US embassy cable - 05CARACAS951

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 000951 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, VE 
SUBJECT: CIUDAD GUAYANA SUMMIT:  QUADRIPARTITE LOVE FEST 
 
Classified By: ACTING DCM ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR 1.4 (D) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C)  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hosted the 
Presidents of Brazil, Colombia, and Spain March 29 in a 
summit concerning national security, poverty reduction, 
democracy, and regional integration.  Chavez interspersed his 
remarks at the follow-on press conference with some anti-US 
invective.  Spanish President Jose Luis Zapatero met the 
following day with legislators from the Venezuelan opposition 
who expressed the threat Chavez posed to democracy; Zapatero 
also underscored the need for democracy and human rights in 
his March 30 speech to the National Assembly.  Having 
received the international publicity and legitimization he 
covets, Chavez probably will use the meeting to try to debunk 
claims of his authoritarianism.  End summary. 
 
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Defense 
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2.  (U)  Terrorism dominated the discussion of 
defense-related issues in a summit of Brazilian, Colombian, 
and Spanish Presidents hosted by President Hugo Chavez March 
29 in the southeastern Venezuelan city of Ciudad Guyana.  The 
statement issued by the summit condemned terrorism "in all of 
its forms and manifestations, whatever its origin or 
motivation."  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva 
exploited the occasion to deny his political party had 
received FARC backing and assured the group he would not 
accept insinuations that Chavez had FARC ties.  In a 
reference to Washington, Chavez said a "boogieman" moved 
through Latin America inventing charges that he armed 
Colombian guerrillas.  In an attempt to preempt future 
charges, Chavez predicted that despite his innocence, 
"things" appearing to implicate him "would keep happening." 
Not realizing he was on the air, Colombian President Alvaro 
Uribe described GOC attempts to negotiate with the ELN.  When 
Chavez warned Uribe that the press was transmitting his 
remarks, Uribe joked that he had a "little secret with 26 
million people." 
 
3.  (U)  The presidents took advantage of the venue to 
justify Venezuelan arms purchases.  Chavez and Spanish 
President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced Venezuela 
had negotiated with Spain what the press called the largest 
contract ever secured by the Spanish military industry in the 
sale of 12 transport aircraft, two corvettes, and two smaller 
patrol boats.  Zapatero pitched the sale as an effort to help 
Venezuela control its border regions, fight drug trafficking, 
and respond to natural disasters.  Chavez contrasted the 
peaceful uses of the materiel with the lethality of the F-16 
fighters Venezuela had bought from the United States. 
Although Colombian President Alvaro Uribe only referred to 
the deal in passing, the Venezuelan press interpreted his 
presence and comments as having supported the purchase. 
 
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Social Issues 
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4.  (U)  The themes of poverty reduction and democracy were 
additional highlights of the summit, according to press 
reports.  The leaders agreed to coordinate efforts to 
overcome poverty, and they offered some undefined proposals. 
Zapatero suggested a debt for education exchange program, on 
which he did not elaborate.  For his part, Chavez proposed 
the creation of an international humanitarian fund.  Turning 
to political freedoms, the leaders registered their support 
for democracy as a key factor in institutional development, 
pluralism, and social cohesion.  Chavez spun off from the 
joint statement to challenge listeners during the press 
conference to find examples of GOV human rights violations or 
press censorship. 
 
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Integration 
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5.  (C)  The leaders praised regional and global integration 
 
efforts.  They singled out the organizations MERCOSUR and the 
Andean Community of Nations and hailed the role Zapatero 
played to seek agreements among both groups and the European 
Union.  The chiefs of state also backed the creation of a 
South American Community of Nations and Petroamerica, an 
initiative to unite state-owned energy companies throughout 
the hemisphere.  Finally, the presidents agreed to strengthen 
a multilateral order based on the sovereignty of all nations. 
 
 
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Opposition Gripe Session with Zapatero 
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6.  (C)  Members of the National Assembly from the Venezuelan 
opposition presented Zapatero with "proof" that Chavez 
threatened Venezuelan democracy during a meeting March 30. 
Representing the new Polo Democratico grouping of small 
parties, Deputy Rafael Simon Jimenez raised with Zapatero 
such themes as press freedoms, persecution of the opposition, 
and abuses of the Venezuelan judicial branch.  Deputy Felipe 
Mujica (Movement to Socialism) warned Zapatero not to confuse 
Chavez's radicalism with the moderate left-wing parties. 
Polo Democratico member Deputy Carlos Casanova returned from 
the meeting to tell poloff he expected Venezuela's relations 
with Spain would remain strong.  He added, however, that he 
was "absolutely certain" there would be another bilateral 
incident between Caracas and Bogota because Chavez would look 
for a way to justify his sympathy with Colombian armed 
groups.  Accion Democratica (AD) did not join the meeting, 
reportedly because party leaders felt that AD's historic ties 
with Zapatero's Socialist Worker's Party and the Socialist 
International warranted a separate session. 
 
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Comment 
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7.  (C)  Despite the summit's lack of detailed proposals, 
Chavez got exactly what he wanted:  a forum in which he is 
taken seriously at the global level.  Fond of reminiscing 
about his hobnobbing with world leaders, Chavez is likely to 
continue to point to the legitimization he received in this 
encounter to contradict charges that he threatens democracy 
at home.  In particular, he may rub in having received both a 
blessing for his arms purchases and the implied recognition 
from Brazil, Spain, and Colombia that he is a worthy partner 
in the fight against terrorism. 
 
8.  (C)  Deputy Casanova's warnings of another bilateral 
dispute are not without merit.  Indeed, two ELN personnel 
died in a standoff with the FARC on March 28, and Venezuelan 
soldiers roughed up Colombian citizens after crossing the 
border March 21 to investigate gasoline smuggling, according 
to press reports.  Chavez, who has not yet clarified whom he 
means by terrorists, will probably continue to propagate 
myths to wiggle out of his responsibility to fight Colombian 
guerrillas.  (The Venezuelan Ministry of Defense has rejected 
claims that troops violated the Colombian border, and Vice 
President Rangel has denied that terrorists were active in 
Venezuela.) 
 
9.  (C)  That said, we believe that the summit's 
anti-terrorist rhetoric and promises offer Colombia an 
opportunity to follow up with Spain and Brazil as the GOV 
fails to follow through. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA00951 - CONFIDENTIAL