BOLIVIA-CUBAN RELATIONS: REVIEW FOR LIBERTAD ACT

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 003152

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA/CCA
WHA/AND FOR SHELBY SMITH-WILSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2017
TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL ECON CU BL
SUBJECT: BOLIVIA-CUBAN RELATIONS: REVIEW FOR LIBERTAD ACT

REF: STATE 158768

Classified By: EcoPol Chief Mike Hammer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (U) The following responses are keyed to the questions in
ref A:

--Bolivian Investment: Bolivia has no significant investments
in Cuba.


2. (U) Bilateral Trade Agreements: Bolivia and Cuba signed a
limited Economic Cooperation Agreement in May 1995. The
accord offers preferential tariff treatment to specified
goods from each country but has not generated significant
increases in bilateral trade. The GOB signed a "People's
Trade Agreement" with Cuba and Venezuela in April 2006 in
Havana and became party to a largely symbolic pact meant to
advance economic, political, and cultural integration. GOB
statistics indicate Bolivian exports to Cuba totaled only
$500 in 2006 and have only reached approximately $100 in 2007
thus far. According to GOB sources, this $100 was food goods,
namely cooking oil and chocolate bonbons.

--Bolivian and Cuban officials met in La Paz November 21 to
sign a "Complementary Economic Agreement" to boost commercial
relations. The agreement calls for duty-free buying and
selling of goods between the two countries and fits under the
People's Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP.) According to press
reports, Cuban Foreign Trade Vice-Minister Pedro plans to
expand trade between Cuba and Bolivia, particularly in the
food and clothing sectors. Bolivian Minister of Production
and Micro-Management Celinda Sosa is on board with the
agreement, and said that both Cuban and Bolivian firms have
attended each other's trade fairs.

--Bolivian President Evo Morales announced on October 25 that
he would rely heavily on support from Cuba and Venezuela to
launch a state-run airline, Boliviana de Avacion (BOA.) He
said it would better help the communication between the
ALBA-TCP countries, though didn't specify when the new
airline would be launched.

--A November 29-30 conference in Havana with ALBA countries
set the groundwork for establishment of a super-national
telecommunications company. The project called "Grand
Nation" is aimed at improving telephone services, development
of communication networks, and integration of communication
between ALBA members and is planned for a January 2008 launch.


3. (C) Exchange Programs: Cuba offers limited scholarships to
Bolivian students seeking to study at Cuban universities.

--Cuba paid for several dozen Bolivians to travel to Cuba for
eye surgeries and other medical treatment and has sent an
estimated 2,000 medical personnel to Bolivia, of which 1,400
claim to be doctors (ref B). It is difficult to verify
claims of patients treated, particularly since official
estimates vary wildly and sometimes contradict each other.
President Morales claimed in May about 12,000 Bolivians had
benefited from Cuban surgeries. The Cuban embassy claimed
the program provided medical consultations for 8 million
Bolivians as of November (Note: The entire population of
Bolivia is just over 9 million. End Note.),5 million in
2007 alone, and saved more than 9,000 patients' lives. The
Cuban Embassy claims support of 33 hospitals and
ophthalmology centers throughout all nine Bolivian
departments and promises to support at least 10 additional
hospitals. The Cubans also claim to have performed 130,000
eye operations for Bolivians as of October. (See also para 7
and 8.)

--Cuba also helped launch a literacy campaign in March 2006.
With its 110 claimed advisors, Cuba pledges to eradicate
illiteracy in Bolivia by September 2008. Cuban Ambassador
Rafael Dausa claimed as of November 27 the program had taught
400,000 Bolivians to read. Venezuela contributes logistical
aid and audiovisual equipment to distribute the Cuban "Yes I
Can" literacy program material.


4. (U) Promotion Of Democracy/Human Rights in Cuba: Bolivia
has not worked to promote the advancement of democracy and
human rights in Cuba. The Bolivian Government is
increasingly aligned with the Cuban government and is not
likely to make public statements supportive of civil society
or critical of human rights abuses. The GOB is unlikely to
take actions which could be perceived as subversive by the
Cuban government. (See also para 6.)


5. (U) High Level Visits (last six months): President
Morales visited Cuba June 5 to met with interim leader Raul
Castro and other top officials in a unannounced visit.
Although international reporters were not given access to the
arrival or meetings. Morales apparently visited only briefly
with an ill Fidel Castro.

