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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000016 
 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR S/CT RSHORE 
DEPT PASS NCTC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER ASEC EFIN KCRM KHLS PINS PREL AEMR NU
SUBJECT: Nicaragua: 2009 Country Report on Terrorism 
 
REF: A) 09 STATE 122733; B) 09 STATE 109980 
 
General Assessment 
 
¶1.  No acts of international terrorism occurred in Nicaragua in 
¶2009.  Three items from the 2008 report that remained largely 
unchanged.  In 2009 Nicaragua made no substantive progress towards 
establishing a Financial Intelligence Unit or passing the 
counterterrorism bill first proposed in 2004.  Also, Nicaragua's 
judicial system remained a vulnerability that could be exploited by 
international terrorist groups.  The judiciary remained highly 
politicized, corrupt and prone to manipulation by political elites 
and organized crime.  The November 2007 decision by President 
Ortega granting Iranian and Libyan nationals visa-free entry into 
Nicaragua remained in effect during 2009.  On March 18, 2009 
Nicaragua upgraded several countries to visa-free entry status, 
which included Ecuador and the Palestinian Authority. Sensitive 
reporting indicates that human traffickers were adjusting their 
routes accordingly. 
 
¶2.  President Daniel Ortega continued to develop close relations 
with Cuba through official visits and regular, high-level contact 
with Cuban officials.  On September 10, Nicaragua established 
formal diplomatic relations with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two 
small breakaway Georgian Republics recognized only by Russia, 
Venezuela and Nauru.  Ortega sustained close relations with the 
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2009.  On October 
12, Nicaragua refused an official extradition request from Ecuador 
for two suspected FARC operatives who had been granted asylum in 
2008 and continued to provide safe haven to one additional known 
senior FARC commander.  During 2009, Nicaragua also gave political 
asylum to three Peruvian indigenous leaders accused of instigating 
a confrontation in the Peruvian Amazon that left 33 dead. 
President Ortega conducted no official state visits to Iran in 
¶2009. 
 
Safe Haven Assessment 
 
¶3.  In 2009, President Ortega continued to provide safe haven to 
Doris Torres Boh????rquez and Martha Perez Guti????rrez, two 
suspected 
FARC operatives and survivors of the March 2008 Colombian military 
operation against the FARC.  Both were granted asylum in Nicaragua 
and welcomed by President Ortega as survivors of "state-sponsored 
terrorism by Colombia."  On October 12 the GON refused Ecuador's 
request to extradite Torres and Perez on the grounds that doing so 
would violate their human rights.  Also during 2009, senior FARC 
official Nubia Calderon de Trujillo continued to enjoy 
"humanitarian asylum" in Nicaragua.  In 2008 the U.S. Department of 
Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) designated 
Calderon de Trujillo, along with seven other FARC international 
representatives, as significant narco-traffickers under the Kingpin 
Act.  During 2009 Calderon, Torres and Perez did not appear 
publicly in Nicaragua. 
 
¶4.  There was no new information in the case of Alberto Bermudez, 
aka Rene Alberto Gutierrez Pastran, aka "Cojo," the FARC emissary 
granted a false Nicaraguan identity by Nicaragua's Supreme 
Electoral Council (CSE).  However in December 2009, local media 
reported that the CSE provided legitimate Nicaraguan identity 
documents for false identities to several suspected drug 
traffickers, including Amauri Paul (alias Alberto Ruiz Cano), a 
Colombian criminal who was involved in an attack against Nicaraguan 
counter-narcotics forces that killed two Nicaraguan Navy personnel. 

¶5.  On June 9, 2009, the government granted political asylum to 
three Peruvian indigenous leaders, Alberto Pizango, Saul Puerta and 
Cervando Puerta.  Pizango and the Puerta brothers received asylum 
in Nicaragua only days after the Peruvian government accused them 
of instigating an armed confrontation in the Peruvian Amazon that 
left 24 police and nine indigenous people dead.  On October 13, 
Saul Puerta and Cervando Puerta returned to Peru after a Peruvian 
court overturned arrest orders against them.  The same court upheld 
the arrest order for Pizango, who remains in Nicaragua. 
 
Terrorist Organizations 
 
¶6.  No known terrorist groups operated openly in Nicaragua; 
however, as noted above, during 2009 at least three suspected FARC 
operatives were granted safe haven by the government of Nicaragua 
and remain in the country.  Both the FARC and the ETA (Basque 
Fatherland and Liberty) have retired or inactive members residing 
in Nicaragua. Iran, Cuba and Libya maintained embassies in 
Nicaragua during 2008. 
 
Foreign Government Cooperation 
 
¶7.  During 2009, the Embassy had increasing difficulty obtaining 
information from or access to civilian officials of the GON.  In 
one instance the GON failed to comply with a routine evidence 
transfer request related to an arms-for-drugs case involving the 
FARC.  Even so, there were several U.S.-Nicaragua 
military-to-military counterterrorism-related exchanges during the 
year that improved the Nicaraguan military's counterterrorism 
capabilities. 
 
¶8.  Embassy Point of Contact for this Report is Deputy Political 
Chief, Jesse Curtis +505-2252-7128 (CurtisJS@state.gov) 
CALLAHAN