EL ECUADOR DE CORREA
Cable sobre la corrupción
| ID: | 216141 |
| Date: | 2009-07-10 16:49:00 |
| Origin: | 09QUITO572 |
| Source: | Embassy Quito |
| Classification: | SECRET |
| Dunno: | 09QUITO561 |
| Destination: | VZCZCXYZ0010 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHQT #0572/01 1911649 ZNY SSSSS ZZH R 101649Z JUL 09 FM AMEMBASSY QUITO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0613 INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8249 RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3631 RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUL LIMA 3302 RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4467 |
S E C R E T QUITO 000572 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/6/19 TAGS: CVIS, KCOR, KCRM, PGOV, PREL, NU, EC SUBJECT: Visas Donkey - Corruption 212(f) Visa Revocation: Jaime Aquilino HURTADO Vaca (S/NF) Classified by Ambassador Heather Hodges. Reason: 1.4 b and d. 1. (U) This cable replaces Quito 561, which was cancelled. Please disregard the earlier cable. 2. (S/NF) Embassy Quito is seeking a security advisory opinion under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, Presidential Proclamation 7750, suspending the entry into the United States and revoking the visas of the above Ecuadorian citizen for public corruption as defined in Section 1, Paragraphs (a) and (c) of the Proclamation (namely for misappropriation of public funds and interference with Ecuador's public processes). This corruption had an adverse effect on U.S. national interests mentioned in Section 4 of the Proclamation (namely the stability of democratic nations and institutions, the security of the United States against transnational crime and terrorism, U.S. foreign assistance goals, and the international economic activities of U.S. businesses). Jaime Aquilino HURTADO Vaca has used his office as Commander of the National Police and personal influence to extort cash and property, misappropriate public funds, facilitate human trafficking, and obstruct the investigation and prosecution of corrupt colleagues. Background ---------- 3. (C) Corruption among Ecuadorian National Police officers is widespread and well-known. Broad sections of the public report paying bribes related to minor and more significant transactions. Ecuador faces numerous challenges in combating this problem, since many citizens prefer the practice of paying bribes to the more daunting challenge of tackling the endless red tape and delays of Ecuador's bureaucracy. Ecuador has very weak institutional oversight of its law enforcement agencies, and the problem has been compounded by the voters' approval in September 2008 of a new constitution. The confusion stemming from implementation of the new constitution has further complicated the already weak system of oversight. Because of these institutional failings, National Police officers face minimal risk of exposure or punishment when they engage in corrupt acts. As with corrupt politicians and judges, this situation is more pronounced at higher levels of power. Summary of Corrupt Acts ----------------------- 4. (S/NF) Jaime Hurtado was Commanding General of the ENP from April 2008 to June 2009. In 2007 and 2008 he was Inspector General of the ENP and prior to that served in the Transit Police. The Embassy has multiple reports that indicate he used his positions to extort bribes, facilitate human trafficking, misappropriate public funds, obstruct investigations and prosecutions of corrupt colleagues, and engage in other corrupt acts for personal enrichment. Although the Embassy's information about his corrupt acts comes from recent years, internal ENP investigations reportedly suggest that Hurtado has been engaged in corrupt activities within the ENP since the early 1990s. Until 2008, Hurtado's rank and access within the ENP shielded him from any direct corruption investigation. However, ENP investigations into the corrupt acts of colleagues repeatedly turned up evidence of illegal activities by Hurtado. Corrupt Acts, In Chronological Order ---------------- ------------------- 5. (S/NF) In 2005, a taxi union in the city of Cuenca filed a formal complaint alleging extortion by Hurtado. A close colleague of Hurtado's, Major Bolivar VILLOTA, who was serving in Cuenca at the same time, was later transferred to a command position in the Transit Police in the town of Sangolqui. After numerous complaints of corruption committed by Villota in his new position, the ENP's Inspector General's office began an undercover investigation of Villota in 2006 which reportedly confirmed the previous allegations of corruption by Hurtado and Villota. Investigators also later found that two lower-ranking accomplices of Villota were involved in a scheme re-documenting and re-tagging stolen vehicles. Hurtado eventually learned of the investigation, and ordered the undercover officer conducting it removed and transferred. 