US embassy cable - 04CARACAS1347

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 001347 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2014 
TAGS: PREL, KDEM, VE, OAS 
SUBJECT: OAS DEMOCRATIC CHARTER: REACTION TO COLOMBIAN 
SENATE VOTE 
 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (d 
) 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  (U) The GOV and the National Assembly reacted harshly to 
the vote April 13 by the Colombian Senate to request that the 
OAS consider applying the Democratic Charter to Venezuela. 
Opponents of President Chavez have generally welcomed the 
vote as a sign of international support for the opposition, 
and growing isolation for the Chavez government. GOV 
officials called the Colombian action "inadmissible 
interference," and claimed the USG was behind it. Some people 
in the opposition have warned that such initiatives by the 
Colombians risk stirring up Venezuelan nationalism, and 
represent interference in Venezuela's internal affairs. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------- 
Vice-President Rangel 
--------------------- 
 
2.  (U) Venezuelan Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel accused 
the USG of being behind the resolution, as part of its 
alleged anti-Venezuelan campaign, and as part of a greater 
Plan Colombia. He accused Colombian Senator Enrique Gomez 
Hurtado of acting as spokesperson of the Democratic 
Coordinating Committee, rather than as a representative of 
his own people. He claimed that Colombia had far greater 
political and human rights problems than Venezuela. He 
accused Pedro Carmona, who briefly took over the presidency 
in April 2002 and is now in exile in Colombia, of being the 
intellectual author of the resolution. Foreign Minister Jesus 
Perez called the vote a "gross interference" in Venezuela's 
internal affairs, but said the National Assembly would give 
the official response to the Colombian legislative initiative. 
 
----------------- 
National Assembly 
----------------- 
 
3.  (U) The National Assembly voted 90 to 25 on April 15 to 
"categorically condemn" the Colombian Senate's resolution as 
an "inadmissible interference" in Venezuela's internal 
affairs. The President of the NA Commission on Foreign 
Affairs, Tarek William Saab, suggested that the document had 
been written in English by the U.S. State Department because 
of its alleged poor grammatical construction. At the same 
time the Assembly voted to begin an investigation on the 
"arms race" begun by Colombia, and to solicit information 
from the U.S. and Spanish legislatures on sales and donations 
of arms to Colombia. 
 
------------------- 
Opposition reaction 
--------------------- 
 
4.  (U) Many opponents of President Chavez supported the 
Colombian Senate's resolution. It was seen as a sign of 
international isolation for the government, and of support 
for the opposition. Opposition editorials, NA deputies, and 
representatives of the Democratic Coordinating Committee 
(DCC) pointed to the vote as a form of moral support for the 
opposition, and a serious warning to the government. D'Elsa 
Solorzano, head of the Judicial Commission of the DCC called 
it further evidence of the delicate situation of human rights 
in Venezuela. Virginia Contreras, former Ambassador for 
Venezuela to the OAS, called the resolution "very grave for 
the Venezuelan government from an international point of 
view." 
 
5.  (U) Tal Cual editor Teodoro Petkoff criticized the 
Colombian Senate's resolution as interference in Venezuelan 
internal affairs. He cautioned political leaders to consider 
that cheering for Colombian interference made their changes 
against Cuban interference sound hypocritical. Petkoff also 
pointed out that Colombia had its own problems, and that the 
invoking of the Charter was highly unlikely. Luis Manuel 
Esculpi, of the Union party, wrote in El Mundo on April 15 
that any initiative coming from Colombia was likely to spark 
a nationalist reaction in Venezuela, and so be 
counterproductive to the opposition. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
5.  (C) The GOV has taken advantage of the Colombian action 
to rally its supporters in the face of a plot, as they have 
packaged it, between Venezuela's historic rival, Colombia, 
and the Chavista's bete-noir, the U.S. While some Chavez 
opponents wanted to spin the vote positively, it gives them 
little of real benefit, while allowing the Chavista's to 
question their patriotism. 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
NNNN 
 
      2004CARACA01347 - CONFIDENTIAL