrated or not, delivered them the 
pretext to act sooner rather than later. 
 
¶11. (C) While the events have stirred civil society and 
political opposition, it remains to be seen whether the 
election suspension will generate further cooperation and 
solidification within civil society and the opposition 
movement at a national level.  Individually, many of their 
leaders have told us that the suspension of the elections 
represents a grave threat to democracy and the rule of law. 
If the CSE can take these decisions, in defiance of electoral 
law, the Constitution and the National Assembly, they 
suggested, there would be little to stop them from doing the 
same or worse in other municipalities.  However, it is not 
clear whether civil society and the opposition will be able 
to sustain their effort or overturn the CSE's decision. 
Moreover, if Aleman was prepared to have his CSE magistrates 
support the FSLN in the decision to suspend the elections, he 
will be unlikely to allow PLC deputies or other judges to go 
too far in their efforts to overturn the decision. 
 
¶12. (C) We also believe that the election suspension is just 
the FSLN's first step in re-drawing the political map of the 
RAAN and dismantling representative democracy in that 
poverty-stricken region.  During an April 3 dinner in honor 
of visiting Finnish Trade and Cooperation Minister Paavo 
Vayrynen, Vice Foreign Minister Valdrack Jaentschke suggested 
 
MANAGUA 00000419  004 OF 004 
 
 
that the elections should be suspended due to: a) the damaged 
psyche of the RAAN peoples; b) the need to not let the 
elections intrude when reconstruction falls into full swing 
later this year; and c) the need to reconsider the importance 
of indigenous participation in the electoral structure. 
Jaentschke observed that timber in the RAAN and RAAS should 
eventually be a USD 200 million a year business and hearkened 
back to the Coast's "glory days" in the late 19th century 
when timber, gold and other extractive industries were king. 
He further suggested that the current municipalities' 
geographic size "is too big to manage."  Other FSLN leaders 
on the Coast describe elections and private property as 
"merely Western constructs."  We believe the FSLN's long-term 
vision for the RAAN is clear -- more smaller towns separated 
by giant swatches of indigenous communal lands whose 
resources are controlled by tribal and community leaders -- 
and exploited by FSLN-linked firms. 
TRIVELLI