20 GTMO CUBANS RESETTLED IN HONDURAS: ONLY 3

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000805

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR PRM, PRM/POP, PRM/ENA, PRM/ECA, AND PRM/PRP
STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CCA, AND WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PREL SMIG PHUM CU HO
SUBJECT: 20 GTMO CUBANS RESETTLED IN HONDURAS: ONLY 3
REMAIN; IOM ASKS FOR PRM PERMISSION TO RE-PROGRAM MONEY

REF: STATE 64334


1. (U) This is an action request for PRM. Please see para. 7.


2. (SBU) PolOff met April 13 with International Organization
of Migration (IOM) Tegucigalpa to discuss questions raised in
reftel regarding the 20 Cubans resettled by IOM from
Guantanamo to Tegucigalpa. According to the IOM, out of the
original 20 GTMO Cubans resettled in Honduras, only three
remain in country. The remaining 17 have left Honduras, with
two of those (Raquel Gonzalez Salcedo and her son Carlos
Javier Garcia Gonzalez) reportedly are already in Miami. IOM
said they knew this information because (a) only five Cubans
collected their monthly stipends on April 7, and (b) from
information directly from the migrants, who IOM has been in
touch via cell phone.


3. (SBU) The Cubans left not because of problems in Honduras,
where they have had work permission the entire time and have
lived in rented houses in Tegucigalpa. The Cubans who have
stayed have received official resident cards from Honduran
Immigration, renewable on a yearly basis, and have applied
for official work permission cards (to document the right to
work that they have had since arrival).


5. (SBU) IOM believes that the Cubans left due to a desire to
try to immigrate (illegally) to the U.S. Of the three
remaining Cubans, IOM believes that only one, Gustavo Guerra
Lopez, actually has real interest in staying in Honduras,
where he is living with a Honduran girlfriend and is trying
to get a job on a fishing boat out of Puerto Cortes. Another
Cuban, Humberto Echevarria Herrera, is awaiting the arrival
of his wife (scheduled to fly to Honduras from Cuba with the
assistance of CIPRODEH, the local representative for the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),on May 15). IOM
believes that subsequent to her arrival the two will try to
illegally immigrate to the U.S. The third remaining Cuban's
plans are unclear, but IOM doubts he has any real intention
of staying in Honduras for the long-term. (This same Cuban,
Barbaro Antonio Vela Grego, was the recently mugged in
Tegucigalpa, causing IOM to reimburse his stolen assistance
money for the month of April. His wife and children are
still in Cuba.)


6. (SBU) Due to the departure of the vast majority of the
Cubans and the fact that assistance payments are paid on a
monthly basis and were not paid in lump sums, if the
remaining three Cubans stay in Honduras for a full six
months, IOM estimates that it will have approximately USD
31,420.25 remaining from the original funds from the
Department of State/Bureau of Population, Refugees, and
Migration (PRM) at the end of the six months. IOM asked the
Embassy to request permission from PRM to reprogram this
money for other projects IOM conducts with Honduran
Immigration. Post is forwarding to PRM via e-mail the MS
Excel spreadsheet with details on how the money has been
spent.


7. (SBU) Action request for PRM: Post requests PRM approval
for IOM Tegucigalpa's request to reprogram the approximately
USD 31,420.25 of remaining funds for the GTMO Cubans at the
end of six months to be used for other projects with Honduran
Immigration. Post strongly supports this request, and
specifically believes that the money would be put to
excellent use to support the Centers for Returned Migrants, a
project previously funded by PRM via IOM. IOM and Honduran
Immigration have been seeking funding for this worthy
project, which puts a humane face on the massive numbers of
Hondurans deported from the U.S., as it is not being included
in Honduran Immigration's budget until CY06. Post thanks PRM
for consideration of this request.
Palmer