US embassy cable - 05CARACAS651

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 000651 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ECON, EAID, PINR, VE, PIR 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR VISITS BOLIVAR STATE 
 
 
Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, for Reason 1.4(d 
) 
 
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Summary 
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1. (U) The Ambassador,s visit to the state of Bolivar on 
February 16 and 17, included meetings with the Mayor of 
Ciudad Bolivar, Director General of Ciudad Guyana, a local 
Chavista university, local press, various business leaders, 
American citizens in the area, as well as visits to 
USAID-supported social projects.  Bolivar State, located in 
southeastern Venezuela and bordering Brazil, is home to Angel 
Falls, large mineral deposits, and a stronghold of supporters 
of President Hugo Chavez.  The climate for American business 
there remains generally positive, despite the political 
disagreements between the U.S. and Venezuela.  Businesses 
reported some challenges, but said that they work with 
whoever governs. The Ambassador focused on areas of business 
cooperation.  End Summary. 
 
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Background 
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2. (U) Ciudad Bolivar, the state capital, is rich in 
Venezuelan history with colonial architecture and has a large 
student community.  By contrast, Ciudad Guayana is a young 
city, founded in 1952.  It was formed by two cities, San 
Felix, home to workers and small businesses, and Puerto 
Ordaz, described as a Corporacin de Venezolana de Guayana 
(CVG) company town and more planned community. 
 
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Political Climate 
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3. (C) Bolivar State Governor, Francisco Rangel Gomez, and 
his staff did not meet with the Ambassador citing an 
emergency.  In Ciudad Bolivar, the Ambassador ultimately met 
with the Director General of the Municipality, not the mayor. 
 Press sources informed us that the government officials, all 
representatives of the MVR, Chavez,s political party, did 
not see the Ambassador for political reasons. This is 
consistent with governors' performance in other recent 
internal travel. 
 
4. (U) Ciudad Guayana Mayor Clemente Scotto, a former 
participant in the International Visitor,s program, formally 
received the Ambassador in his offices.  The Ambassador 
stressed interests in continued collaboration between the 
both countries, close relations with the Mayor, and support 
for the private sector.  Acknowledging the strong presence of 
the American firms, Scotto said he wanted to work with the 
private sector to meet community needs, particularly 
environmental and social needs.  The Mayor expressed an 
interest in participating in an exchange with U.S. cities 
that, like his, are located near rivers. 
 
5. (U) Student protesters at the Universidad Nacional 
Experimental Simon Rodriguez (UNESR) greeted the Ambassador 
with anti-imperialist and anti-U.S. chants.  As the 
Ambassador met with the Board of Directors and four student 
representatives to discuss areas of disagreement, and common 
interests, protesters could be heard from outside.  The 
student representatives voiced the university's 
anti-imperialist position and their opposition to U.S. 
policies. Responding to the student's concerns, the 
Ambassador invited the UNESR faculty and students to 
participate in exchange programs.  At the end of the visit he 
startled the student leader by smilingly presenting him with 
a gift book wrapped in American flag paper. To the student's 
probably annoyance, this became the main press photo of next 
day's papers. 
 
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Economic Climate 
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6. (U) From meetings with the Camara de Industriales y 
Mineros De Guayana, local American citizens, and U.S. company 
Hecla Mining, the Ambassador found a business climate 
generally receptive to U.S. companies  - albeit with some 
challenges.  The Ambassador,s message was that he would try 
to: support the commercial interests of U.S. companies in 
 
Venezuela; maintain as positive a tone as possible; and 
stress the benefits for the community from private sector 
investments in the region, such as jobs and social projects. 
In all three meetings, participants praised the Ambassador,s 
visit. 
 
7. (U) In a lunch discussion hosted by the Camara de 
Industriales y Mineros De Guayana, the Ambassador said that, 
sometimes, political matters impact economics. Chamber 
President Igor Villegas Vivas asked for the Ambassador,s 
assistance regarding Venezuela,s ranking as a Tier 3 country 
for trafficking in persons. -The Ambassador noted the 
requirements of U.S. law and our unsuccessful efforts to 
obtain appropriate information from the GoV to overcome the 
hurdle. 
 
