CHAVEZ RAMBLES ON ANNIVERSARY OF BOLIVAR'S DEATH

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 002370 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2027 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL VE SUBJECT: CHAVEZ RAMBLES ON ANNIVERSARY OF BOLIVAR'S DEATH Classified By: Political Counselor Robert Richard Downes for Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In a six-hour speech on December 17 from the Pantheon (where Simon Bolivar is entombed),a clearly unhappy President Chavez delivered a particularly rambling discourse in which he attacked in succession "the Empire" (United States),Spain, Colombia and the international press. Speaking on the 177th anniversary of the liberator's death, Chavez, as he has done in the past, raised the possibility that Bolivar did not die of tuberculosis, but rather was assassinated. He suggested the United States was involved. He also attempted to weave together different events such as the arrests in Florida related to the Antonini case, critical articles in Spanish and other journals regarding drug trafficking and other Venezuelan problems, as well as Colombian President Uribe's dismissing him as a hostage negotiator as a grand plot against Venezuela. Chavez did not use the speech to foreshadow changes in his cabinet as some had anticipated. (Note: In his December 2006 address on this event he publicly lambasted then Vice President Jose Vincent Rangel, preparing the way for the latter's January 2007 dismissal.) ¶2. (C) Comment: Chavez Pantheon speech, which all free-to-air television networks were obliged to carry, received very little coverage in the print media, even by government outlets. The majority of his speech focused on Bolivar, while the rest simply repeated, and at times slightly updated his previous attacks on alleged foes. He took time for example, to call the United States "a paradise of terrorism" and a protector of terrorists (referring specifically to Luis Posada Carriles and unspecified others). He also denounced the arrest of Antonini's associates as an attempt to divide Argentina and Venezuela. The lack of coverage, like the results of the referendum, may signal a growing fatigue in Venezuela with Chavez' use of constant confrontation in his discourse. DUDDY