USINT AND CUBINT VEHICLE PURCHASES

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000992 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR WHA/CCA FOR WHA/EX/PMO FOR OFM E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2017 TAGS: AMGT ATRN CU SUBJECT: USINT AND CUBINT VEHICLE PURCHASES Classified By: DCM James Williams for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Action request: Earlier this year, the Department sent a diplomatic note to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington (CUBINT),denying CUBINT's request to purchase four vehicles locally. While we understand and support the Department's use of reciprocity to try to improve our working conditions in Havana, this specific action seems to have hurt more than helped us. We therefore request that the Department consider approving CUBINT's vehicle request. ¶2. (C) Following the Department's denial to CUBINT, the Cuban foreign ministry (Minrex) denied us permission to buy three official vehicles and two personal vehicles from local Cuban dealers, something we had done successfully in the past. Minrex cited "reciprocity" in each denial. ¶3. (C) While there are many reasons that denying vehicle purchases to CUBINT may be fair and reasonable, we believe USINT operations and morale are the more important considerations in this case. We already lack the ability to import cars into Cuba, and the new denials leave us few options for satisfying personal transportation needs and updating our motorpool. Many motorpool vehicles are already in poor condition, with eight due for replacement this year. On the personal side, as more families arrive in Havana without cars, there are fewer and fewer vehicles available for purchase from other diplomats (the only avenue that Minrex now allows). Thus, the vehicle impasse will hurt us more as time goes on. ¶4. (C) We believe - though we are not certain - that a unilateral reversal of the Department's diplomatic note to CUBINT would result in approvals for our local vehicle purchases. However, making our approval conditional on theirs would unnecessarily delay the issue, especially in an environment where we have little direct access to negotiations with Cuban officials. Therefore, we suggest that the Department's new note to CUBINT state something to the effect of, "the Department grants approval . . . and trusts that the government of Cuba will grant similar approval for the official and personal vehicle purchases of USINT Havana." ¶5. (U) We appreciate the Department's attention to post operations and morale in Havana's unique environment. WILLIAMS