T&T MFA ON CARICOM'S UNSC CANDIDATE CRITERIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT OF SPAIN 000841 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR, IO/UNP E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2016 TAGS: PREL UNSC XL TD SUBJECT: T&T MFA ON CARICOM'S UNSC CANDIDATE CRITERIA Classified By: Classified by: A/DCM, A. David Miller for reasons 1.4 ( b/d) ¶1. (C) Political Officer met with Ms. Sandra Honore, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs CARICOM division on July 13. She stated, in no uncertain terms, that the CARICOM communique issued after the St. Kitts Heads of Government Meeting in early July outlines a clear set of criteria that any UN Security Council candidate will need to meet in order to garner the CARICOM vote. She also stated, in similarly clear terms, that there is no/no consensus on a candidate. She further noted that many things could happen between mid-July and the UN vote. Perhaps, she speculated, a third candidate will come forward to cut through the current logjam. ¶2. (C) Turning to a press report that indicated T&T Prime Minister Manning had been given a mandate to discuss the issue with Venezuela, Honore noted that there was no discussion during the meetings to which she was privy about such an action. She did note that going back to the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in 2005, CARICOM encouraged T&T and Venezuela to settle their dispute over PetroCaribe and other oil and gas related issues. This discussion resurfaced during the most recent meeting, and may be the source of the confusion. Honore made no indication if Manning has made any efforts, or plans any outreach on this issue. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: Honore's statements confirm that T&T is as yet undecided as to which candidate to support. It is interesting to note that this is at least the second time T&T has inquired into the possibility of a third candidate. Ambassador-at-Large for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy Jerry Narace (protect),a key member of the Government party, has left no doubt that Prime Minister Manning will have final say on which way T&T will vote. If Manning and Chavez can resolve the tensions between their two countries, it is clear that Venezuela will get the vote. Post will continue, however, to lobby senior GOTT officials to impress upon them the importance of this vote to Washington policymakers. END COMMENT. SWEENEY