SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT:

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 003364 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR WHA/CCA; WHA/BSC:RFLEITMAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2014 TAGS: ETTC PREL CU AR MOLINA SUBJECT: SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT: COUNTRY REVIEW REF: A. SECSTATE 248337 ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 1903 Classified By: AMBASSADOR LINO GUTIERREZ FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) The GOA continues to pursue what it refers to as a policy of constructive engagement toward Cuba on democracy and human rights issues. The Presidency and Foreign Ministry argue that engagement and the influence that comes with it -- however limited -- is the best way to promote reform in Cuba. They point to their advocacy of the case of Cuban physician Dr. Hilda Molina, who has to date been refused permission to travel to Argentina to visit her son. The GOA has been quietly pressing the GOC to allow Dr. Molina to travel to Argentina, and argues that securing this permission advances the cause of human rights in Cuba. The Ambassador, DCM and senior USG visitors, including former Presidential Envoy Reich and U.S. Ambassador to the OAS Maisto, have repeatedly stressed strong USG disagreement with the GOA approach. ¶2. (C) Senior contacts at the Foreign Ministry privately recognize the absence of democracy in Cuba and violations of human rights, but consistently argue that engagement is the most effective means of addressing the situation. They argue that Argentina is committed to achieving the same end as the U.S. -- a democratic Cuba integrated into the rest of the Western Hemisphere. Rumors of a pending visit to Cuba by President Nestor Kirchner have circulated for some time. Foreign Minister Bielsa told the Ambassador on October 29 that relations with the Castro regime had become distinctly cooler in recent months over Castro's refusal to grant the travel permit to Dr. Molina. Bielsa said that Molina had become a "bottom line, non-negotiable" issue for the GOA and, barring a resolution, made a proposed visit by First Lady, Senator Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, unlikely. Bielsa said, however, that if the First Lady did travel to Cuba, it would be contingent on her being allowed to visit with dissident spouses (the so called "ladies in white") which he did not think likely. (Comment: Bielsa did not even mention the possibility of a visit by President Kirchner. It bears watching, however, what effect--if any--the recent release of several Cuban dissidents will have on GOA thinking.) ¶3. (U) The GOA imposes no requirement to register foreign direct investment and the Embassy has been unable to uncover any major investment by Argentine nationals or Argentine public corporations in Cuba. Trade relations are small and limited by Cuba's hard currency shortages to purchase Argentine agricultural products. Argentine exports to Cuba in 2003 were valued at USD 23.3 million. For January - September 2004, exports were reported at USD 71 million, a 367.2 percent increase over the same period from the previous year. Imports from Cuba in 2003 were USD 1.2 million. From January - September 2004, imports were USD 984 thousand, down 1.6 percent from the same period in 2003. GUTIERREZ