FLOODING: DECENT GOV RESPONSE, WITH LOTS OF SPIN

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000546

SIPDIS


STATE PASS AID FOR OFDA
NSC FOR CBARTON
HQ USSOUTHCOM FOR POLAD
SAN JOSE FOR OFDA - CALLAGHAN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2015
TAGS: EAID PGOV VE
SUBJECT: FLOODING: DECENT GOV RESPONSE, WITH LOTS OF SPIN

REF: CARACAS 470

Classified By: ECONOMIC COUNSELOR RICHARD M. SANDERS FOR REASON 1.4 D

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) From February 7 to February 13, heavy rains fell
through much of Venezuela, along the north coast at first and
later in the Andean region. As a result, President Hugo
Chavez declared states of emergency in nine states, plus the
capital district of Caracas. The death toll to date is at
least 62, with dozens more missing. The Ambassador exercised
his disaster assistance authority, and Embassy agencies
donated about USD 150,000 in cash and goods to the Venezuelan
Red Cross on February 11 for disaster relief assistance.
This disaster echoed the tragic floods in the state of Vargas
in 1999, for which the GOV response was considered highly
inadequate. This time, the GOV centralized relief efforts,
and got the military (many of whom were deployed throughout
the country since it was a holiday weekend) thoroughly
involved. Chavez has announced the creation of a permanent
risk management committee. Significant in those efforts were
a full-court media press, lack of coordination with NGOs such
as the Red Cross, and attribution of blame to the U.S.,
specifically for failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. END
SUMMARY.

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CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TAKES CONTROL, TAKES TO THE AIRWAVES
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2. (U) After about 24 consecutive hours of rain, Minister of
Communication Andres Izarra announced February 8 that a task
force had been created to oversee the relief efforts, then
limited to the north coast and Caracas. He said this was on
instructions from President Hugo Chavez, who initially made
no public statement or appearance. The military was active
in the rescue efforts. When some coastal cities were cut off
due to washed out roads, a Navy frigate transported the
stranded - both residents and vacationers - to a safer
location. Chavez made his first public appearance in at
least three days on February 10, greeting the frigate as it
arrived. Such events received tremendous coverage from GOV
press and television, and were accompanied by great fanfare
for GOV efforts. Chavez publicly stated: "We've passed
through a situation of crisis," though the rain had yet to
stop, and in fact, the worst floods were yet to come. While
the central Venezuelan coast (Vargas state) began to dry out,
in subsequent days, rain was heavy and extensive flooding
occurred in the mountainous areas of western Venezuela
(Merida state),and according to press reports, areas south
of Lake Maracaibo have been cut off. As of February 17,
according to official figures, 62 persons have died as a
result of the flooding.

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GOV - GOING IT ALONE
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3. (C) The GOV made no apparent effort to involve NGOs and
foreign governments in the relief efforts, and in fact may
have rebuffed offers of assistance. Hernan Bongioanni of the
Venezuelan Red Cross confirmed to econoff February 15 that,
while relations on site with various government entities -
especially the military, with the greatest presence - have
been excellent, there has been no interchange with the
central disaster task force. He added that the Red Cross is
used to working independently of the current administration.
Manuel Santana, the local USAID/OFDA contractor, told econoff
on February 9 that he, too, had made unsuccessful efforts to
liaise with the task force. Santana also observed that the
GOV's PR effort was in full swing while the rainfall was
still relatively light, and before any deaths had been
reported.

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IT'S ALL THE U.S.'S FAULT
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4. (SBU) GOV officials publicly tried to blame the U.S. for

the natural disaster. The first was Nicolas Maduro, the
pro-Chavez President of the National Assembly, who on
February 9 blamed the disaster on the countries which had not
signed the Kyoto Protocol, singling out the U.S. Chavez
picked up the theme the next day, attributing the disaster to
"the powerful countries (that) don't want to hear the Kyoto
Protocol, global warming." He added on February 13, during
his weekly "Alo, Presidente" show, that "the United States,
which is the world's number one producer (sic),consumer of
oil, gas and coal, does not want to sign the Kyoto Protocol."

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POST CONTRIBUTES
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5. (U) Shortly after the flooding began, the Venezuelan
chapter of the Red Cross contacted Post for assistance. The
Ambassador exercised his disaster assistance authority,
donating USD 50,000 in cash (reftel),two reconditioned
trucks from the MilGroup, and other supplies and in-kind
donations from USAID brought the total value of the embassy's
contribution to the Red Cross to a total of about USD
150,000. The aid was intended principally for use in Vargas
and Miranda (which were the hardest-hit areas at the time),
where the Ambassador had visited just two months before. The
donation to the Red Cross received substantial media
coverage. The GOV made no comment on the contribution.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) Given its experience with the 1999 floods, the GOV
knew it had to respond better this time, which helps explain
the media blitz. It had a stroke of luck in that the crisis
began during the Carnival holiday when police were already on
duty to deal with holiday travel. But, while the GOV
response was certainly better than in 1999, it is difficult
to conclude that it is well prepared for another disaster of
that magnitude. In any event, it has not escaped a renewal
of criticism for its efforts at reconstruction and flood
prevention after the 1999 flooding, which were not enough to
prevent significant damage when the rains came again, albeit
on a smaller scale. We are unsurprised at the GOV's cold
shoulder to the Venezuelan Red Cross; it is generally
suspicious of any civil society group over which it does not
have control. Nor are we surprised at the effort, strained
though it was, to put the blame for flooding on the U.S. It
was a typical example of the kind of cheap shot to which we
are now accustomed.
Arias


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2005CARACA00546 - CONFIDENTIAL