EL SALVADOR COMPLAINS ABOUT LACK OF SUPPORT BY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 002415 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2015 TAGS: PREL ES SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR COMPLAINS ABOUT LACK OF SUPPORT BY CENTAM NEIGHBORS AT RIO GROUP MEETING Classified By: DCM Michael A. Butler. Reasons: 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) During an August 29 meeting with Polcouns, GOES Vice-Foreign Minister Eduardo Calix expressed frustration with his Central American counterparts for their unwillingness to confront anti-U.S. positions at the August 25-26 Rio Group Meeting in Bariloche. Calix said that "the usual group" of Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil had used the meeting to push forward a resolution not only condemning Rev. Pat Robertson's comments on Hugo Chavez, but also placing responsibility for Robertson's comments on President Bush and the Republican Party. Calix, who headed the GOES delegation, said that he was virtually the only participant to speak up against the resolution, and that none of his Central American colleagues made the slightest effort to support him. In the end, Calix said that the resolution, with the original harsh language, passed. Calix vented that it is very difficult for El Salvador to continue to oppose the Venezuela-Argentina-Uruguay strategy of using regional fora and organizations to attack the U.S., especially when El Salvador has to do it alone. He wondered whether a little feedback from the USG to the other CentAm countries might help get them on the right track. Barclay