(C) C-AL7-00733: VENEZUELAN AID TO HAITI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000944 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NSC FOR FISK STATE FOR WHA/CAR INR/I WHA/EPSC FOR FAITH CORNEILLE, ED MARTINEZ EB/IFD STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR TREASURY FOR JEFFREY LEVINE COMMERCE FOR SCOTT SMITH E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2032 TAGS: PINR EPET EAID VE HA SUBJECT: (C) C-AL7-00733: VENEZUELAN AID TO HAITI REF: A. SECSTATE 66324 ¶B. 06 PORT AU PRINCE 1377 ¶C. 06 PORT AU PRINCE 1598 ¶D. PORT AU PRINCE 833 ¶E. PORT AU PRINCE 829 Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ) ¶1. (C) Summary: Venezuelan promises of over USD one billion in aid and assistance to Haiti have not materialized except for two examples of in-kind assistance. Venezuela delivered a shipment of petroleum and asphalt, both of which arrived without forewarning, and the GoH re-sold the goods to no immediate benefit to the Haitian people. Though GoH officials have grown increasingly skeptical of Venezuelan promises (and have said so much to Emboffs in private),they continue to hope that President Chavez will follow through on at least a portion of what he has committed. In a bout of optimism, the GoH ended its contract with the largest electricity supplier to Port-au-Prince, partially because of its faith in future Venezuelan assistance to the electricity sector totaling 160 MW of additional capacity. End summary. ¶2. (U) The answers below are keyed to the questions in Ref A. QUESTION B - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) A team of Venezuelan engineers visited Haiti in December, 2006 to assess potential technical assistance to the airports. There have been no results from the visit. ¶4. (SBU) According to Venezuelan news reports, President Chavez shipped garbage trucks to Haiti in March. Pol specialist called government contacts in the public works ministry and customs, none of whom could confirm that the garbage trucks had arrived. QUESTION C - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (SBU) Venezuela kicked off its relationship with President Rene Preval on the eve of his inauguration by sending one shipment (100,000 barrels) of petroleum in May, ¶2006. This was a grant and not part of the Petrocaribe agreement. The Haitian government struggled to sell the petroleum and finally convinced the local oil company, whose president Edouard Baussan is very close to Preval, to buy the fuel from the GoH (Ref B). There is no schedule for the second shipment, although GoH officials have said they hope to have the first official Petrocaribe shipment by June or July. (Note: This is highly likely according to contacts in the oil industry. End note.) ¶6. (SBU) According to Public Works Minister Frantz Verela, Venezuela sent one shipment (10,000 barrels) of asphalt to Haiti in June/July, 2006. The GoH had the same problems with the asphalt that it had with the petroleum: it did not have the means to transport it or storage capacity (Ref C). Post later learned that the GoH shipped and sold the asphalt to the Dominican Republic. QUESTION D - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (SBU) President of the National Assembly Joseph Lambert told Emboffs that of Venezuela's promised millions, Haiti has received only USD two million in humanitarian assistance. Post has not come across any evidence to confirm this statement. QUESTION G - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (C) Various GoH officials have complained to post that Venezuela has not delivered on its promised aid and assistance. President Preval and his advisors privately told Ambassador Sanderson on numerous occasions that they no PORT AU PR 00000944 002 OF 002 longer count on Chavez' extravagant promises. President Preval continues to hold out some hope and has taken advantage of his last two encounters with Chavez to press him to carry out the agreements between Venezuela and Haiti. However, he appears to be losing patience: Lambert told Emboffs that Preval took an anti-ALBA stance during private meetings with Chavez at the ALBA summit in April, telling Chavez he can keep his aid if ALBA membership is a condition (Ref D). QUESTION I - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (SBU) Michael Lecorps is the head of the GoH's bureau of monetization (informally known as the Petrocaribe office) and is charged with carrying out the Petrocaribe agreement. In addition to shipments of gasoline, diesel and asphalt, the agreement includes assistance to the electricity sector (an additional 60 MW countrywide, 40 MW following the repair of a Port-au-Prince power plant, and 60 MW saved by using lower-energy light bulbs -- Ref E). ¶10. (C) Comment: Even if the GoH has some hope that the Venezuelan aid will materialize, the general population appears to give little heed to Chavez' claims. At first his promises generated some attention, but recently, his guarantees receive little, if any, press. The GoH appears to be well on its way to realizing what the populace already knows: seeing is believing when it comes to promises from Venezuela, and Chavez' words are empty until he arrives with cash in hand. SANDERSON =======================CABLE ENDS============================