US embassy cable - 05CARACAS1047

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 001047 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
HQ USSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, KDEM, VE 
SUBJECT: SEN. COLEMAN MEETS WITH POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS 
LEADERS IN VENEZUELA 
 
REF: A. CARACAS 1029 
 
     B. CARACAS 1045 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS FOR 
REASON 1.4 D 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) visited Venezuela on April 
1-3, 2005 and held talks with Venezuelan President Hugo 
Chavez, business and religious leaders, and representatives 
of the country's opposition legislators.  President Chavez, 
according to the Senator was gracious and spoke of trying to 
improve the U.S.-Venezuelan relationship while at the same 
time continuing to accuse the U.S. of improper involvement in 
Venezuela's domestic affairs.  In his meeting with the 
Senator, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez Araque was 
conciliatory saying that his job was to normalize relations 
with the U.S.  Senator Coleman also met with leaders of 
Venezuelan Jewish community who told him that they had real 
concerns for their community, particularly if the bilateral 
relationship with the U.S. continued to erode.  In a meeting 
with opposition legislators, Senator Coleman heard 
expressions of concern for the future of Venezuelan democracy 
and dismay over President Chavez's increasing control over 
formerly independent governmental structures.  See reftels 
for reporting on Senator Coleman's meetings with energy 
companies and civil society leaders.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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Conversation with President Chavez 
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2. (C) On April 2, Senator Coleman met with Venezuelan 
President Hugo Chavez for nearly two hours at Miraflores 
palace. The meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Ali 
Rodriguez Araque and Vice-Foreign Minister Maria Pilar 
Hernandez.  The GOV excluded the Charge from the meeting, but 
the Senator did share some elements of the conversation. 
Senator Coleman said that Chavez had spoken about "turning 
the page" and of the good relationship he had had with 
President Clinton.  (Embassy note: To our knowledge, Chavez 
never had a bilateral meeting with President Clinton.  He 
apparently talked with him on the margins of a summit 
meeting.)   Chavez had said that U.S. concerns that he is 
supporting destabilizing forces in the region are "ghosts, 
not real."  The Senator said Chavez was at times feisty, at 
one point noting he could shut down Citgo, to which the 
Senator replied, "Well, you could also cut off your right 
arm." 
 
3. (C) Chavez pressed Senator Coleman on the issue of 
National Endowment for Democracy (NED) support for civil 
society organization Sumate (which the GOV regards as foreign 
interference in domestic affairs).  The Senator said he had 
told Chavez that while he would study the allegations, he 
supported the NED.  He also said that Chavez was interested 
in dialogue with the USG but within a framework of "respect". 
 The Senator also reported that he had told Chavez not to 
"lose any sleep" over the rumors that the U.S. was trying to 
assassinate him.  Although FM Rodriguez and Vice-FM Hernandez 
were present in the room, they were not part of the 
conversation. 
 
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Meeting with Foreign Minister Rodriguez 
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4. (C) Senator Coleman also met with Foreign Minister 
Rodriguez and Vice-Minister Hernandez in a hastily arranged 
meeting April 1, when the scheduled meeting with President 
Hugo Chavez was postponed.  Charge and Econoff participated 
in this meeting.  Senator Coleman told the Minister that the 
U.S. was willing to work with countries that respected the 
rule of law and democratic principles.  Senator Coleman 
challenged Rodriguez regarding the recently enacted 
Venezuelan media law.  Rodriguez countered that the press 
"cannot be outside of the law," and complained that the press 
in recent years had been overwhelmingly antagonistic towards 
the government.  In the near future, Rodriguez said, he hoped 
Venezuela would have a "normal press."  Rodriguez noted that 
the U.S. and other countries need to "understand that 
Venezuela has a different scheme of democracy under its 
 
constitution."  When asked for his view on the future of 
U.S.-Venezuelan relations, Rodriguez spoke of the need for 
Venezuela to focus its energies on domestic issues. 
Rodriguez said "my job is to normalize relations with the 
U.S." and he reiterated his interest in bilateral meetings 
during upcoming OAS meetings in Washington. 
 
5. (C) Discussing the oil-industry in Venezuela, Rodriguez 
dismissed the nervousness of the U.S. companies, pointing to 
ChevronTexaco as an example of a U.S. company operating in 
Venezuela with very good results.  Rodriguez, who served as 
the head of the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela 
(PDVSA) from 2002-2004, also dismissed the idea that new 
agreements to supply oil to countries such as China would 
reduce the amount of petroleum sold to the U.S.  According to 
Rodriguez, the additional oil being sent to China and other 
strategic partners would come from increases in production. 
 
