NICARAGUA SHARES U.S. CONDEMNATION OF VENEZUELAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 000884 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN, IO/UNP BHARRIS, WHA/PPC E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2016 TAGS: OVIP PGOV PTER PREL VE NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA SHARES U.S. CONDEMNATION OF VENEZUELAN ATTACKS AGAINST U.S. AMBASSADOR BROWNFIELD REF: A. STATE 60604 ¶B. STATE 59535 MANAGUA 0841 ¶C. AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli. Reasons 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (C) On April 20, Ambassador shared with Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Norman Caldera the pattern of harassment directed by the Venezuelan government against U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, William R. Brownfield, most recently when Ambassador Brownfield was donating baseball equipment to a Little League team in a poor Venezuelan neighborhood. Caldera, who was cognizant of the incident, and concurred that these are not spontaneous incidents, informed the Ambassador that the Nicaraguan government shares our condemnation of the failure of the Venezuelan government to meet Vienna Convention obligations to protect foreign diplomats. ¶2. (C) On the subject of the Venezuelan government, Foreign Minister Caldera noted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' increasing influence in Nicaragua, specifically Chavez' interest in Sandinista (FSLN) leader Daniel Ortega's winning the November election. Terming the Venezuelan government's initiative to provide oil to certain Sandinista-run municipalities in Nicaragua with attractive loan terms a political ploy to support Ortega's candidacy, Caldera questioned the feasibility of such a venture. He explained that a loan to the GON would require the approval of Nicaragua's National Assembly, but the Sandinistas do not have enough votes on their own to approve the venture. Further, Caldera doubted that Nicaragua possesses the infrastructure to implement the project before the November elections. TRIVELLI