US embassy cable - 03TEGUCIGALPA1273

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 001273 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR PD/WHA (MBUCKLEY); IIP/G/WHA DIPASQUALE; EB/EPPD DCLUNE; 
USTR AGASH 
INFO IIP/T/ES 
EMBASSIES FOR PAOS, IOs, 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KPAO, HO, PA, ETRD, USTR 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION ON CAFTA, JUNE 4, 2003 
 
 
1.  Editorial  on  liberal daily "La  Tribuna",  Tegucigalpa 
based 6/4 entitled: "Obstacles for CAFTA". "The CAFTA, which 
is  being negotiated by five Central American countries  and 
the  United  States, is progressively facing more  and  more 
obstacles and disagreements from various social sectors  all 
over  Central  America.  They believe  their  interests  and 
proposals are not being considered in the negotiations, even 
though  the  governments  involved  in  this  process   have 
facilitated  the  participation of  entrepreneurial  groups, 
workers'  unions  and  civil  society  organizations  in  an 
"adjacent  room",  next  to  the rooms  where  the  official 
negotiations are taking place." 
 
"During  the  latest  round of negotiations,  some  Honduran 
entrepreneurial  groups were shocked by certain  concessions 
made  by Guatemala, which were believed to be a strategy  to 
make  up  for  the  poor record in the fight  against  narco 
trafficking. As a result, Guatemala was accused of  "selling 
the   guitar"   or  undermining  the  basic  principles   of 
negotiation  that  the Central American  teams  have  agreed 
upon." 
 
"The  fact  that the obstacles to CAFTA are not  exclusively 
related  to  the "unyielding position" of the United  States 
toward  this  process, but also to the severe  disagreements 
between the Central American negotiation teams." 
 
Pierce