US embassy cable - 02TEGUCIGALPA3076

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 003076 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CEN, AND WHA/CCA 
STATE FOR INR, S/CT, AND DS/ICI/ITA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: X1, X5, X6 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, ETTC, PINR, PTER, ASEC, EAID, HO, CU 
SUBJECT: (S) CUBAN NOMINEE FOR AMBASSADOR TO HONDURAS 
REPORTEDLY APPROVED BY GOH AND SOON TO BE ANNOUNCED; 
HONDURAN ARMED FORCES ALLEGE POLANCO IS CUBAN INTELLIGENCE 
OFFICER 
 
REF: A. OLSEN/TRIVELLI E-MAIL 11/05/02 
     B. STATE 205386 
     C. TD-314/39339-02 
     D. PALMIERI/TRIVELLI E-MAIL 08/20/02 
     E. TEGUCIGALPA 618 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Larry Palmer; Reasons 1.5 (B), (C), and (D). 
 
1. (U) This is an action request.  Please see para. 9. 
 
2. (S) Summary:  A Honduran Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
official has told the Embassy that the GOH has accepted the 
Cuban nomination of Dr. Elis Alberto Gonzalez Polanco, Chief 
of the Cuban Medical Brigades in Honduras, as the first Cuban 
Ambassador to Honduras since the GOH normalized diplomatic 
relations with Cuba January 26, 2002.  The same MFA official 
has said that this information would be made public shortly. 
ORCA sources have indicated that the Honduran Armed Forces 
have urged President Ricardo Maduro not to approve the 
nomination due to Polanco's alleged activities for Cuban 
intelligence.  It is unclear if President Maduro has in fact 
approved Polanco.  Post is disappointed by the GOH's action 
and requests urgent guidance on whether EmbOffs should 
attempt to persuade the GOH to disapprove Polanco's 
nomination.  End Summary. 
 
3. (S)  The GOH normalized diplomatic relations with Cuba 
January 26, 2002, 40 years after relations were broken, in 
one of the last acts of the outgoing Flores Administration 
(ref E).  Prior to the decision Honduras and Cuba had 
maintained interests sections.  The Embassy was not notified 
in advance of the GOH's action.  The decision, which incoming 
President Ricardo Maduro told EmbOffs took him by surprise, 
was quickly ratified, in essence, by a January 27 public 
statement made by Maduro's Foreign Minister, Guillermo 
Perez-Cadalso Arias.  Since then the Cuban diplomatic mission 
has been headed by a Charge d'Affaires.  The GOH has not 
taken any concrete steps to name a Honduran Ambassador to 
Cuba. 
 
4. (C) EmbOffs have queried MFA officials since January for 
updates on the possible exchange of ambassadors between the 
GOC and the GOH (ref D).  While the MFA has been circumspect, 
PolOffs have requested advance notice before the public 
naming of ambassadors. 
 
5. (C) In a November 5 meeting between PolOff and MFA 
Director General for Foreign Policy Ambassador Mario Fortin 
to demarche the MFA on the issue of Cuban doctors (ref B), 
PolOff asked Fortin for an update on the status of diplomatic 
relations between Honduras and Cuba.  Fortin told PolOff that 
Cuba had nominated and the GOH had approved Dr. Elis Alberto 
"Orestes" Gonzalez Polanco, DPOB 25MAY1948 in San Pablo de 
Yao, Granma Province, Cuba, as the Cuban Ambassador to 
Honduras.  Dr. Polanco, as he is commonly referred to, has 
been the head of the Cuban Medical Brigades in Honduras since 
1998 (post-Hurricane Mitch).  (Note:  There are an estimated 
100 (GOH/MFA) to 300/400 (USAID/Honduras) Cuban doctors 
currently in Honduras.  See septel for more information on 
the issue of Cuban doctors in Honduras.  End Note.) 
 
6. (S) ORCA sources have indicated that the Honduran Armed 
Forces have urged President Maduro not to approve Polanco's 
nomination due to Polanco's alleged activities for Cuban 
intelligence.  (Note: See ref C for more information on 
Polanco.  End Note.)  ORCA has not been able to independently 
confirm that Polanco is a Cuban intelligence officer, but 
would not dispute that some of the Cuban "doctors" sent to 
Honduras may be Cuban intelligence officers. 
 
7. (S) Despite Fortin's statement that the GOH had already 
approved Polanco's nomination, Post does not know if 
President Maduro has in fact given his approval to Polanco. 
Fortin claimed that the approval of Polanco's nomination 
would be made public in the near future. 
 
8. (C) Fortin told PolOff that there was nothing new 
regarding the possible naming of a Honduran Ambassador to 
Cuba, something that Maduro had told Ambassador Almaguer 
February 1 would not be high on his list of priorities (ref 
E).  To date Post has not heard of any names being considered 
by the GOH to possibly fill this position. 
 
9. (S) Action request for WHA:  Post requests urgent guidance 
on whether EmbOffs should attempt to persuade the GOH to 
disapprove the nomination of Polanco as Cuban Ambassador to 
Honduras prior to the potentially imminent public 
announcement of Polanco's approval by the GOH. 
10. (C) Comment:  Post was disappointed to learn that the 
Maduro Administration has apparently approved and is set to 
announce a suspected Cuban intelligence officer as Cuban 
Ambassador to Honduras.  While the process for GOH acceptance 
of a Cuban Ambassador was set in motion in January, it is 
unclear why the GOH has not rejected Polanco and demanded 
that the GOC not nominate someone thought to be a Cuban 
intelligence officer by the GOH itself.  Post notes that the 
GOH does not appear to be making any movement toward 
nominating a Honduran Ambassador to Cuba.  In addition, the 
MFA's action to provide advance notice to the Embassy of the 
Maduro Administration's controversial decision on this issue 
is in stark contrast with the complete lack of advance 
warning by the Flores Administration to the USG.  End Comment. 
PALMER