FORMER FM ALI RODRIGUEZ NAMED AMBASSADOR TO CUBA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 002692

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/05/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV VE CU
SUBJECT: FORMER FM ALI RODRIGUEZ NAMED AMBASSADOR TO CUBA

REF: CARACAS 002348

CARACAS 00002692 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: COUNSELOR FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS ROBERT DOWNES,
REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary. President Chavez's designation of former
foreign minister Ali Rodriguez as Ambassador to Cuba on
August 31 demonstrates that Chavez continues to make
Venezuelan-Cuban relations one of his top foreign policy
priorities. It may also portend the BRV's determination to
play an important -- and unhelpful -- role in the democratic
transition process in Cuba. Chavez heaped praise on
Rodriguez at a September 1 mass rally, stressing that he
replaced him on August 9 as foreign minister only for health
reasons. With his background as a former foreign minister,
OPEC Secretary General, Energy Minister, and President of the
Venezuelan Petroleum Corporation (PDVSA),as well as stints
as a 1960's "guerrillero," Rodriguez brings both considerable
experience and influence to the BRV Embassy in Havana. End
Summary.

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The BRV's New Man in Havana
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2. (C) President Chavez designated former foreign minister
Ali Rodriguez Araque to replace his brother Adan Chavez as
the BRV's Ambassador to Cuba. Upon his return from his
latest world tour, which reportedly concluded with yet
another stop to visit the ailing Fidel Castro in Havana,
Chavez lauded Rodriguez at a September 1 mass rally in
downtown Caracas. Chavez noted that he had relieved
Rodriguez as foreign minister only because of his pressing
health problems. Rodriguez had served as foreign minister
since November 21, 2004, but suffered from prostrate cancer
as well as heart trouble. He recently underwent knee
replacement surgery in Cuba, followed by a lengthy
recuperation there.


3. (U) In his first comments to the press after his
designation, Rodriguez highlighted the "mutual benefits" of
the BRV's close relations with Cuba, noting that the poorest
sectors of the Venezuelan population have been assisted by
Cuban health and education programs. At the same time,
Rodriguez stated that Cuba has benefited from the BRV's
energy assistance, which he said has "in a way, broken the
(U.S. trade) embargo." Rodriguez told the media that he did
not know when he would take up his new post. (Note: The NAM
Summit in Havana begins September 11; the MFA reported on
September 6 that Chavez had not yet decided whether to
attend).

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Experience and Influence
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4. (C) Ali Rodriguez served as Foreign Minister from November
21, 2004 to August 9, 2006, when he was replaced by
then-National Assembly President Nicolas Maduro (Reftel).
During his tenure, Rodriguez, flanked by five high profile
MFA Vice Ministers, loyally served what he called President
Chavez's "multipolar" foreign policy. Unlike his successor
at the MFA, Rodriguez was believed to have been a moderating
influence on Chavez. Rodriguez first served Chavez as
Minister of Energy and Mines (1999-2000),before being
elected Secretary General of OPEC in January 2001, where he
was widely considered an effective consensus-builder. He
pursued Chavez's statist line as President of the Venezuelan
Petroleum Corporation from April 2002 to November 2004.


5. (C) Rodriguez represented several left-wing parties in
Congress from 1983, both as a deputy, and later, a senator
from Bolivar State, until he was named President of PDVSA in

2002. Prior to his legislative career, Rodriguez was a
litigation attorney from the mid-1960's until 1983. With
prior experience as a leftist leader who participated in
Venezuela's guerrilla movements in the late 1960's and early
1970's, Rodriguez should be reflexively well-disposed toward
and welcomed by Cuba's hard-line leaders. While clearly a
man of the far left, among Venezuelans, Rodriguez has a
reputation as a serious, even scholarly individual, with whom
one can sustain a dialogue.

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Additional Bio Data
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CARACAS 00002692 002.2 OF 002



6. (SBU) Ali Rodriguez will turn 69 on September 9. He is a
member of Chavista coalition partner Patria Para Todos (PPT),
and a former member of Causa R. He has a law degree from the
Venezuelan Central University (1961),but also studied
economics, with a specialty in oil. Rodriguez has been
married -- and divorced -- two times. He currently has four
adult children; two sons are deceased. He reportedly
requires continued medical attention, and his assignation to
Havana will facilitate his continued treatment by Cuban
doctors.

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