6. (S/NF) In September 2007, Villota was arrested by ENP officers on corruption charges. ENP officers seized over $20,000 in cash, and a computer in his possession had files including a ledger that showed he had earned $157,000 from kickback and extortion schemes. It also showed substantial payments to Hurtado as part of these activities, as well as $94,000 worth of kickback payments to other ENP officers. Villota had been slated to be removed for cause from the Transit Police earlier in 2007, but the computer files showed he had paid an ENP officer $30,000 to remain in his position. Villota's total salary from 2000-2007 was less than $30,000, but investigators found that he had a net worth of over $450,000, which included luxury homes and a brand new SUV. Some of these assets were registered in the names of his parents. Villota and a girlfriend were also developing a tourist property owned by Hurtado. The two lower-ranking accomplices were found to have jointly purchased properties worth $200,000. 7. (S/NF) Although he was charged with a variety of criminal acts under Ecuadorian law following his arrest in 2007, Villota was not administratively sanctioned or removed from the ENP. Hurtado was serving as the ENP's Inspector General during this time period and was the responsible authority to sign paperwork removing Villota from the force. In late 2007 and early 2008, allegations of additional corrupt activities by Hurtado surfaced in an ENP investigation of other lower-ranking ENP officers. These officers were accused of stealing from official ENP funds and influence-peddling, and the investigation revealed that Hurtado had influence over them. ENP investigators also heard allegations that Hurtado had illegally acquired a property in Ecuador's Cotopaxi province by sending ENP officers who threatened the legal owner into signing over the property to Hurtado. 8. (S/NF) In April 2008, Hurtado was appointed Commanding General of the ENP. (Note: Hurtado's corrupt activities were so widely known within the upper ranks of the ENP that some Embassy officials believe that President Correa must have been aware of them when he made the appointment. These observers believe that Correa may have wanted to have an ENP Chief whom he could easily manipulate. End Note.) In late January 2009, the two ENP officers in charge of immigration enforcement in Guayaquil, Col. Milton Raul ANDRADE and Maj. Manuel Fernando BASANTES, were each receiving bribes related to alien smuggling activities. Andrade extorted on average $2000 per week from ENP officials at the Guayaquil airport, who in turn were receiving bribes for the safe passage of illegal immigrants through the airport. The other officials each received on average $1000 per week in bribes. The group typically moved from five to eight illegal Chinese immigrants per day through the airport, and received $1000-$2000 per migrant to ensure their departure from Ecuador to Central America. The final destination for these illegal immigrants was nearly always the U.S. ENP investigators attempted to make ENP Commanding General Hurtado aware of the situation, but Embassy officials were told that Hurtado was receiving gifts and cash payments from Col. Andrade, and took no action. 9. (S/NF) Also in late January 2009, Hurtado learned that General Juan Francisco SOSA, the director of the ENP's Judicial Police, had begun a formal investigation into Hurtado's activities. In early February 2009, Hurtado removed Sosa from his position as Judicial Police commander and demoted him to the Quito Metropolitan District Chief position in order to derail the investigation. Hurtado also fired the officer directly in charge of the investigation. 10. (S/NF) In early March 2009, ENP Major Pedro LLERENA, who worked in the ENP's personnel office, was discovered to have been using his position to obtain bribes in exchange for ENP position transfers. Hurtado was reportedly working with Llerena and had facilitated the paperwork for the transfers in return for a percentage of the bribe money. During the course of his tenure in the personnel office, Llerena had received bribes from over 12,000 ENP officials in amounts ranging from $2000-4000, depending upon the desirability of the position. Upon learning of these activities, the investigating officer resigned from the ENP. Hurtado subsequently helped Llerena attend a training course in Chile in order to help him avoid scrutiny. Individual Corrupt Acts per Presidential Proclamation 7750 --------------------------- ------------------------------ Section 1(a) - Solicitation or Acceptance of Any Article of Monetary Value, or Other Benefit, in Exchange for