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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000101 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2019 
TAGS: KJUS PGOVE KCRM EFIN EAID EINV HO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S COURTESY CALL ON NEWLY ELECTED CHIEF 
JUSTICE JORGE RIVERA AVILES 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR HUGO LLORENS, REASON 1.4 (B & D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador called on newly-elected Supreme 
Court Chief Justice Jorge Rivera Aviles on February 11. 
Rivera discussed his priority goals of reducing case backlogs 
and increasing the efficiency of oral case procedures.  The 
Ambassador and Rivera agreed that organized crime and drug 
trafficking were special threats to both countries and that 
we should work together through the bilateral Merida 
Initiative task force against these scourges.  Rivera noted 
that protecting international investors and supporting the 
rule of law was important to the future of Honduras and to 
him personally, and the Ambassador asked him to establish a 
mechanism to bring specific cases to his attention.  The 
Ambassador also brought up the existence of human rights 
cases, which could also be 
considered through this mechanism.  Rivera agreed to host a 
meeting with the entire Supreme Court with a group of senior 
embassy officials to discuss issues of mutual concern.  End 
Summary. 
 
Rivera's Internal Goals 
----------------------- 
¶2. (C) Ambassador called on newly-elected Supreme Court Chief 
Justice Jorge Rivera Aviles on February 11.  The Ambassador 
congratulated Rivera on his election and stressed that the 
USG has always had good relations with the Court and that we 
looked forward to working with him.  The Ambassador said the 
previous court had done a good job, but that there was a 
general recognition that the current Court was less political 
and more independent.  Obviously,  civil society  had been 
intimately involved in the selection process of the new 
magistrates and now had high expectations and would demand 
accountability from the new court.  Rivera, a member of the 
Liberal Party, was very complimentary of the work of 
out-going National Party Chief Justice Vilma Morales, and 
said he would continue with many of her initiatives.  He 
noted that before Morales, there was a backlog of 90 percent 
of the cases, but Morales had managed to reduce it to 40 
percent.  Rivera said his goal was to reach 30 percent. 
Rivera also informed us that oral cases were seldom tried 
correctly in most of Honduras, and one of his major goals was 
to implement a mechanism to properly try cases orally 
according to the established legal procedures.  Rivera also 
recounted his experiences on the Proposing Committee for the 
Attorney General (AG) and Assistant AG.  He said the 
negotiations were difficult and long, but that the group had 
come to a consensus on the best five candidates of the 25 
proposed. 
 
Areas for Bilateral Cooperation 
---------------------------- 
¶3. (C) The Ambassador suggested that there were several areas 
in which the USG and the court could work together.  He 
encouraged Rivera to designate a point of contact to 
participate in the bilateral Merida Initiative task force, 
and Rivera responded that Minister of Security Rodas Gamero 
had already informed him of the task force and invited him to 
participate.  Rivera suggested that globalization has 
heightened the problems of organized crime and drug 
trafficking in Honduras, and said there were many judicial 
problems in these areas.  The Ambassador agreed that both 
countries were threatened by these scourges and that only by 
working together could we diminish the danger.  Rivera 
suggested that increased cooperation and intelligence-sharing 
would be key.  The Ambassador noted the attention the USG was 
paying to the Mosquitia, outlining the educational and health 
programs that we are sponsoring in the region, and opined 
that this remote area had been ignored too long.  Rivera 
agreed and said that he was sending a "National Judge" to 
Puerto Lempira to try the most important cases, in an attempt 
to diminish the influence of the locals on case outcomes. 
Rivera told us that there were six National Judge slots in 
existence, but only one of them was filled.  He noted these 
positions were very important and that he would ensure all 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000101  002 OF 002 
 
 
six were filled as soon as possible. 
 
AmCit Land Disputes and Human Rights Cases 
----------------------------- 
¶4. (C) Rivera then brought up the idea that investment 
(domestic and foreign) was vital for Honduras' future and he 
believed it was important to protect investors and enforce 
the rule of law.  The Ambassador agreed wholeheartedly and 
told Rivera that there were a substantial number of land 
disputes involving American citizens, including some that 
could be considered expropriations, moving through the 
Honduran judicial system very slowly, and undermining the 
image of a safe investment environment here.  Similarly, the 
Ambassador said that many Honduran civil society groups, 
international NGOs, U.S. based organizations and members of 
the U.S. Congress have requested that the Embassy bring human 
rights cases to the attention of high-level Honduran 
officials.  The Ambassador asked if we could establish a 
mechanism for bringing some of these cases to Rivera's 
attention, and he agreed enthusiastically.  They also agreed 
to set up a meeting between the entire court and senior 
embassy officials to discuss issues of mutual concern. 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶5. (C) Rivera is a straight-forward man, professing a deep 
desire to work towards improving the efficiency of the 
judiciary and rooting out corruption.  Our first impression 
is that he will be a good partner.  End Comment. 
LLORENS