HONDURAS READY AND WILLING FOR GLOBAL PEACE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 001575 SIPDIS STATE FOR PM/RSAT, PM/PPA, WHA/PPC, AND WHA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/29/2015 TAGS: KPKO MARR MASS PREL PGOV HO SUBJECT: HONDURAS READY AND WILLING FOR GLOBAL PEACE OPERATIONS INITIATIVE, MFA AND MOD DEMARCHED ON GPOI REF: A. STATE 127979 ¶B. STATE 111757 ¶C. USDAO TEGUCIGALPA HO 271814Z JUL 05 Classified By: POLITICAL Chief Derrick M. Olsen; Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ). ¶1. (SBU) Acting PolChief demarched MFA Acting Director General (A/DG) of Foreign RELATIONS Alan Javier Oviedo Garcia July 19 and delivered ref A talking points on the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). A/DG Oviedo asked if the U.S. Government was demarching any other countries in the Central American Armed Forces Conference (CFAC),if GPOI was a regional or international initiative, and if the Embassy had demarched the Ministry of Defense. A/PolChief replied that the U.S. Government was supporting this and demarching all countries in CFAC. A/PolChief also noted that U.S. Southern Command had already expressed its interest and support for this regional type of approach and for CFAC's activities. A/DG Oviedo emphasized that this is really an issue to be discussed with the Ministry of Defense and Minister Frederico Breve Travieso. He also proposed a regional meeting of CFAC countries to discuss further the GPOI. Oviedo stated that the MFA needed time to study the details involved. Oviedo mentioned that the regional presidency of CFAC would be controlled by Nicaragua over the next two years, after which he emphasized that discussions related to the GPOI should take place with all regional countries. ¶2. (SBU) Acting PolChief and MILGP Commander demarched Minister of Defense (MOD) Frederico Breve Travieso on July 21 and delivered ref A talking points. MOD Breve stated that the armed forces were already in agreement with GPOI and that with CFAC, Honduran forces were preparing an international peacekeeping force. ¶3. (C) DATT spoke with the Chief of the Honduran Armed Forces (CHOD),Brigadier General Romeo Orlando Vasquez Velasquez about this issue and the training center in Guatemala. The CHOD is fully supportive of the training center and the initiative. However, he is anticipating, with his CFAC counterparts, a shared, regional approach to the other necessary aspects of this initiative. There was initial resistance to the Guatemalan training center, but after a CFAC conference, the various CHODs supported the venture, but are expecting the next regional training centers to be parceled out to the other countries in the region. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: This seems to be a done deal. Honduras is very interested in regional force training. There already are regional military exchanges for training, cooperation between the countries in anti-narcotic actions through shared intel and boarding/seizure operations, and CFAC has been setting up a regional peacekeeping force for the last year or so. Honduras, although not politically willing to send troops back to Iraq, attempted to send peacekeeping troops to Haiti and CFAC is now trying to train an international peacekeeping force to UN specs. Through CFAC, the Central American Countries have been trying to amend the various legal blockades to regional military cooperation. SOUTHCOM has attended and presented at the CFAC executive sessions in Tegucigalpa and Guatemala earlier this year. There does seem to be some trepidation over the Nicaraguan situation. MOD and MFA comments seem to display an uncertainty and perhaps fear over the regional implications if the Sandinistas win in the next presidential election in Nicaragua. End Comment Tuebner