--Cuban and Bolivian legislators met in Havana November 9 to
discuss "consolidating relations and stimulating bilateral
socio-economic development." Though the Bolivian delegations
was heavily represented by Senators and Deputies from the
ruling MAS party, opposition PODEMOS and UN party legislators
also attended.

--Cuban Vice-President Carlos Lage joined President Morales
and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at an Indigenous
gathering in the Chapare October 12, an event replete with
anti-American rhetoric. Morales reminded the crowd that many
other presidents such as Castro, Chavez, and Kirschner
support him and that "we are not alone, are not interested in
the United States."

--Cuban comrades of Che Guevara (including Division Commander
General Rogelio Acevedo) and the Cuban Ambassador were on
hand to pay homage during an October 8 event honoring the
40th anniversary of Che's death in the town of Vallegrande,
close to the spot Che was captured by Bolivian troops in

1967. They were also named "distinguished sons" of Camiri, a
town about 100 kilometers from Vallegrande, in conjunction
with the 5th Congress of Solidarity with Cuba October 6 and

7. Morales honored the Cuban veterans at an October 9 press
conference. Morales stated the Bolivian troops that captured
Che in 1967 were "instruments of the empire" and discounted
their right to an augmented pension, questioning their
patriotism versus their greed. Although he allowed that
Bolivian "so-called ex-combatants" had a right to honor the
55 troops that died fighting Che, he described these troops
as "misdirected." He rhetorically asked why the troops did
not fight U.S. troops instead of Che's band.

Recent Developments and Background
--------------


6. (C) Cuban Ambassador Rafael Dausa accompanies President
Morales and other high-ranking officials frequently at events
and on trips, particularly to visit Cuban medical and
literacy assistance programs. Dausa chimed in September 12,
maintaining that Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia are an "axis of
peace" that rejects the U.S. "imperial mandates," which is
why the U.S. stigmatizes them for decisions such as seeking
diplomatic relations with Iran. MAS Senator Gaston Cornejo
projected on September 26 a deep relationship between nations
of "an alternative block (of countries) against the U.S. with
great reserves of non-renewable natural resources." The
Bolivian Senate Foreign Relations Committee member envisioned
the "circle of countries" to include Bolivia, Iran,
Venezuela, Ecuador, and Cuba.

Cuban Docs with Happy Feat
--------------


7. (C) At least ten Cuban doctors have successfully traveled
to the United States under the Significant Public Benefit
Protocol (SPBP). On June 14, Cuban doctor Ruben Rodriguez
Cruz was detained by Bolivian immigration authorities in
Santa Cruz after boarding an American Airlines flight bound
for Miami. Dr. Rodriguez Cruz eventually managed to leave the
airport and found a "safe place" to avoid Bolivian
authorities. This is the first case of a Cuban doctor being
detained upon departure. It is not clear at this time if the
GOB has adopted a policy of blocking Cuban doctors from
traveling to the United States.

Underequipped Cubans Better than No Docs
--------------


8. (C) Based on media reports, contacts, and experience of
some of our own EmbOffs, it appears the quality of Cuban
medical personnel is probably a welcome improvement for
residents in isolated rural areas. However, the quality of
the care they can provide is highly restricted by their
access to basic medical supplies and equipment. An EmbOff
was treated by Cuban doctors in November at a clinic near
Lake Titicaca. She found the treatment to be adequate and
feared she would not have otherwise received medical
attention due to the remote location. Hundreds of patients
were lined up at the clinic. Another EmbOff, accompanying a
group of U.S. and Canadian doctors, heard complaints from
local residents who compared that Cuban medical services,
while appreciated, were severely lacking in comparison and
referred many of them to city hospitals due to lack of
equipment. An EmbOff spouse who works in a Bolivian hospital
said a patient with a treatable condition was turned away by
Cuban doctors as a "lost cause" in El Alto because they
either misdiagnosed the problem or did not have the medicine.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) There is a disconnect between the prominent role Cuba
would like to play in Bolivia and the meager resources it
commands. This requires the Cubans to play a secondary role
to Venezuela and, in some cases like the literacy program,
ask for Venezuelan help to implement their own programs. An
ideological tension has emerged between Cuba and Venezuela
for the heart of Morales' government. Due to their vastly
superior resources, Venezuelans wield more influence with
Evo's inner circle. End Comment.
GOLDBERG