US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO3749

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTO DOMINGO 003749 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR AND WHA/AND 
NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON 
TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA 
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION 
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH 
DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI; SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/26/2014 
TAGS: PREL, EPET, DR, VE 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN TRANSITION #4: PRESIDENT-ELECT'S VISIT 
TO VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT CHAVEZ 
 
Classified By: Economic and Political Counselor Michael Meigs for Reaso 
n 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (SBU) This no. 4 in our series on the transition to a new 
presidential administration in the Dominican Republic. 
 
DOMINICAN PRESIDENT-ELECT'S VISIT TO VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT 
CHAVEZ 
 
(U) Dominican President-elect Leonel Fernandez stopped over 
in Caracas to call on President Hugo Chavez June 20-21. Press 
reports centered upon Fernandez's mention of the $250 million 
in financing credits accumulated to date under the terms of 
the San Jose Accord (a percentage of payments for Venezuelan 
petroleum accrues to finance development projects, with the 
stipulation that 50 percent of the content come from 
Venezuela).  This is not news, and in fact the amount 
accumulated is testimony rather to the difficulty in finding 
appropriate Venezuelan products to finance.  The Mejia 
government periodically drew on this trade line to import 
asphalt for road construction, a practice that ended last 
year.  A U.S. firm currently has the exclusive contract to 
supply asphalt to the Dominican government. 
 
(C) Following mid-2003 interruptions of Venezuelan exports to 
the Dominican Republic due in large part to technical 
problems at PDVSA, Chavez "suspended" exports from August 
2003 to November 2004 with the demand that Mejia's government 
take action against "conspiracies." Documents eventually 
presented to the Domincan MFA related an eccentric series of 
charges against industrialist Gustavo Cisneros, made by 
third-country nationals. They provided no basis for Dominican 
action against Cisneros, who has a vacation home here and is 
well liked, including by President Mejia. 
 
(SBU)  Fernandez's stop in Caracas was for a courtesy call 
and photo op.  It led journalists, officials, and a PLD 
legislator to speculate that the President-elect was working 
on obtaining more favorable prices for petroleum.  The PLD's 
only senator, Jose Tomas Perez, assured us the visit had 
focused on oil supplies and that there were no implications 
for Dominican policies toward the United States; in 
particular, he said, it should not be interpreted as 
signaling any support by President-elect Fernandez for 
Chavez's anti-U.S. stance. A senior MFA contact characterized 
the visit as just another stop in Fernandez's tour around the 
region in advance of the inauguration 
 
(SBU)  We understand the President-elect was accompanied by 
his wife Margareta Cedeno de Fernandez, his personal staff, 
and former industry and commerce minister Luis Manuel 
Bonetti, Fernandez's campaign finance chairman and the PLD's 
finance chief. 
 
2. (U) Drafted by Bainbridge Cowell. 
 
3. (U) This report and others in our election and transition 
series can be read on the SIPRNET at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/ index.cfm along 
with extensive other current material. 
HERTELL