US embassy cable - 05TEGUCIGALPA1575

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 001575 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR PM/RSAT, PM/PPA, WHA/PPC, AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2015 
TAGS: KPKO, MARR, MASS, PREL, PGOV, HO 
SUBJECT: HONDURAS READY AND WILLING FOR GLOBAL PEACE 
OPERATIONS INITIATIVE, MFA AND MOD DEMARCHED ON GPOI 
 
REF: A. STATE 127979 
 
     B. STATE 111757 
     C. USDAO TEGUCIGALPA HO 271814Z JUL 05 
 
Classified By: Political Chief Derrick M. Olsen; Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
). 
 
1.  (SBU)  Acting PolChief demarched MFA Acting Director 
General (A/DG) of Foreign Relations Alan Javier Oviedo Garcia 
July 19 and delivered ref A talking points on the Global 
Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI).  A/DG Oviedo asked if the 
U.S. Government was demarching any other countries in the 
Central American Armed Forces Conference (CFAC), if GPOI was 
a regional or international initiative, and if the Embassy 
had demarched the Ministry of Defense.  A/PolChief replied 
that the U.S. Government was supporting this and demarching 
all countries in CFAC.  A/PolChief also noted that U.S. 
Southern Command had already expressed its interest and 
support for this regional type of approach and for CFAC's 
activities.  A/DG Oviedo emphasized that this is really an 
issue to be discussed with the Ministry of Defense and 
Minister Frederico Breve Travieso.  He also proposed a 
regional meeting of CFAC countries to discuss further the 
GPOI.  Oviedo stated that the MFA needed time to study the 
details involved.  Oviedo mentioned that the regional 
presidency of CFAC would be controlled by Nicaragua over the 
next two years, after which he emphasized that discussions 
related to the GPOI should take place with all regional 
countries. 
 
2.  (SBU)  Acting PolChief and MILGP Commander demarched 
Minister of Defense (MOD) Frederico Breve Travieso on July 21 
and delivered ref A talking points.  MOD Breve stated that 
the armed forces were already in agreement with GPOI and that 
with CFAC, Honduran forces were preparing an international 
peacekeeping force. 
 
3.  (C)  DATT spoke with the Chief of the Honduran Armed 
Forces (CHOD), Brigadier General Romeo Orlando Vasquez 
Velasquez about this issue and the training center in 
Guatemala.  The CHOD is fully supportive of the training 
center and the initiative.  However, he is anticipating, with 
his CFAC counterparts, a shared, regional approach to the 
other necessary aspects of this initiative.  There was 
initial resistance to the Guatemalan training center, but 
after a CFAC conference, the various CHODs supported the 
venture, but are expecting the next regional training centers 
to be parceled out to the other countries in the region. 
 
4.  (C) COMMENT: This seems to be a done deal.  Honduras is 
very interested in regional force training.  There already 
are regional military exchanges for training, cooperation 
between the countries in anti-narcotic actions through shared 
intel and boarding/seizure operations, and CFAC has been 
setting up a regional peacekeeping force for the last year or 
so.  Honduras, although not politically willing to send 
troops back to Iraq, attempted to send peacekeeping troops to 
Haiti and CFAC is now trying to train an international 
peacekeeping force to UN specs.  Through CFAC, the Central 
American Countries have been trying to amend the various 
legal blockades to regional military cooperation.  SOUTHCOM 
has attended and presented at the CFAC executive sessions in 
Tegucigalpa and Guatemala earlier this year.  There does seem 
to be some trepidation over the Nicaraguan situation.  MOD 
and MFA comments seem to display an uncertainty and perhaps 
fear over the regional implications if the Sandinistas win in 
the next presidential election in Nicaragua.  End Comment 
Tuebner