US embassy cable - 04CARACAS634

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 000634 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
USAID DCHA/OTI FOR RPORTER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PROP, VE 
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ ACCUSES USG OF FUNDING "COUPMONGERS" 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B 
) AND (D) 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. (C) During his February 8 and 15 "Alo, Presidente" 
broadcasts, President Chavez accused the USG of supporting 
opposition efforts to oust him by funneling $60,000 to the 
NGO Sumate and millions more to assist other opposition 
groups.  Chavez also claimed that the CIA's refusal to 
provide any information on Sumate to a journalist's FOIA 
request is conclusive proof that the National Endowment for 
Democracy (NED), a Sumate funding source, is a CIA front 
organization.  Chavez made no mention of USAID funding to 
Sumate. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) During his February 8 "Alo, Presidente" broadcast, 
President Chavez accused the USG of supporting opposition 
efforts to oust him by funneling $60,000 to the NGO Sumate 
and also announced he would provide proof that the USG is 
spending millions of dollars to assist other opposition 
groups.  Emboffs confirmed that the National Endowment for 
Democracy (NED) approved a grant to Sumate for $53,400 in 
September 2003 to work on referendum and general electoral 
activities.  On February 15, Chavez referred to free-lance 
journalist Jeremy Bigwood's FOIA request to the CIA on 
Sumate, and the CIA's subsequent refusal to confirm or deny 
that it possessed such information, as proof that the NED is 
a funding arm of the CIA for Venezuelan opposition groups. 
During the same broadcast, Chavez asked the Solicitor General 
to analyze Sumate's original funding request to determine if 
it included grounds for charging the NGO with treason. 
 
3. (U) During the February 8 broadcast, Chavez also mentioned 
the National Assembly of Educators (ANE) as one recipient of 
NED funding, claiming it was associated with the opposition 
party Democratic Action (AD).  He also asserted that 
Democratic Coordinator spokesman Jesus Torrealba is ANE's 
director.  ANE spokesperson Leonardo Carvajal explained that 
the organization most recently received NED funds between 
2001 and 2002, according to a February 9 news report. 
Carvajal also denied that the ANE is associated with AD, 
saying that "no ANE board director belongs to any political 
party," though he indicated the ANE had been linked with the 
MAS party during 1975-1988. (Note: Carvajal is closely allied 
with the opposition, and ANE is a member of the Democratic 
Coordinator.) 
 
4. (C) Presumably unbeknownst to Chavez, USAID/OTI awarded 
Sumate a grant for $89,000 in August 2003 to verify the 
reliability of the National Electoral Register (REP) by 
visiting the homes of randomly chosen registered voters. 
The study found the REP was 97 percent reliable, information 
which benefits both the government and the opposition. 
Following standard procedure, USAID/OTI asked a reputable 
Mexican statistician to review Sumate's methodology and asked 
Sumate to delay releasing the study results until the 
statistician's review was complete.  Sumate agreed to the 
request but then announced the study results anyway.  Due to 
this procedural disagreement, the embassy reduced the grant 
amount to $42,000 to cover work accomplished up to that point 
(late 2003).  In addition, Sumate's higher profile as an 
opposition NGO made it more difficult to carry out an 
ostensibly non-partisan study. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
5. (C) This GOV attack on Sumate, a highly effective and well 
organized opposition group, as a puppet of the USG is a 
centerpiece of Chavez' anti-referendum campaign.  Chavez is 
using the news of opposition participation in NED programs as 
further "evidence" of a USG plot to remove him from power. 
That pro-government groups have been beneficiaries of those 
same programs will continue to be staple fodder in 
Venezuela's political battles.  Allegations similar to 
Chavez' comments appear on the website 
www.venezuelafoia.info, "...devoted to investigating US 
meddling in Venezuela."  The website includes the Bigwood 
FOIA request, the CIA's response, and names the NED as a 
Sumate grantor.  The website also  concludes that NED has 
 
exclusively supported various opposition groups with grants 
totaling more than $800,000 and thereby contributed to the 
country's political destabilization. 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
NNNN 
 
      2004CARACA00634 - CONFIDENTIAL