US embassy cable - 05CARACAS2140

C O N F I D E N T I A L  CARACAS 002140 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, MASS, VE 
SUBJECT: US AERONAUTICS COMPANY BREAKS DEAL WITH GOV 
 
REF: A. IIR 7 500 0267 05 
     B. IIR 7 500 0404 05 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ABELARDO A. ARIAS 
FOR 1.4 (D) 
 
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Summary 
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1.  (C)  Concerned about safety issues since the expulsion of 
US personnel from Venezuelan military bases, Lockheed Martin 
plans to withdraw its engineer responsible for servicing the 
Venezuelan Air Force's F-16 squadron.  The engineer told 
poloff July 12 he met Israeli contractors at the base who 
were negotiating upgrades to the aircraft.  He added that the 
F-16 squadron was decaying and its personnel had a poor work 
ethic.  According to DAO, the Venezuelan Air Force can keep 
the planes in the air for years if it uses parts from its 13 
grounded planes and steals or otherwise illegally procures 
foreign technology and expertise.  We can expect the GOV to 
continue to ignore the terms of US contracts and to seek 
materiel from other countries.  End summary. 
 
2.  (C)  Lockheed Martin plans to withdraw its engineer 
responsible for servicing Venezuelan F-16s at El Libertador 
Air Base near Maracay, effectively breaking a contract for 
which the GOV has already paid.  Jaime Gabella, the Lockheed 
engineer, told poloff July 12 his company had been concerned 
about his safety since the GOV had removed all US personnel 
from Venezuelan bases.  (Note:  DAO does not believe Gabella 
is in any danger.)  Gabella said he planned to leave 
Venezuela on July 30 without giving notice so the Venezuelan 
Air Force would not demand that he stay. 
 
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Israeli Meddling 
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3.  (C)  Gabella noted the presence of Israelis at the 
airbase, who admitted to him they were negotiating upgrades 
to the F-16s (REFTELS).  The former US personnel exchange 
program (PEP) officer at El Libertador saw what he described 
as targeting pods attached to the planes, although he could 
not confirm they were operational.  According to DAO, only 
Israel has technicians in Venezuela capable of installing 
such additions.  A Venezuelan Air Force aficionado website 
also reports that Israel is close to inking a deal with 
Venezuela to upgrade the avionics of the F-16, which would 
allow the jet more combat capability. 
 
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Grupo 16 Struggling 
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4.   (C)  Gabella estimated that Grupo 16, the F-16 squadron, 
would survive no longer than a year because of its 
dilapidated aircraft and its unprofessional personnel. 
Gabella said he thought Grupo 16 wanted to keep flying, and 
President Hugo Chavez had told the squadron he planned to 
maintain the F-16 program.  Chavez promoted the group 
commander, Jose Alexis Colina, to Brig. General on July 5. 
Nonetheless, Gabella said he thought Chavez was planning to 
let Grupo 16 die because of his scorn for US materiel.  The 
Grupo 16 officers, moreover, worked little and lacked an 
agenda, according to Gabella.  He described the pro-Chavez 
members of the group as unsophisticated, saying they would 
believe anything they were told about the United States. 
These personnel were also non-confrontational, he said; they 
would back down rather than argue their anti-US views. 
 
5.  (C)  According to DAO, Gabella's reporting on the status 
of the aircraft is unreliable because Gabella seemed 
uninterested in examining the planes and relied on the US PEP 
officer to deal with the Venezuelan personnel.  DAO noted 
that eight (Gabella said six) of the 21 aircraft are flyable 
and three to five are mission capable.  These planes could 
last years if the Air Force were to cannibalize the grounded 
F-16s for parts and to steal or otherwise illegally obtain 
foreign expertise, according to DAO and MILGROUP. 
 
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Comment 
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6.  (C)  We have no hard evidence that Israel and Venezuela 
have begun modifying the planes illegally.  Under the terms 
of the US-Venezuelan contract, third parties cannot upgrade 
the aircraft without US permission or sell US parts without 
an export license.  These obligations, however, will not 
constrain the GOV.  The Venezuelan military has not yet 
allowed an inspection required under the General Security of 
Military Information Agreement to verify they are properly 
handling classified information.  They neither sought 
permission nor notified the USG before giving 11 US T-34 
aircraft to Bolivia in August 2004.  Although the GOV will 
not close a deal for Russian fighters in the foreseeable 
future, Chavez will continue to try to seek other suppliers 
as potential alternative sources to US planes and parts. 
Brownfield 
 
 
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      2005CARACA02140 - CONFIDENTIAL