DOMINICAN POLITICS III #1: ROUTINE AND GENERALLY

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 002726 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR, INR/IAA; USSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD; TREASURY FOR OASIA-JLEVINE; DEPT PASS USDA FOR FAS; USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION; USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH; DHS FOR CIS-CARLOS ITURREGUI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: DR PGOV PREL PINR MARR SUBJECT: DOMINICAN POLITICS III #1: ROUTINE AND GENERALLY POSITIVE CABINET CHANGES ¶1. This is the first cable in our series on the third year of the administration of Dominican President Leonel Fernandez. Dominican President Makes Routine and Generally Positive Cabinet Changes (C) Summary: Dominican President Leonel Fernandez made a small number of adjustments in his cabinet and in the armed forces on August 16, the date marking the middle of his four-year term. Most were quality appointments. The one puzzler was the appointment as military attache in Washington of Major General Luis Damien Castro Cruz, removed as chief of national intelligence. Castro Cruz had shown himself remarkably anti-U.S. and friendly to CUBA during his short tenure in that office. Despite emphatic differences between Interior Minister Almeyda and National Police Chief Santana Paez, the chief kept his job, probably because of the conspicuous enforcement success of increasing police presence in the barrios. End summary. Changes Twice A Year - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (U) August 16, the national holiday of Restoration Day, marked the mid-point of President Leonel Fernandez,s term in office. This holiday and the February 27 national day are the customary dates for changes in the cabinet and in the armed forces. This year,s changes were limited, and they were generally non-controversial appointments of qualified individuals. Police Chief Santana Paez, whose ouster had been predicted for weeks, escaped this round of reappointments, but tensions remain. (U) Fernandez changed his Attorney General, Defense Minister, the Director of National Intelligence, Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of the Presidential Council on HIV/AIDS, and the Military Attach in Washington Army and Navy. Elected, Departed - - - - - - - - - - - - (U) Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito had taken several months of leave for his successful campaign for the post of Senator of Santiago, an election that the PLD believes was stolen by the PRD in the 2000 elections. Fernandez chose to replace him with Radhams Jimnez Pena, the attorney who has run the President,s private law offices, a PLD senior member but better known as a practicing lawyer. Jimenez has little prosecutorial experience. He is known to be a tough boss but is generally regarded as honest, and early indications point to strong support for the Police and the National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD). Jimenez received the Ambassador and country team members on August 22 (septel follows). (U) Amilcar Romero of the PRSC, elected Senator for Duarte, was replaced by Salvador Jimenez, known as "Chio," director of the Agriculture Institute (IAD) and earlier Under Secretary of agriculture. "Chio" has a degree in agricultural SIPDIS engineering and owns successful agricultural holdings. Hoy newspapers carried warm endorsements of him by the private sector Agricultural Council and by representatives of ranchers, farmers, rice growers, and the dairy industry. Military and Security Moves - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (S//NF) Defense Minister Vice Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez leaves to become Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Pared Perez worked well with the Embassy in his previous position, building a reputation for avoiding conflict and successfully finding common ground in disagreements. This switch is likely to do much to repair the deterioration in bilateral intel relations during the short tenure of his predecessor, Major General Luis Castro Cruz. The Embassy had raised with the administration concerns about mismanagement of the DNI, including the director,s evident closeness to known and suspected Cuban intelligence personnel. (S//NF) Without notice to the Embassy, Fernandez appointed Castro Cruz as Military Attache in Washington. The media has carried reports that the Embassy had revoked Castro Cruz,s nonimmigrant B1/B2 visa -- but in fact his visa had already expired and we had advised him privately that he had few prospects for another one. The new appointment will qualify him for a diplomatic visa for Washington. If he does take up the attache position, it could be something like a tour in Siberia, where he would be in no position to influence relations greatly. (C) The new Defense Minister is Major General Ramon Aquino Garcia, previously head of the president,s guard, both in his first administration and since 2004. Aquino Garcia has long been recognized as the armed forces officer with the most influence within the Office of the President. His appointment is unlikely to result in any significant policy changes. He remains something of a mystery; no official bio has been published. (C) The Dominican Navy is likely to face a house cleaning, since its new head Vice Admiral Ivan Pena Castillo comes directly from heading the Anti-Narcotics Agency, where the Embassy found him to be tough and honest. We welcome this appointment. (S//NF) The new Chief of Staff of the Army, Juan Campusano Lopez, comes to his new position after serving as Commander of the First Brigade in Santo Domingo. We know little about Campusano Lopez; one source links him to narcotics trafficking, but we do not yet know how reliable that particular source is. (C) Police Chief Bernardo Santana Paez remains in his position, despite his frequent differences with his putative boss, Interior Minister Franklin Almeyda. Rumors had circulated for months concerning a possible ouster. But fighting crime in the neighborhoods has been a growing preoccupation over the past year, and Santana Paez has increased police patrols in most neighborhoods in the capital, with notable results. Tensions remain, and his future is far from assured, particularly since his deputy Gen. Guzman Fermin, son of a former police chief, regards himself as the heir apparent. HIV/AIDS (C) Dr. Humberto Salazar was named the new Director of the Presidential Council on AIDS (COPRESIDA). He comes to the position from a background as an anesthesiologist and as a member of the Reformista Party (PRSC). He replaces Alberto Fiallo, whose confused administration of international funds for the HIV/AIDS program had been an ongoing frustration to donors. COMMENT (SBU) At mid-term and with a congressional sweep behind him, President Fernandez appears comfortable with his governing team and intent on carrying out his program of government. He may have less time for it than he wants, since the opposition PRD has set November, 2006 for its internal balloting for a presidential candidate. ¶2. (U) Drafted by Ted Bryan, Michael Meigs. ¶3. (U) This report and extensive other material can be consulted on our SIPRNET site, BULLEN