VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #0389/01 0982048
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 082048Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4021
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 000389 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CEN - CWEBSTER, AKRAAIMOORE 
STATE FOR EEB/IFD/OIA - HGOETHERT 
L/CID - JKOVAR, PPEARSALL 
STATE ALSO FOR INL/LP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/08/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNAR ECON EFIN EIND NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: SHOOTING ATTEMPT AGAINST ATTORNEY 
GENERAL ESTRADA 
 
REF: 08 MANAGUA 1414 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Robert Callahan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On the morning of April 6, an unknown 
assailant fired four gunshots at Attorney General Hernan 
Estrada near his residence in Managua.  Two of the bullets 
grazed Estrada, but he only suffered minor injuries.  Estrada 
held a press conference in the afternoon where he blamed 
religious leaders and the media for promoting violence in 
Nicaragua.  The incident has created a fervor of speculation 
regarding possible reasons behind the attack.  While the 
shooting is deplorable, Estrada and the FSLN will likely use 
it to their advantage to go after critics of the government. 
End Summary. 
 
ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST ESTRADA 
------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) On the morning of April 6, an unknown assailant fired 
four gunshots at Attorney General Hernan Estrada near his 
residence in Managua.  The Nicaraguan National Police told us 
that Estrada was exercising (walking) when two unknown 
persons approached him on a motorcycle.  The assailant got 
off the motorcycle, yelled insults at Estrada, and shot at 
him four times at close range with a handgun.  Two of the 
grazed hit Estrada; one struck his neck and the other his 
cheek.  The assailant and the driver took off when they saw 
Estrada begin to bleed.  His neighbors took him to the 
Military Hospital in Managua, but Estrada suffered only minor 
injuries. 
 
ESTRADA BLAMES RELIGIOUS LEADERS AND MEDIA FOR THE ATTACK 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
¶3. (U) On the afternoon of April 7, Estrada held a press 
conference to discuss the incident.  Police Chief Aminta 
Granera attended and sat next to Estrada.  In reference to 
media reports citing Monsignor Abelardo Mata's claim that 
armed groups are organizing in northern Nicaragua in wake of 
the fraudulent November 2008 municipal elections, Estrada 
blamed religious leaders and the media for promoting violence 
in Nicaragua.  He demanded that religious leaders stop their 
irresponsible actions, which he blamed for the violence 
against him, stating that, "We Sandinistas know violence, and 
we do not want to react against these attempts, as some in 
the media have been promoting."  Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes, 
President of the Episcopal Conference, denied that the 
Catholic Church was promoting violence in Nicaragua or 
against Estrada.  He said that the Church has always called 
for peace, reconciliation, and political openness.  He 
defended Mata's statements, noting that it is the job of the 
Church to convey the concerns of the people to leaders in 
order to help find solutions to problems. 
 
POLICE AND NICARAGUAN ARMY EMPHASIZE CAUTION 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶4. (U) Granera said that she would form a special team to 
investigate the incident and strengthen Estrada's security 
detail.  She stated that while there is no information on 
armed political groups in northern Nicaragua, there are 
juvenile delinquents and street gangs.  During a separate 
interview with a local newspaper prior to the shooting, 
General Adolfo Zepeda, spokesman of the Nicaraguan Army, 
added that the Army had no information about armed political 
groups in Nicaragua.  He added, "We believe that the era of 
politically motivated wars and armed conflicts remain in 
Nicaragua's distant past." 
 
SPECULATION ABOUNDS 
------------------- 
¶5. (C) The shooting has created a fervor of speculation 
concerning the reasons behind the attack against Estrada. 
Some U.S. property claimants contacted Econoff to opine that 
the incident could be related to any of several contentious 
land disputes involving Estrada (reftel).  Dora Maria Tellez, 
former Minister of Health during the first Sandinista 
government and currently a leading member of the Movement for 
Sandinista Renovation (MRS), told us that the incident could 
have been orchestrated by the FSLN.  She explained that the 
shooting might be a warning from the FSLN to critics and 
 
opposition parties that continue to protest against the 
fraudulent November 2008 municipal elections.  She suggested 
that President Daniel Ortega would use this incident as a 
pretext to go after FSLN opponents. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶6. (C) The shooting against Estrada, while deplorable, gives 
him and the FSLN a pretext to go after critics of the 
government.  We expect that Estrada and the GON will continue 
to use this incident to blame critics for fomenting violence 
and instability throughout the country, while they hope to 
undermine their credibility as opponents of the government's 
actions and policies. 
 
CALLAHAN