C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT OF SPAIN 001167

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CCA AND WHA/CAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/29/2017
TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL TD
SUBJECT: TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - LIBERTAD ACT TITLE III REVIEW

REF: SECSTATE 158768

Classified By: DCM Leonard Kusnitz - reasons 1.4 (b/d)

(U) This message responds to reftel questions.


1. (C) QUESTION: What is the nature of investments that host
country businesses have in Cuba?

ANSWER: Post is aware of no Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) companies
or individuals with significant presence or investments in
Cuba.


2. (C) QUESTION: Are there any bilateral trade agreements
between host country and Cuba?

ANSWER: Trinidad & Tobago does not have a bilateral trade
agreement with Cuba, but as a member of CARICOM, T&T has
ratified the trade agreement between CARICOM and Cuba. In
September 2007, T&T established a trade office in Havana to
serve as a conduit between T&T manufacturers and Cuban state
companies. The T&T Business Development Corporation, a
public company affiliated with the Ministry of Trade and
Industry, led a trade mission to Cuba to coincide with the
dedication of the trade office.


3. (C) QUESTION: Are there any exchange programs between host
country and Cuba, including but not limited to: scholarships
for host country nationals to study in Cuba; Cuban-paid
medical travel for host country nationals; and Cuban doctors
working in host country?

ANSWER: Twenty-two Cuban doctors and eighteen Cuban nurses
arrived in Trinidad on May 18 to begin two-year contracts
with the Ministry of Health, working at public health
facilities. They replaced seventy Cuban medical personnel
whose contracts to serve in T&T expired earlier in 2007.
Prime Minister Manning has told us in the past that he does
not want to expand this cooperation.

In July, a team of Cuban agricultural advisors visited
Trinidad to survey the proposed site for a 200-acre
demonstration farm in Tucker Valley, Chaguaramas, a joint
venture between the GOTT and Cuba aimed at introducing Cuban
organic farming techniques to T&T. According to press
reports, the project is scheduled to begin in March 2008 with
the first harvest reaching the market in 2009.


4. (C) QUESTION: Has the host country, in Post's opinion,
worked to promote the advancement of democracy and human
rights in Cuba? This can include: public statements or other
governmental actions, such as resolutions in the national
assemblies condemning human rights abuses in Cuba; statements
in support of democracy following the July 31, 2006 handover
of power from Fidel to Raul Castro; actions in support of
civil society in Cuba through host country's diplomatic
missions or other fora.

ANSWER: Post is not aware of any GOTT initiatives in support
of promoting democracy and human rights in Cuba.


5. (C) QUESTION: Have there been any high-level diplomatic
visits between Cuba and host country in the past six months?

ANSWER: At Cuba's invitation, Prime Minister Patrick Manning
led a trade mission to Cuba September 6-8, accompanied by his
wife, then-Education Minister Hazel Manning; then-Minister of
Trade and Industry Kenneth Valley; then-Minister of Community
Development, Culture and Gender Affairs Joan Yuille-Williams;
and T&T soca artist Machel Montano. During the visit Manning
reportedly held talks with Raul Castro. Also during the
visit, in his remarks at the opening of the GOTT trade office
in Havana, Manning stated that the GOTT will open an embassy
in Havana "very shortly." Separately MFA sources have
informed us that Donna Henry, currently chief of the
Ministry's Division of Administration, has been nominated as
the first GOTT Ambassador to Cuba. However, definitive dates
for opening the embassy and for the public announcement of
Mrs. Henry's appointment have yet to be set.


6. (C) Post believes it is in the U.S. national interest to
suspent Title III of the Libertad Act for Trinidad & Tobago,
based on T&T's contribution to U.S. energy security as a
reliable supplier of oil and gas and its importance as an
economic, political, and security leader in the easter
Caribbean. Trinidad also will host the next Summit of the
Americas in early 2009.

AUSTIN