CHAVEZ FUELS MORE CONTRETEMPS WITH PERU

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 001681 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/02/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL PE VE SUBJECT: CHAVEZ FUELS MORE CONTRETEMPS WITH PERU REF: LIMA 1653 Classified By: A/Polcouns Art Muirhead for Reason 1.4 (B, D) -------------- Summary: -------------- ¶1. (C) Over May Day weekend, Hugo Chavez continued to lobby verbal salvos, first at Alan Garcia, and then at Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo. In response, Peru has recalled its Ambassador to Caracas. President Toledo on May 1 announced that he would expel Venezuela,s Ambassador if the BRV does not cease its interference in Peru,s elections. The political effect of Chavez, interventions appears to be backfiring. Most political experts had expected Ollanta Humala to project a more moderate image in the second round to attract badly needed votes from the center. Chavez' and Evo Morales' strong expressions of support have come just as those leaders have moved in radical new directions (i.e. signing of trade agreement with Cuba and military occupation of Petroleum facilities) and has by association strengthened Humala's identification with the far left. ¶2. (C) On the diplomatic side, the GOP sees clear coordination between Venezuela, Bolivia and Cuba in the latest exchanges. The leaders of the three countries were all in Cuba over the weekend to sign a trade agreement. The GOP has decided to take the issue to the OAS. -------------- Chavez Blasts Away at Garcia, Toledo -------------- ¶3. (U) Hugo Chavez continued to lob loose-lipped verbal salvos at Peru over the May Day weekend. While presiding over a ceremony on 4/28, he labeled APRA presidential candidate Alan Garcia "a thief" and "the candidate of the White House" among a series of other accusations. Chavez also openly called upon the Peruvian people to vote for Ollanta Humala and threatened to withdraw his Ambassador from Lima should, "by the work of the devil," Garcia be elected President of Peru. ¶4. (U) The same day, Peruvian Foreign Minister Maurtua sent a note to the Venezuelan Ambassador protesting "flagrant intervention" in Peruvian affairs in violation of UN and OAS norms. Chavez upped the ante on 4/29, blasting back that "Garcia and Toledo are crocodiles from the same well." In response, the GOP recalled its Ambassador to Caracas, Carlos Urrutia, that same day. -------------- Garcia's Counterpunches Rile Chavez -------------- ¶5. (C) One key element throughout has been the deft handling by APRA presidential candidate Alan Garcia of Chavez' provocations, and the latter's increasingly heated responses. When Chavez announced that Venezuela was withdrawing from Andean Community (CAN),Garcia characterized the move as contrary to the integrationist vision of Bolivar. After Chavez' diatribe on 4/28, Garcia suggested that perhaps Chavez "had been drinking too much Venezuelan rum" when he spoke, and said that Chavez' words had marked him as "a person of low social level" who did not merit a point-by-point response. ¶6. (C) Chavez' comments have inspired criticism from across the Peruvian political spectrum, and have placed his favored candidate, Ollanta Humala, in a difficult position. So far, Humala has refused to criticize Chavez (though Humala's wife and Vice President have) making him appear to be under Chavez' control. -------------- The MFA: The Gang of Three Against Peru -------------- ¶7. (C) MFA,s Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Ambassador Pablo Portugal, phoned the Ambassador on May 1 to provide MFA,s analysis of the situation. It is clear Ambassador Portugal said, that Venezuela,s reply to Peru's complaint about interference in its elections was concocted in consultation with Cuba and Bolivia: -- Chavez, Morales and Castro were signing their trade agreement in Havana as events unfolded; -- The Venezuelan reply to Peru,s note of protest makes specific reference to Bolivia; -- Morales simultaneously issued an invitation to Humala to visit Bolivia on May 4 to inaugurate along with him a Cuban Operation Milagro medical mission. ¶8. (C) To put the Bolivians on notice, MFA will send a note to the GOB on May 2 asking whether it is associating itself with the Venezuelan position on Chavez' interference in Peruvian elections. ¶9. (C) Ambassador Portugal said that MFA is debating whether to raise Chavez' meddling in the OAS Permanent Council. (Note: In fact, President Toledo made the decision a few hours later to do just that. End Note.) Peru does not foresee the need for a resolution, but it wants to establish the groundwork to raise it also in the OAS General Assembly in June and possibly in the United Nations. STRUBLE