NICARAGUA: FOLLOW UP CICTE DEMARCHE ON VENEZUELAN

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000624 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/USOAS, WHA/AND, WHA/BSC, WHA/PPC, AND S/CT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL ECON MARR MASS OAS NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: FOLLOW UP CICTE DEMARCHE ON VENEZUELAN ANTICS REF: A. STATE 40856 ¶B. MANAGUA 0571 ¶C. STATE 31112 ¶1. (SBU) In response to ref A, poloff met with Myriam Vasquez, the Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Vice Director for Sovereignty, Territory and International Legal Issues. (Note: Vasquez is the Ministry's terrorism guru. The Ministry recently decided that she will head Nicaragua's CICTE delegation, instead of Vice Foreign Minister Javier Williams Slate, as reported in ref B. End Note.) Vasquez stated that Nicaragua supports the Declaration of San Carlos in general, though would like to change the language in paragraph 6 of the preamble, which reads (unofficial translation from Spanish): - "Reaffirming that the threat of terrorism is aggravated by linkages that exist between terrorism, illegal arms trafficking, money laundering, and other forms of transnational organized crime..." Nicaragua would like to alter the language to read as follows (closer to the Venezuelan proposal): - "Reaffirming that the threat of terrorism is aggravated by linkages that ((CAN exist)) between terrorism, illegal arms trafficking, money laundering, and other forms of transnational organized crime..." ¶2. (U) Vasquez also noted to poloff Nicaragua's proposed language for paragraph c under General Principles (c.bis.ii): - "The Member States have, in the spirit of mutual effort and collaboration, the responsibility of working together to prevent, fight and eliminate terrorism in an effective and integral manner." (Nicaragua's alternative proposal) ¶3. (SBU) In addition, Vasquez reported that the MFA had received new proposed language from Brazil on March 17 regarding the preamble, which she had not yet had time to analyze. TRIVELLI