Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07LIMA3636
2007-11-14 21:31:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Lima
Cable title:  

GOP INTENDS TO ACT AGAINST VENEZUELAN MEDDLING

Tags:  PGOV PREL PINR PHUM VE PE 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPE #3636/01 3182131
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 142131Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY LIMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7317
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 1848
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 5272
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7663
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 3183
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0912
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ NOV MONTEVIDEO 9369
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1580
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1599
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUMIAAA/CDR USCINCSO MIAMI FL
C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 003636 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM VE PE
SUBJECT: GOP INTENDS TO ACT AGAINST VENEZUELAN MEDDLING

REF: A. LIMA 2000

B. LIMA 2236

C. LIMA 2490

Classified By: Ambassador P. Michael McKinley for Reasons 1.4 (c,d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 003636

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR PHUM VE PE
SUBJECT: GOP INTENDS TO ACT AGAINST VENEZUELAN MEDDLING

REF: A. LIMA 2000

B. LIMA 2236

C. LIMA 2490

Classified By: Ambassador P. Michael McKinley for Reasons 1.4 (c,d)


1. (C) Summary: Government officials, including President
Garcia, have persistently expressed concern about Venezuelan
meddling in Peru's affairs. Many believe that so-called
"ALBA Houses," the subject of considerable if somewhat
confused discussion here, are centers for Bolivarian
agitation. Some officials have stated that the government
should close down these centers, and Congress has begun a
formal investigation by convoking ALBA member country
representatives to explain their activities. In response,
the Venezuelan and Cuban Ambassadors have said their public
outreach and good works in Peru would continue, and presented
detailed descriptions of how ALBA worked inside Peru.
President Garcia has emphasized that his government must show
concrete results in order to deflate Peru's latent
radicalism, but he also believes he must confront its
political sources, including Venezuelan meddling. In his
October meeting with Defense Secretary Gates, Garcia said the
GOP would act soon. End Summary.

Concerns about Venezuelan Activities
--------------

2. (C) Since taking power over 15 months ago, government
officials have persistently expressed concern, both publicly
and privately, about Venezuelan meddling in Peru's affairs.
According to government sources, Venezuela's activities in
Peru are a top priority for Peruvian intelligence services.
In his October meeting with Defense Secretary Gates,
President Garcia detailed the threat that Venezuelan meddling
posed to Peruvian democracy, and foreshadowed a government
plan to crack down on this activity. In a November meeting
with ONDCP Director Walters (septel),Garcia said Venezuela
was using the cocalero movement to political ends within
Peru. Prime Minister del Castillo, in a recent speech,
reiterated that a "dark and political" hand was behind social
protests, and hinted that Venezuelan money -- funneled
through Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA)

Centers -- had funded the demonstrations.

Confusion About ALBA
--------------

3. (C) The existence of ALBA centers in Peru has generated
great debate and considerable confusion here, some of this in
spite of (or thanks to) Venezuelan explanations. One recent
summary, which emerged out of a Venezuelan Embassy public
seminar called "Building the ALBA," explained that President
Hugo Chavez's proposal sought to: strengthen regional
integration; attack poverty and inequality; and establish
stability by means of peace, justice, brotherhood and
equality. The detailed but somewhat airy presentation
revealed that the ALBA was a treaty signed by Venezuela,
Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia. It further claimed that because
Peru was not (yet) a signatory to the agreement no "ALBA
houses" per se -- only informal groups that agree with the
political vision -- had been opened in the country. In
addition, it described the role of various Venezuelan
organizations -- including small businesses, government
agencies, and public-private foundations -- in building the
ALBA network and achieving Latin American integration and
unity. (We will e-mail scanned notes from the presentation
to WHA/AND Peru desk officer).

ALBA Houses as Centers of Radical Agitation
--------------

4. (C) Many observers are convinced that ALBA Houses, formal
or not, are essentially centers for Bolivarian agitation in
Peru. First Vice President of the Congress, Aldo Estrado,
recently told poloff that in his home district of Puno, the
ALBA house had given "millions" to social groups fomenting
racial conflict. Other sources indicated that Venezuela
provided $10,000 for the September cocalero conference in
Trujillo in which new leadership sympathetic to the BRV and
to opposition leader Ollanta Humala was elected (ref). In
October, press accounts summarized GOP intelligence reports
to the effect that Venezuela was opening ALBA centers in and
around areas of Sendero Luminoso activity to reinforce
radical political movements. Separate reports claimed that a
E
Peruvian NGO called the Lambayeque Defense Front had
solicited financial support from Venezuelan Embassy official
Virly Torres to open 37 more ALBA centers (in addition to the
indeterminate number already in existence). Independent
labor leader Aldolfo Lanzo told poloffs recently that
Venezuela had funded the November 8 protests of left-wing
unions.

Close Down ALBA Houses
--------------

5. (C) Some political insiders have suggested that public
criticism of the ALBA by senior government officials was
intended to prepare the ground for curtailing suspected BRV
involvement in Peru's social unrest. Defense Minister Wagner
recently stated that ALBA houses (or other ALBA-related
activities) should be closed, if reports of Venezuela's
support for social protests or anti-systemic opposition
groups in Peru were confirmed. Congress's Foreign Affairs
committee has opened a formal investigation into the
financing, structure, and goals of the ALBA houses, and
invited the Ambassadors of ALBA member states to explain the
organization's purpose and activities in Peru. Congress's
Defense Committee has reportedly begun hearings on Venezuelan
financing of ALBA centers, and has asked the director of
National Intelligence for a briefing on Caracas' connection
to radical groups in Peru.

The Bolivarian Response
--------------

6. (SBU) In response, Venezuela's Ambassador to Peru,
Armando Laguna, denied that his government provided funding
for ALBA centers -- which he described as "friendship houses"
that foster Bolivarian solidarity and oppose free trade
agreements -- and invited the GOP to join the treaty. He
also defended his country's right to continue its public
outreach activities, particularly to Peru's youth and
marginalized populations. Likewise, Cuba's Ambassador has
denied supplying direct support to the centers while
insisting that his government has the right to offer
scholarships for poor students to study medicine in Cuba.
Nicaraguan Ambassador Tomas Borge said he would speak before
Peru's Congress but only to explain the grand designs of the
ALBA not to respond to any interrogation. Peruvian
Nationalist Party (PNP) leader and former Presidential
candidate Ollanta Humala said criticisms of ALBA reflected
outdated cold war thinking, and claimed the ALBA centers
could help foster social development in Peru.

Comment: Show Concrete Results and Confront Radicalism
-------------- --------------

7. (C) President Garcia has repeatedly emphasized that his
government must show concrete results in order to deflate
latent radicalism in Peru. This means producing palpable
progress in the daily lives of all Peruvians, especially the
poor. In Garcia's view, to ensure Peru's long-term stability
and broadening prosperity, the government must also confront
the principal political and ideological sources of populist
radicalism, whose proponents he believes seek systematically
to undermine the government's success. This means dealing
with Venezuela's meddling. In his October meeting with
Defense Secretary Gtes, President Garcia said the GOP would
act soon on the political, legislative and security fronts to
limit Venezuela's intervention in Peru's affairs. He
requested indirect U.S. support for such action. Following
that meeting, government Ministers publicly called attention
to the issue and highlighted the government's intention to
take appropriate action.
MCKINLEY