GUTIERREZ SAYS NO TO CARACAS TRIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000680

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV EC VE
SUBJECT: GUTIERREZ SAYS NO TO CARACAS TRIP

REF: QUITO 661

Classified By: Ambassador Kristie Kenney, Reason 1.4 (b)


1. (C) SUMMARY: E...


id: 29636
date: 3/28/2005 21:35
refid: 05QUITO680
origin: Embassy Quito
classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination: 05QUITO661
header:
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.




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C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000680

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV EC VE
SUBJECT: GUTIERREZ SAYS NO TO CARACAS TRIP

REF: QUITO 661

Classified By: Ambassador Kristie Kenney, Reason 1.4 (b)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez
confirmed to the Ambassador he will not/not travel to Caracas
in April, as was earlier rumored (Reftel). His decision
comes as no surprise -- we repeatedly expressed concern over
the visit, noting Chavez had little local appeal. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) At a March 28 working breakfast, Gutierrez himself
raised Venezuela, asking the Ambassador for a "readout" of
her personal visit to Caracas. In response, she noted the
city appeared tired and run-down, a product of Venezuela's
continued polarization and its leader's focus on ideology,
not governance. Chavez was directing his oil windfall not
according to need, but to political obedience and expedience.
Did Gutierrez still intend to travel there in April?


3. (C) The president replied no, concurring with the
Ambassador's expressed doubts over the visit's benefits. He
also cited the Venezuelans' inability to craft a useful visit
agenda. Further, the president refuted Caracas media play
that alleged the Ecuadorian was urgently seeking the summit.
Chavez was pressuring him, Gutierrez clarified, not
vice-versa. Taking into consideration the Venezuelan
leader's media misinformation campaign, the visit organizers'
poor performance, and the likely bad optics of a call on
Chavez (a regurgitation of earlier Ambassadorial talking
points),Gutierrez had erased the trip from his April travel
calendar. A late fall trip was still a possibility, however.


4. (C) The Ambassador agreed there was little to gain,
politically or commercially, from the president visiting
Caracas in April. If he must travel north in November, she
continued, he might want to couch the visit in regional
terms, visiting Venezuela and other South American nations on
a multi-stop tour. Gutierrez welcomed the suggestion.


5. (C) COMMENT: We had repeatedly hinted of our disquiet
over the visit and suspected that Gutierrez's Chavez
flirtation could have been intended to temper our support for
democracy defenders pressing for changes here in Ecuador.
While keeping the door open for a later visit, Gutierrez may
have reconsidered for domestic political reasons -- with his
Congressional alliance crumbling, he needs our support more
than ever. Increasing ill will toward his Venezuelan
counterpart may also have played a part.
KENNEY

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