Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BRIDGETOWN405
2007-04-05 20:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Bridgetown
Cable title:  

SCENESETTER FOR CODEL ENGEL,S VISIT TO THE EASTERN

Tags:  OVIP ECON PREL PGOV PBTS PINR VC GJ XL 
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DE RUEHWN #0405/01 0952052
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 052052Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4492
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1671
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUEHCV/USDAO CARACAS VE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 000405 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR AND H
H PLEASE PASS TO CODEL ENGEL FROM AMBASSADOR OURISMAN
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OVIP ECON PREL PGOV PBTS PINR VC GJ XL
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL ENGEL,S VISIT TO THE EASTERN
CARIBBEAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 000405

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR AND H
H PLEASE PASS TO CODEL ENGEL FROM AMBASSADOR OURISMAN
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OVIP ECON PREL PGOV PBTS PINR VC GJ XL
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR CODEL ENGEL,S VISIT TO THE EASTERN
CARIBBEAN


1. I look forward to welcoming Chairman Engel and his
delegation to the Eastern Caribbean on April 13-16. In
anticipation of our meetings with Grenada's Prime Minister
Mitchell and Vincentian Prime Minister Gonsalves, I would
like to offer the following background on the region and key
U.S. policy priorities.


2. You arrive at an important moment in our relationship
with the small island states of the Eastern Caribbean. Our
shared history, geographic proximity, and common commitment
to democratic and free market principles provide a solid
foundation for expanding and deepening our ties. However,
despite this foundation and our shared foreign policy
objectives on key issues such as counterterrorism, our
relationship has been undermined in recent years by the
Eastern Caribbean countries' perception that the United
States is no longer engaged in and committed to the region.
Many leaders in the region believe that the United States'
foreign and security policy has shifted focus to other parts
of the globe. The dollar diplomacy of Venezuela, China, and
Cuba has also played a role in the fraying of our ties.


3. My mission has been to counter these negative influences,
rebuild the trust and confidence underlying our relationship,
and reenergize our partnership to meet the principal
challenges facing the region and the hemisphere, including
security, economic development, and democratic
transformation. Your visit will help us underscore the U.S.
commitment to our partnership with the region. Furthermore,
as the region's leaders prepare to participate in the U.S.
celebration of the first Caribbean Heritage Month, including
the June 19-21 Caribbean 20/20 Conference, it will be
important for them to hear what is on the minds of U.S.
policymakers.


4. When you arrive, you will likely hear much about the

ongoing Cricket World Cup (CWC),which the region is hosting
for the first time. This third largest sporting competition
in the world (after the Olympics and Soccer World Cup)
illustrates both the opportunities and the challenges that
this region has had to face in recent years. On the plus
side, the CWC has served as a catalyst for some overdue
regional integration and cooperation in the sphere of
security. The United States has been at the forefront of
donor efforts to assist the region in its security
preparations. We have provided the region with the Advance
Passenger Information System (APIS) and strengthened its
security forces through training. The region has established
new security cooperative systems, which we will encourage the
Eastern Caribbean countries to redirect after the CWC to the
full range of security threats facing them, including drug
trafficking and terrorism. This enhanced security
infrastructure and cooperation may be among the most
important legacies of the CWC and a critical asset in our
work with the region to secure the United States' "Third
Border."


5. Unfortunately, the CWC's negative effects may also prove
long-lasting. The tournament is proving to be an economic
bust, rather than the boon these small countries were
expecting. With stadiums and hotels only partially filled
and daily news of large-scale cancellations, these host
countries will have very little to show for the heavy
expenditures they have made to build up their infrastructure
and sporting venues. Their heavily indebted microeconomies
were already under pressure, having been buffeted in recent
years by globalization, high energy prices, natural
disasters, and the vulnerabilities of their tourism and
agricultural sectors. These challenges have slowed the
region's economic integration efforts to create the Caribbean
Community Single Market and Economy (CSME).


6. This economic fragility and energy dependence have also
made the Eastern Caribbean susceptible to Venezuelan,
Chinese, and to a lesser extent, Cuban dollar diplomacy. The
two countries you will visit, Grenada and St. Vincent and the
Grenadines, are good examples of this shift in engagement.
In Grenada, China has built the national cricket stadium and
Venezuela is providing cheap fuel under the PetroCaribe
program. Venezuela has also become a highly visible
benefactor of St. Vincent, where it is building a new
international airport and also supplying cheap fuel.


7. Leaders of both countries will likely seek to assure you

BRIDGETOWN 00000405 002 OF 002


that their growing cooperation with China and Venezuela is
primarily driven by economic expediency. From our past
meetings, it is clear that they believe the United States to
be preoccupied elsewhere and therefore not in a position to
reassert its influence over the region. Nevertheless, you
will also likely hear both Prime Minister Mitchell and Prime
Minister Gonsalves express their friendship for the United
States and their gratitude for U.S. assistance. Prime
Minister Mitchell, especially, will thank you for the USD 45
million the United States contributed to Grenada's
reconstruction following Hurricane Ivan.


8. They will also probably ask you for more assistance. I
have consistently argued that our assistance programs will
not match Venezuela or China's patronage in terms of focus or
in dollar terms. We are helping these countries in building
their "human infrastructure" through training and education.
We are also assisting the region to close its security gaps
and address challenges such as HIV/AIDS. It is a message
that resonates within the Eastern Caribbean, because its
people recognize that their future in the highly competitive
globalized world will be determined by how well prepared they
are to meet its challenges. It is also a message that needs
to be frequently reinforced because the region's new
"partners" threaten to drown it out.


9. My dedicated staff and I look forward to briefing you
further during your visit to the Eastern Caribbean and to
working with you to advance U.S. interests in the region,
including greater security and prosperity for its people and
the people of the United States.
OURISMAN