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Meeting With Jewish Community Leaders 
------------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Senator Coleman met with leaders of Venezuela's 
principal Jewish organizations ) the Congress of Jewish 
Associations of Venezuela (the overall "political" voice of 
the community), the Jewish Union of Caracas (Ashkenazic 
community), the Jewish Association of Venezuela (Sephardic 
community), Hebraica (social and community center), and B'nai 
B'rith (fraternal organization).   Senator Coleman mentioned 
his earlier meetings with President Chavez and FM Rodriguez 
as having a positive tone, but, of course, much would depend 
on the Venezuelan government taking actions to match its 
words.  The Jewish leaders said that the period since Chavez 
took office has been "stressful" for their community, and 
that they found any prospect of the U.S. and Venezuela being 
"on a collision course" to be worrisome. 
 
7. (C) The Jewish leaders said that historically Venezuela 
had been an "open society," without significant 
anti-Semitism.  Venezuela's Jews have developed their own 
strong community institutions while being integrated into 
national life.  Economic decline, accelerated during the 
Chavez government, had taken a toll in emigration, although, 
with the current oil-based recovery, it has leveled off.  The 
Jewish leaders said that, like many other Venezuelans, they 
are deeply concerned about the Chavez government's behavior 
in terms of human rights, the judiciary, and democratic 
governance, but they have avoided taking any institutional 
position, leaving individuals to make their own political 
judgments. 
 
8. (C) With one exception, they noted, they have not seen 
examples of the GOV targeting the Jewish community for 
harassment.  They remained very disturbed about the November 
2004 raid on the Jewish community's school in connection with 
the investigation of the murder of prosecutor Danilo 
Anderson.  They noted that their complaint to Vice President 
Jose Vicente Rangel was met with bland responses regarding 
the independence of the judicial branch (although he did 
express regret at the incident). 
 
9. (C) Their other chief concern as a community was the 
strong anti-Israel stance of the GOV and pro-government 
parties and other institutions, which sometime spilled over 
into anti-Semitic utterances.  They specifically mentioned 
semi-official newspaper "Vea," as an offender.  Its articles, 
they noted, are often read aloud on the state radio station, 
increasing their diffusion.  After the highly publicized 
ceremony commemorating the liberation of Auschwitz, they 
noted, there was a series of articles in various pro-GOV 
venues linking the Holocaust to the suffering of the 
Palestinians.   Senator Coleman responded that he was 
interested in the welfare of the Venezuelan Jewish community, 
and that he would not hesitate to speak up if it was 
threatened in any way. 
 
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Opposition Deputies of the Boston Group 
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10. (C) Senator Coleman met with National Assembly Deputies 
Pedro Diaz Blum (Proyecto Venezuela), Leopoldo Martinez 
(Construyendo Pais) and Jose Ramon Medina (Primero Justicia) 
to discuss the Boston Group and its role in the present 
 
political situation.  The Boston Group, a bipartisan group 
with U.S. Congressional participation, is designed to 
encourage political dialogue in Venezuela.  No pro-GOV 
deputies attended the meeting. 
 
11. (C) Diaz explained that pro-GOV deputies did not attend 
because they had party commitments, and also many did not 
understand what was really important for the GOV.  Diaz 
admitted that the Boston Group had not succeeded at modifying 
GOV behavior, but asserted that the group deserved continued 
support as the only forum through which opposition deputies 
could maintain semi-official contact with pro-GOV deputies. 
Diaz asserted that there were tensions between civilian and 
military elements in the pro-GOV bloc, and that the Boston 
Group helped the opposition maintain contact with the 
civilian side.  Diaz said work with the civilians now would 
reap benefits should there be a future civilian-military 
split. 
 
12. (C) Martinez also argued that the Boston Group deserved 
continued support, despite meager achievements to date. 
Martinez noted that as U.S.-Venezuelan tensions have 
increased, there has been more reluctance on the part of 
pro-GOV legislators to participate in Embassy events and the 
Boston Group.  Martinez said some pro-GOV deputies are 
willing to admit in private that the legislative branch 
lacked resources to act as a strong independent power - but 
only after checking that they were not being followed by 
"Cuban intelligence agents."  Martinez also denounced the 
existence of political lists in Venezuela, a "good" list of 
those who support the GOV and the missions, and a "bad" list 
of those who signed the recall petitions. 
 
13. (C) Medina said the Boston Group had been an attempt to 
create the conditions of mutual trust which would allow the 
Assembly to carry out its constitutional functions to 
legislate, control, and debate.  He said the Boston Group had 
failed politically, because pro-GOV legislators lacked 
independence from President Hugo Chavez and their party 
structures.  He was not hopeful of the group's ability to 
significantly alter the political situation.  Theoretically 
independent government structures, he said, are run by 
individuals more loyal to President Chavez than to the 
constitution or the nation. 
 
14. (U) This cable has not been reviewed by Senator Coleman 
or his staff. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA01047 - CONFIDENTIAL