OAS/GA: COSTA RICA RESPONSE TO VENEZUELAN

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 001195 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR USOAS BMORALES AND WHA/CEN JMACK E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON MX CS VZ SUBJECT: OAS/GA: COSTA RICA RESPONSE TO VENEZUELAN MANEUVERING REF: STATE 87933 ¶1. (SBU) Poloff delivered reftel talking points on May 31 to Carlos Cordero, Director of Multilateral Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Cordero stated that Costa Rica's delegation to the OAS General Assembly meetings will be Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno, Amb. Jose Joaquin Chaverri, Director of Foreign Affairs, and Amb. Javier Sancho, Costa Rica's Ambassador to the OAS. While Cordero declined to comment on the specific changes Venezuela has proposed to the Trade and Investment Resolution and the Declaration of Santo Domingo, he likened the current case to similarly disruptive tactics employed by Venezuela at the Bogota CICTE conference in March. Cordero promised to pass the talking points to Foreign Minister Stagno and Ambassador Sancho. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: Despite Cordero's non-committal response to USG concerns over Venezuela's behavior, he was clearly still upset by Venezuelan disruption of the CICTE conference, which he had attended. Cordero has mentioned to Poloff on multiple occasions that Venezuela only served to further isolate itself regionally by employing such obstructionist tactics at OAS meetings. LANGDALE