VENEZUELA: FEEDBACK ON WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001649 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2017 TAGS: KSUM KPAO VE SUBJECT: VENEZUELA: FEEDBACK ON WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE REF: STATE 108659 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT R. DOWNES FOR REASON 1.4 (D) ¶1. (C) Per reftel, Poloff met August 18 with Fredery Calderon (protect throughout),president of the NGO "For the Caracas That's Possible" (Por la Caracas Posible),to solicit feedback regarding his participation in the July 9 White House Conference on the Americas. Calderon's organization coordinates workshops and seminars to educate Caracas residents on effective ways to lobby municipal authorities for better public services. Calderon was the only Venezuelan invitee who accepted Post's invitation to attend the conference. ¶2. (C) Calderon said he found the conference incredibly helpful because it allowed him to interact and exchange ideas with regional colleagues. He also appreciated the opportunity to discuss the current administration's relationship with Latin America. Calderon also greatly appreciated the opportunity to discuss the situation in Venezuela with fellow democracy promoters. He noted that many regional NGO representatives expressed overly sympathetic views of the Chavez government. ¶3. (C) That said, Calderon offered suggestions on how future conferences could be improved upon. Calderon suggested a multi-day conference with smaller, more subject specific break-out groups would have been more effective. He also proposed more interaction with Washington-based NGOs working on Latin American issues, and raised the possibility of drafting a conference resolution or recommendations that could be taken up in follow-up conferences. ¶4. (C) Separately, Calderon told Poloff that during a cocktail reception hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) following the conference, he was harassed by the IADB's Venezuelan representatives and by Venezuelan officials accredited to the BRV's Embassy in Washington who questioned his participation in the conference. Calderon believes DISIP, Venezuela's intelligence police, probably informed BRV officials in Washington of his visit. Calderon feared he would be harassed upon his return to Caracas, but that has not occurred thus far. FRENCH