TWO IVLP CANDIDATES DROP OUT AMIDST BOLIVARIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000756

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2021
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ELAB KDEM SCUL VE
SUBJECT: TWO IVLP CANDIDATES DROP OUT AMIDST BOLIVARIAN
PRESSURE


Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor,
for Reason 1.4(b).

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Summary
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1. (C) A labor leader from the Confederation of Venezuelan
Workers (CTV) and one from the National Workers Union (UNT)
withdrew suddenly from the International Visitors Leadership
Program (IVLP) after one of them received threats from the
government. CTV Executive Secretary Antonio Suarez said he
learned from indirect contacts with the Venezuelan state
security service (DISIP) that the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuelan (BRV) was planning to use participation in the
IVLP to allege illicit links between the CTV leader and the
USG. Pro-BRV UNT leader Reyes, meanwhile, used the excuse of
being unable to obtain a passport to back out of the program.
While we cannot confirm that the BRV was preparing to
prosecute Suarez upon his return from the United States, if
it is true, it is the first time we have heard of such direct
pressure against IVLP participants. We are aware of subtle
harassment of participants, however, and will begin tracking
such cases. End summary.


2. (C) Antonio Suarez is the President of FEDEUNEP, the
public workers federation that is affiliated with the
pro-opposition CTV, where Suarez serves on the executive
committee. Juan Reyes, a national coordinator for the
pro-Chavez UNT, is a member of the executive committee of
FENTRASEP, the Bolivarian public workers federation.
Moreover, the UNT faction that Reyes represents has had a
history of disagreements with the BRV, despite its professed
support of the revolutionary process (see para 4). Post
therefore thought that sending Suarez and Reyes together on
an IVLP would provide an opportunity to facilitate dialogue
within the fractured labor movement.

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CTV's Suarez Receives Threats
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3. (C) Suarez told POLOFF March 10 he had received word from
a friend in DISIP that the BRV was hoping to use his IVLP
participation as a grounds for accusing him of conspiracy,
similar to the charges leveled against the directors of the
NGO Sumate. It should be noted that Suarez solicited this
information from his friend, a lawyer who used to work with
Suarez in his union duties but now works in DISIP. Suarez
added that when he met with Reyes to discuss the details of
the trip, Reyes told him that he, too, had heard of the plan
to accuse Suarez. Suarez asked Post if his trip could be
deferred indefinitely until the political pressure subsided.
(Note: It was Suarez who presented the complaint before the
International Labor Organization when the government began
dismissing thousands of civil servants for having signed the
petition against President Hugo Chavez. Suarez expounded on
these complaints in a new documentary entitled, "The Tascon
List: A People Under Suspicion," which tells of the BRV's
persecution of the millions of petition signers.)

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UNT's Reyes Goes Quiet
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4. (C) Reyes has so far refused to answer our phone calls to
confirm his participation. Suarez said Reyes admitted to
him, however, that he had been told by his FENTRASEP
superiors not to go. According to Suarez, Reyes planned to
use the excuse that his passport was not current to bow out
of the trip. Suarez said he urged Reyes to make contact with
the Embassy, but Reyes said he probably would not. (Note:
Reyes was the third choice for the "chavista" slot in this

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IVLP. Original candidate Francisco Torrealba was elected to
the National Assembly in December and regretted due to
schedules. FENTRASEP President Franklin Rondon expressed
interest but later withdrew because his federation announced
plans to hold elections. The Torrealba/Rondon faction of
UNT, allied with Bolivar State labor leader Ramon Machuca, is
in fact increasingly at odds with the BRV because of the
group's stand for labor union autonomy. It is possible,
therefore, that the faction decided to wave Reyes off the
IVLP to avoid an open conflict with the BRV, especially if
the latter was preparing a trap for Suarez.)

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Other Cases of Harassment
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5. (C) It is increasingly difficult to recruit IVLP
candidates in Venezuela. Many public sector candidates find
that the association with the United States is not
career-enhancing. Others have been threatened by their
bosses, or just not granted the requisite vacation time. One
public sector employer told the IVLP candidate she could have
the annual leave, but could not leave the country. We have
heard of one case in which an employee of the pork producers
federation (not a government entity) learned upon his return
from the IVLP that he had been fired, allegedly for
misconduct. In addition, we understand that DISIP has been
tasked with finding out the names of the Guajiro indigenous
people who had received USG scholarships recently. According
to the source, DISIP believed that the Guajiros would be
trained as information collectors in the United States.
(Note: On January 26, the Ambassador presented English
language study scholarships to eleven indigenous leaders from
Zulia, who were a part of a larger group of microscholarship
recipients who will study English at our binational national
centers in Venezuela with special funding provided by the
embassy. The program is earmarked for young leaders (18-30)
in the political, NGO, education, and journalism fields who
will benefit themselves and whose communities will benefit
from their learning English.)

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Comment
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6. (C) If Suarez' story is true -- and we have no means of
confirming it with DISIP -- then it would be the first time
that direct judicial retribution has been threatened against
someone for participating in an IVLP. Since the IVLP is one
of our best public diplomacy tools in the toolbox, it makes
sense that the BRV would want to scare people away from the
program. We have already begun cataloging harassment,
whether direct or indirect, that we hear about in relation to
the IVLP.

BROWNFIELD