Any Act or Omission in the Performance of Public Functions 11. (S/NF) The Embassy has reports from multiple sources alleging that Hurtado repeatedly extorted bribes from ENP colleagues in exchange for protecting them within the institution or facilitating their activities. Embassy reports indicate that in exchange for payments, Hurtado participated in schemes extorting bribes from a taxi union, facilitating the re-sale of stolen vehicles, stealing ENP public funds, assisting a human trafficking organization, and manipulating the ENP's assignment processes. Section 1(c) - Interference with Public Process 12. (S/NF) In his multiple supervisory positions within the ENP, Hurtado used his power to prevent the investigation or sanctioning of corrupt colleagues. On more than one occasion this involved having investigators removed from their positions and demoted. Embassy reports show that he also assisted in corrupt practices related to the ENP assignment processes. Serious Adverse Effects on U.S. National Interest ----------------------- ------------------------- 13. (SBU) The acts of soliciting bribes and of interference in public processes described here have had serious adverse effects on the following categories of U.S. interests specified in Section 4 of the Proclamation: stability of democratic institutions and nations, the security of the United States against transnational crime and terrorism, U.S. foreign assistance goals, and the international economic activity of U.S. businesses. Stability of Democratic Institutions 14. (C) Strengthening democratic stability and institutions is one of the Embassy's top priorities. Justice and the rule of law are fundamental to democracy and depend upon the existence of a credible and honest police force. Where police officials violate the law with impunity, faith in government and democracy evaporates. Confidence in democracy and democratic institutions is very low in Ecuador today, in part because of corrupt acts like those described in this cable. These acts reinforce popular perceptions that Ecuador's law enforcement institutions and government are irredeemably corrupt and that justice is determined by those with political and economic power. Security of the United States against Transnational Crime and Terrorism 15. (C) A police force free of corruption is necessary to investigate and prosecute those guilty of money laundering, human trafficking, and terrorism--all issues with a direct impact on U.S. homeland security. Several U.S. Government agencies cooperate with their Ecuadorian counterparts in fighting transnational crime and terrorism. The acts described in this cable have diminished the effectiveness of these efforts, making it more likely that criminals and terrorists will go undetected and unpunished. In addition, the subject of this cable has provided assistance and protection to human traffickers, creating opportunities for criminals and terrorists to enter the U.S. U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals 16. (C) U.S. Government assistance to Ecuador through judicial reform and anti-corruption programs has totaled over $14 million in the past 9 years. The corrupt activities described above directly damage the Mission's work in these areas. The Mission's economic growth programs are also subverted when high quality foreign investment is driven away by the type of corrupt interference in the rule of law that the subject of this cable promotes. International Activity of U.S. Businesses 17. (C) The corrupt activities described in this cable hamper U.S. investment in Ecuador. U.S. investors are reluctant to risk their resources in Ecuador knowing that they could be targeted by corrupt law enforcement officials. The activities described here have demonstrably and directly harmed the credibility of Ecuador's law enforcement system, with attendant direct damage to the interests of all those subject to Ecuadorian law, whatever their nationality. The impunity with which prominent police officials are able to extort bribes and misappropriate public funds is a clear menace to any U.S. company doing business in Ecuador. Family and Visa Information --------------------------- 18. (C) Hurtado has two family members who the Embassy believes should be included in a 212f decision. These are: wife Gioconda Moemi MARTINEZ Duque (DOB: 03/12/52) and daughter Maria Esther HURTADO Martinez (DOB: 09/10/80). Since it is believed that Hurtado has been engaged in corrupt acts since the early 1990s, the Embassy feels that both of these individuals likely benefited from his illicit earnings. Hurtado and his family members all have valid B1/B2 visas issued in Quito on June 17, 2008. The visas will expire on June 16, 2013. Hodges |
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