NICARAGUA WILL CONSIDER SUPPORTING GLOBAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000632 SIPDIS SIPDIS WHA/CEN, IO E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2017 TAGS: PTER KNNP MCAP PINR PINS PARM PREL NU SUBJECT: NICARAGUA WILL CONSIDER SUPPORTING GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO COMBAT NUCLEAR TERRORISM REF: SECSTATE 21535 Classified By: Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli. Reasons 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (C) On March 8, Deputy Chief of Mission Peter Brennan and Russian counterpart Valeriy Bobrov delivered the joint reftel demarche to Nicaraguan Vice Foreign Minister Manuel Coronel Kautz, Acting Foreign Minister in Foreign Minister Samuel Santos' absence. Coronel, who recently returned from an Inter-American counter-terrorism meeting in Panama, expressed keen interest in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. Bobrov also conveyed our shared desire that Nicaragua be among the first Latin American countries to join the Global Initiative partnership, adding that members will be invited to participate in the Initiative's third meeting to be held this summer in Kazakhstan. Confessing he had never expected that one day he would receive Russian and American diplomats together, Coronel Kautz recognized that the joint demarche made him realize how much the world has changed. He promised to review the Global Initiative's Declaration of Principles and will respond after consulting with the Foreign Minister and the Presidency. ¶2. (C) At the start of the meeting, Coronel -- who only half-jested that his main interest in occupying his position is to champion the Nicaraguan government's USD 12 billion inter-oceanic canal project -- attempted to prod Bobrov into joining him in a moment of Communist era nostalgia. Sighing, Coronel Kautz lamented the fall of Communist Soviet Union - "the failure of the greatest human and social experiment in history." Visibly startled by Coronel Kautz' sentimental soliloquy, Bobrov took two steps back, and shot back very skeptically, "Do you really think so?" (Comment: Bobrov appears to be a firm Putin supporter. When Coronel Kautz pried into the assassination of a former KGB operative in London, suggesting that the KGB had engineered the murder, Bobrov countered that those involved in the assassination were "elements opposing President Putin.") ¶3. (C) A spry and affable 74-year-old with a mischievous smile and twinkling blue eyes that belie his age -- Coronel Kautz also offered a few choice observations on the United States -- first professing his admiration for a true revolutionary, Thomas Jefferson, and for the American people. He also suggested that the United States should recognize it is "the empire" and "behave accordingly". He compared the United States to "a six-foot tall man who tries to pretend he is only 4 feet tall, and thus continually bumbles around and crashes into walls because he has built a room to small to accommodate himself." Responding to our observation that Venezuela seems bent on becoming the "new empire," Coronel Kautz quipped, "Yes, Venezuela is trying, but they are not up to it." ¶4. (C) The Acting Foreign Minister also shared that his government is developing a national strategy, including a foreign policy section tasked to his ministry. He explained that the centerpiece of the strategy is poverty reduction through a "zero hunger" initiative targeting the rural poor; education/literacy programs; health care; and, low-income housing. The DCM noted parallels between these objectives and those highlighted by President Bush in his recent speech on the U.S. government's Western Hemisphere Policy and offered to forward a copy of the speech. Accepting the offer, Coronel Kautz inquired about President Bush's trip to the region -- commenting that while he believes Bush's intentions are sincere, many people may not believe him, given the long-standing complicated relationship between the United States and the Latin American region. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the effort is worthwhile. He also appeared intrigued by A/S Sullivan's remark in his recent meeting with President Ortega (septel) that the United States is prepared for "total economic engagement" with Nicaragua and requested information on this concept. ¶5. (C) Bio Note: Coronel Kautz is the son of famed Nicaraguan poet Jose Coronel Urtecho and Maria Kautz, a middle class family with sugar cane interests and Conservative Party roots. An agronomist by training, Coronel Kautz joined the Sandinista movement in 1974. After the Sandinistas came to power, he first served as the Agro-industry director of the Office of Agrarian Reform and later as the Vice Minister of Development and Agrarian Reform. In a May 3, 1998 press interview, he argued that imperialism, whether from the United States or other states, is a reality that Nicaragua is in no position to confront. He advocated for a more realistic and less messianic approach towards imperialism. TRIVELLI