US embassy cable - 05SANSALVADOR2392

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SAN SALVADOR 002392 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2020 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KMCA, EAID, ES 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES IRAQ CONTINGENT, COMMERCE 
SECRETARY GUTIERREZ VISIT WITH PRESIDENT SACA 
 
 
SIPDIS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Douglas H. Barkley.  Reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  During an August 26 courtesy call on 
President Saca, the Ambassador praised Saca's commitment to 
the Iraq effort by sending a fifth Salvadoran contingent, 
announced that Commerce Secretary Gutierrez would be coming 
to El Salvador October 21-22, and offered Embassy assistance 
to the GOES as they prepare their application for the 
Millennium Challenge Account.  The Ambassador stressed that 
the MCA process presented an opportunity for the GOES to look 
at the 16 Millennium Challenge criteria with a critical eye 
and determine which areas needed special attention. The 
Ambassador asked Saca to consider inviting his fellow Central 
American heads of state to a joint meeting with Gutierrez 
while the Commerce Secretary was in El Salvador.  Saca agreed 
enthusiastically, said he would call each Central American 
president starting Monday August 29, and added he would ask 
Nicaraguan President Bolanos to help, as present chair of the 
Central American Integration System (SICA), coordinate the 
joint meeting.  Separately, Saca requested that President 
Bush visit El Salvador either on his way to or upon his 
return from the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Mar del 
Plata in November. He stressed that a visit by President Bush 
would be very helpful to him politically. End Summary. 
 
2.  (C) On August 26, the Ambassador paid a courtesy call on 
President Saca to introduce the new DCM and Polcouns. 
Minister of Government Rene Figueroa and Presidential private 
secretary Elmer Charlaix joined the meeting.  The Ambassador 
 
SIPDIS 
expressed USG gratitude for President Saca's courageous 
decision to send a fifth Salvadoran contingent to Iraq as 
well as satisfaction over the safe return to El Salvador this 
week of the fourth batallion.  Saca reaffirmed his commitment 
to the Iraq mission, averred that his decision to have 
Salvadoran troops in Iraq was politically risky for him and 
would be raised during the March 2006 elections, but added 
that his government "is the strongest ally of the U.S. in the 
region" and would continue to support us. 
 
3.  (C) The Ambassador stressed that the October 21-22 visit 
of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez is of the highest 
importance, both because Gutierrez is coming as the personal 
representative of President Bush, and because of the visit's 
timeliness shortly after the passage of CAFTA. Saca said he 
never doubted President Bush would get the votes he needed 
and described the President as a masterful politician. Asked 
by the Ambassador if he would be willing to invite the other 
Central American presidents to join him and Gutierrez for a 
group meeting during the Commerce Secretary's visit, Saca 
said he would start calling each president as early as Monday 
August 29, and said he would ask Nicaraguan President Bolanos 
to help coordinate the event within Bolanos' present role as 
chair of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Saca 
envisioned that the other presidents could fly into San 
Salvador's airport and hold the meeting there. 
 
4.  (C) The Ambassador raised El Salvador's intent to apply 
for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) and offered that 
this process would be an excellent opportunity for the GOES 
to undertake a serious analysis of the 16 MCC criteria, how 
El Salvador fared in relation to those criteria, and further 
reforms which would need to take place.  He offered the 
Embassy's assistance at the working level, as appropriate, to 
assist the GOES team pursue reforms as part of the MCA 
process.  Saca expressed gratitude and pledged to maintain 
fluid communication with the Embassy as they moved forward on 
the process. 
 
5.  (C) Saca expressed concern over remarks made the weekend 
of August 20-21 in Havana by FMLN leader Shafik Handal.  Saca 
affirmed that he took very seriously Handal's remarks that 
the FMLN would send fighters to Venezuela if Chavez was 
attacked by the U.S., and assured that those remarks were 
proof that the FMLN continues to maintain arms caches in El 
Salvador.  He pledged that the GOES would continue to search 
for those arms caches left over from the war. He added that 
some 118 Salvadoran medical students had graduated last 
weekend from Fidel Castro's Latin American Medical School in 
Havana, an event attended by Shafik Handal. Saca said he 
feared that these "students" were really political cadre 
trained by Castro to undermine El Salvador's democracy. Saca 
also expressed concern over the attendance of President 
Torrijos of Panama at the graduation exercise. Regarding the 
March 2006 municipal and congressional elections, Saca said 
he's convinced that ARENA will do very well, but was still 
not sure just how well at this point.  He added that ARENA 
has a very strong campaign team, led by Presidential 
Communications Secretary Julio Rank, who has taken temporary 
leave to run the campaign. 
6.  (C) In closing, Saca asked the Ambassador to convey to 
Washington his desire to have President Bush stop over for a 
brief visit to El Salvador either on his way to the Summit of 
the Americas meeting in Mar del Plata in November, or on his 
return.  Saca added that, if President Bush agreed to a 
visit, perhaps President Bush would offer Saca a ride to/back 
from the summit. The Ambassador said he would convey Saca's 
request.  Separately, the Ambassador told Saca that the USAF 
"Thunderbirds" have been confirmed for the annual Salvador 
Air Show in October, another opportunity to share a very 
positive U.S. experience with the Salvadoran people. 
 
7.  (C)  Comment:  Saca, as always, was most forthcoming and 
charming, and was enthusiastic about making the Secretary of 
Commerce visit a success.  As in the past, he did not miss 
the opportunity to request more face time with the President, 
which, in Saca's view, translates into greater political 
capital for him and ARENA at home, especially looking ahead 
to the crucial March 2006 elections.  Saca's apparent concern 
over Handal's remarks seems a bit overplayed.  In fact, 
political pundits here consider that Handal's remarks were 
most helpful to ARENA in helping remind Salvadorans that the 
FMLN has neither broken with their violent past nor with 
their historic (and notorious) internationalist alliances. 
Barclay