(C) BOB MANUEL LEAVES HAITI - BUT FOR HOW LONG?

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT AU PRINCE 000799 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV HA SUBJECT: (C) BOB MANUEL LEAVES HAITI - BUT FOR HOW LONG? Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson, reason 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Saying that he will not/not return to Haiti until President Preval gives him a paying job that will allow him to decently support his family, Presidential Counselor Bob Manuel called me from the airport April 29 to say that he was leaving the country to return to Guatemala for good. Manuel told me he could no longer work in Haiti "for free" and take care of his family. His wife, a Guatemalan journalist, believes Haiti is unsafe and refuses to live here. Manuel said that he had asked Preval to make him Ambassador to Guatemala, so he would have a regular government salary, but the President had not done so. As presidential advisor, Manuel noted, he is paid less than dols 1200 a month and cannot manage on that sum any longer. ¶2. (C) Furthermore, Manuel said, Preval did not ask him to go to Washington for the President's May trip. Manuel said that he was surprised not to be included. He refused to speculate on the reason, but in the past has indicated that he is increasingly shut out of the decision-making process as Preval has grown closer to financial advisor/fiancee Elisabeth Delatour. When I pointed out that Preval had tapped him as our main contact on counter-narcotics issues, Manuel told me to call him in Guatemala if we need him. ¶3. (C) Comment. Manuel has often expressed concern about his inability to make a living wage here in Haiti and has angled for any number of ambassadorial positions, but to no avail. (Preval has not named any new envoys as they must be approved by the Senate first and he believes that it would be difficult to get anyone through the process at this point.) Manuel has also confided that he feels more and more removed from the president these days as Delatour has come to the forefront and his frustration about a perceived lack of influence is often palatable. Nonetheless, we suspect that Manuel, a volatile and vociferous individual, could still be enticed back with a phone call or two from his old friend Preval - and an invitation to join the president's party in Washington. SANDERSON