US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO6734

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 006734 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR, WHA/USOAS 
NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/17/2009 
TAGS: PREL, DR, HA 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ON OAS SYG CANDIDATE 
 
REF: A. AMB. FOLEY-IRVING E-MAIL 12/14/04 
 
     B. GOMEZ BERGES - CENTO E-MAIL 12/10/04 
     C. SAN SALVADOR 3551 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: DCM Lisa Kubiske for Reason 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Political party leader (and former foreign 
minister) Victor Gomez Berges told Charge Kubiske December 15 
that he is interested in being considered as an alternate 
candidate for the OAS Secretary General job in the event the 
Central Americans are unable to reach a consensus.  Gomez 
Berges has been traveling to solicit support of regional 
governments.  The MFA informed us December 17 that the 
Dominican Government is in the process of deciding its 
position -- which is likely to be close to that of the United 
States. The MFA did not offer any support for Gomez Berges. 
Charge reiterated the U.S. position.  End summary. 
 
Visits in Santo Domingo, Port au Prince 
--------------------------------------- 
 
2. (C) Political party leader Victor Gomez Berges, 
accompanied by coffee magnate and civic leader Rafael 
Perello, visited Charge Kubiske December 15 to present 
himself for U.S. consideration as an alternative for OAS 
Secretary General, in the event the Central Americans are 
 
SIPDIS 
unable to reach consensus on a regional candidate. Gomez 
Berges mentioned that he had just come from Port au Prince 
where he had called on Ambassador Foley in the company of 
Haitian Prime Minister Gerard LaTortue (Ref A) and on 
President Alexandre.  Gomez Berges had had recent contact 
with other regional heads of state and had requested a 
meeting with USOAS Permanent Representative Maisto (Ref B). 
 
3. (C) Charge conveyed that we were hoping for a consensus 
Central American candidate, preferably a former president or 
other elected leader with broad political experience. 
 
4. (C) Gomez Berges said he understood the U.S. position. 
However, he commented, most former presidents in Latin 
America were tainted by corruption and he himself was a 
better representative of all the values the OAS stands for. 
The next OAS Secretary General would have to be above 
reproach.  The Dominican Republic has no conflicts with any 
of its neighbors, he noted, and he has consistently been in 
tune with U.S. policies in the region.  He said he had deep 
knowledge of Haiti, which would equip him well to lead the 
OAS stabilization efforts there. 
 
5. (C) Gomez Berges said he had been in touch with the 
presidents of Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama and with the 
Costa Rican foreign minister, and asserted that all had 
expressed reservations about the Flores candidacy.  Honduran 
President Maduro had ruled out supporting Flores, he said, 
because of the Honduran public's indignation over a failure 
by Flores to fulfill terms of a border agreement. 
 
6. (C) Charge asked where else the Dominican would be 
traveling, and he outlined plans for visits to at least 5 of 
the 14 OAS member states in the Caribbean.  He has already 
met with Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Manning (at the 
CCAA conference in Miami) and will next visit Jamaican Prime 
Minister Patterson. 
 
Dominican Government's Position 
------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) Gomez Berges said that before starting his travels he 
had checked with President Fernandez, who had "not objected." 
 Deputy Foreign Minister Alejandra Liriano told the Charge on 
December 17 that the Dominican Government position remains as 
before:  supporting a Central American consensus candidate. 
MFA UN/OAS division chief Michelle Cohen told another Embassy 
officer the same day that the position was still being 
decided, but would be "not far from yours."  She assured us 
the authorities were not considering any Dominican candidate. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
8. (C) Gomez Berges (Social Christian Reformist Party - PRSC) 
has a more conservative political orientation than President 
Fernandez (Dominican Liberation Party - PLD).  He is 
associated with the formally democratic but sporadically 
repressive "12 years" of the late President Balaguer 
(1982-1994).  Under these circumstances, it is extremely 
unlikely Gomez Berges can gain the support of his nation's 
government for his candidacy. 
 
Biographic Data 
--------------- 
 
9. (U) Gomez Berges served as foreign minister, 1972-76, and 
held four other ministerial portfolios (interior, education, 
finance, industry/trade) from 1965-78.  In 1975, Costa Rica 
and Mexico put forward his name as an option for OAS 
secretary general; Balaguer refused to support his bid, 
 
SIPDIS 
according to Gomez Berges, and he fell one vote short of 
being elected.  He served as a senator, 1978-82, and as 
ambassador successively to the Vatican, Greece, Cyprus, 
Argentina, and Paraguay in the 1980s and 1990s.  He headed 
the state-owned Dominican Electricity Corporation (1988-90) 
and Industrial Development Corporation (1994-96), and served 
in the Central American Parliament (2000-04).  A senior 
leader of the Social Christian Reformist Party (PRSC), the 
third-ranked Dominican political party, Gomez Berges served 
as a campaign adviser to former presidential candidate 
Eduardo Estrella in the 2004 election.  Gomez Berges is also 
a lawyer, university professor, business consultant, writer, 
and news commentator. 
KUBISKE