US embassy cable - 04BUENOSAIRES3542

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 003542 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/AND AND WHA/BSC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/23/2014 
TAGS: KDEM, PHUM, PREL, VE, AR, MEETINGS WITH AMBASSADOR 
SUBJECT: RAISING VENEZUELA WITH ARGENTINA MFA 
 
REF: A. STATE 271087 
 
     B. BUENOS AIRES 3523 
     C. BUENOS AIRES 3489 
 
Classified By: DCM Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
 1.  (C) Ambassador Gutierrez met December 23 with Argentine 
Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa to raise again our concerns 
about recent events in Venezuela.  The Ambassador began by 
noting that in his meeting with Secretary Powell, Bielsa had 
stated that President Kirchner and the GOA would use every 
opportunity to engage with President Chavez on human rights, 
democracy and governance issues.  The Ambassador then took 
Bielsa through the issues raised in Reftel A, namely, the new 
law on media content; the packing of the Venezuelan Supreme 
Court; the draft law that would criminalize the use of 
foreign funding by Venezuelan human rights and civil society 
NGOs; the criminal case against the leaders of the NGO 
Sumate; and finally, the need for Venezuela to work 
cooperatively with Colombia to secure their shared border. 
 
2.  (C) Bielsa responded first to the border security issue 
stating that at the Cuzco Summit earlier this month, 
Colombian President Uribe had specifically praised Chavez for 
his cooperation on border security.  Bielsa said he thought 
things were "going better" on this count.  On the other 
issues, Bielsa thanked the Ambassador for our comments and 
concerns and said he would further investigage each of them. 
He felt, however, that there was little the GOA could do with 
the recently passed media law and the Supreme Court 
appointments as these were now accomplished "judicial" facts. 
 He thought there might be more room for maneuver on the 
draft law on NGO funding and the pending Sumate case.  He 
promised to look closely at these cases and to raise these 
issues with President Kirchner for his possible discussion 
with Chavez. 
 
3.  (C) As he was leaving, the Ambassador congratulated 
Bielsa for his efforts on behalf of Cuban dissident Hilda 
Molina (reftels).  Bielsa, who according to some press 
accounts was in danger of being fired by President Kirchner, 
thanked the Ambassador and said supporting Molina's request 
to visit her son and his family was "the right thing to do." 
When the Ambassador noted that human rights was something 
that cannot be applied selectively, Bielsa concurred adding 
"we'll see how much more President Kirchner can bear." 
 
4.  (U) For other Embassy Buenos Aires reporting, please 
visit our classified SIPRNET website at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires.< /a> 
GUTIERREZ