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HECLA: Largest Gold Producer 
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8. (C) The Ambassador had a private meeting with Hecla Mining 
Company, a publicly-traded U.S.  company that mines silver 
and gold. Hecla Venezuela is the largest producer of gold in 
Venezuela and the largest private employer in southern 
Bolivar State, supporting 800 direct jobs and 1,200 indirect 
jobs.  Hecla hopes to increase its production by 20 percent 
in 2005.  During Hecla,s five years in Venezuela, said Hecla 
de Venezuela President Tom Fudge, political instability had 
chased out competition when gold prices dropped.  Hecla has 
not seen competition return in greater numbers since gold 
prices have started to rise.  ike other U.S. companies doing 
business in Venezuela, Hecla says they face bureaucracy; 
inefficiency; difficult to enforce legal rights and 
contracts; and corruption. Hecla is now concerned about the 
changes the new Ministry of Basic Industries and Mining may 
bring, according to Fudge. 
 
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Social support 
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9. (U) Stressing the benefits that come from the relationship 
between the U.S. and Venezuelan people, the Ambassador 
visited USAID-supported social projects.  Local educational 
officials plus the press attended the event at the Center 
Helen Keller. This center currently helps 35 blind students. 
The new facilities, financed by a grant of $34,000 from 
USAID, will allow the center to accommodate 15 wait-listed 
students, bringing the total number of students to 50.  This 
grant will pay for equipment, such as braille printer and 
software, and materials for facility repairs, such as tiles, 
metal doors, lights, and plumbing work.  The Ambassador also 
visited Ma-Jokaraisa, a preschool that meets the educational 
needs of 120 children from ages 3 ) 5.  USAID is supporting 
the preschool with $32,000 to replace the plumbing and 
electrical system, the roof, the floor, repair of the 
semi-industrial kitchen, and painting. Local press covered 
both visits. 
 
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Justice system and human rights 
------------------------------- 
 
10. (U) Three judges who had previously traveled to the 
United States on public affairs grants provided their 
perspective on the justice system and the problems with long 
delays for defendants to reach trial.   They noted that 
defense attorneys at times cause further delays by advising 
their clients to postpone trial until they have been in jail 
for two years, when they will automatically be released.  The 
judges also cited a lack of clear rules of evidence, 
contributing to disparate treatment under the law.  Finally, 
the judges cited a need for politically independent judges, 
and the political will to address many of the system,s 
issues. 
 
11. (U) Ateneo Ecologico, a non-partisan NGO working both to 
promote human rights and on environmental issues, also 
provided information on the justice system and human rights 
concerns in the region. This project,s prior work included 
gathering 550 journalists, photographers, radio announcers 
and producers, and communication/journalism students to 
expose human rights violations. Journalists presented 
examples from this work that included seven deaths and 15 
injured in local jails, the poor conditions of the jails; and 
impunity for criminals and officials.  The Ambassador focused 
 
on the U.S. support for human rights. Two mining 
conglomerates, Hecla and Gold Reserves de Venezuela, provide 
$33,854 each to this project for a total of $67,708 this 
first year. 
 
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Press coverage 
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12. (U) The Ambassador called on local daily &El Expreso,8 
a centrist paper with a circulation of approximately 15,000 
in Bolivar State, Amazonas and Anzoategui, and provided a 
simultaneous television and radio interview in Ciudad Guayana 
Correo del Caroni group.  The president of this chain is 
David Natera, President of Bloque de Prensa, Venezuelan 
Editor,s Association.  Press also attended various events. 
The Ambassador spoke about the benefits of bilateral trade: 
more jobs, more economic wealth, and a better way of life. 
He focused on areas of collaboration, noting disagreements 
between the two countries on democracy issues.  In response 
to questions about US concerns about Venezuelan purchasing of 
arms, the Ambassador stressed the importance of transparency. 
 Regarding the case of captured FARC leader Rodrigo Granda, 
the Ambassador stressed the bilateral nature of the Granda 
case between Colombia and Venezuela, but noted the U.S. 
interest in FARC as a terrorist group, that kills and kidnaps 
U.S. citizens and exports illicit drugs.  While the 
Ambassador shared his positive impression of the economic 
development of the region, he underlined that stability and 
clear and concrete rules are important for the private 
sector.  Press coverage, even for the Ambassador,s most 
contentious meeting at the university, was favorable. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA00651 - CONFIDENTIAL