PDAS KELLY CALLS IN BOLIVIAN AMBASSADOR GUZMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 156011 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2017 TAGS: BO EUN KDEM PGOV PREL SUBJECT: PDAS KELLY CALLS IN BOLIVIAN AMBASSADOR GUZMAN REF: LA PAZ 2974 Classified By: PDAS Craig Kelly, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) PDAS Craig Kelly called in Bolivian Ambassador Gustavo Guzman November 9 to express USG dissatisfaction about the Bolivian Government's (GOB) repeated verbal attacks against the USG. PDAS Kelly warned Guzman that GOB actions could negatively impact Bolivia's requests for trade preferences and development assistance. Note: Department hopes EU members resident in La Paz will support our appeal for calmer rhetoric; details to follow via septel. End Summary. HELP US HELP YOU: END THE ATTACKS -------------- ¶2. (C) PDAS Kelly told Ambassador Guzman (who was accompanied by Bolivian DCM Raul Barrios, First Secretary Davalos, and First Secretary Ayllon) that the USG wanted an open and positive relationship with Bolivia and was committed to helping Bolivia address poverty and counternarcotics challenges; however, the tone and frequency of the GOB,s political rhetoric and attacks against the USG caused us serious concern. Kelly said the baseless attacks against USAID and allegations of a USG conspiracy against the GOB were counterproductive and made it difficult to sustain positive will. Actions have consequences, Kelly admonished, and the GOB,s actions threatened MCC, ATPA, and future AID programs. Kelly specifically noted MCC President Danilovich,s and other high level officials, negative reaction to the GOB,s attacks against the USG. ¶3. (C) Kelly also said that the personal attacks against Ambassador Goldberg, who enjoys an excellent reputation throughout the USG, must stop immediately. Recent accusations that Ambassador Goldberg was working with Colombian paramilitaries were not only groundless and offensive but also made light of the USG's support for the Government of Colombia's success in reining in illegal armed groups and our overall policy against narcoterrorism. Department hopes EU members resident in La Paz will support our appeal for calmer rhetoric; details to follow via septel. DON'T PICK ON EVO, HE'S JUST A COCALERO -------------- ¶4. (C) Ambassador Guzman assured PDAS Kelly that he would convey USG concerns to President Morales via the MFA and expressed his commitment to overcoming these challenges. He attempted to explain away Morales, behavior, recalling Bolivia's conflictive history, Morales, indigenous background and cocalero base of support, and the Bolivian President's belief that Bolivian elites and one former USG ambassador in particular had worked actively to undermine him. Guzman said that Morales, rhetoric played to his cocalero constituency which viewed him as their champion against imperialism. His campaign for social inclusion represented an important democratic movement not only for Bolivia, Guzman stressed, but for all of Latin America -- particularly the heretofore excluded indigenous population. PDAS Kelly interjected that the USG shared Morales, vision for eradicating poverty and social inclusion; however, it was offensive and unacceptable to seek to portray the U.S., which was an important ally of Bolivia's in this regard, as imperialist. ¶5. (C) Guzman said his objective was to build trust and confidence between the U.S. and Bolivia and agreed that bilateral disagreements should be resolved privately through diplomatic channels, not in the press. He lamented the lack of coordination between Bolivia's MFA and office of the Presidency, and said that FM Choquehuanca continued to promote a one-on-one breakfast for Morales and Ambassador Goldberg to help resolve outstanding differences and put the bilateral relationship on a more solid footing. GOB RADAR: TRADE, DRUGS, AND THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY STATE 00156011 002 OF 002 -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) Guzman said that like Peru and Colombia, Bolivia sought an open commercial relationship with the U.S.; to that end, Minister of Economic Development Cecilia Sosa was planning to visit Washington to lobby for an extension of Bolivia's ATPA benefits and would request appropriate appointments in the Department. Regarding pending removal proceedings for Bolivian drug trafficker Arce Gomez, Guzman reiterated his request that the Department support efforts to prevent Arce Gomez from being deported to a third country instead of Bolivia when he completed his jail sentence. Kelly said this was a DHS matter and promised the Office of Andean affairs would continue to facilitate the Bolivian embassy's contacts with the appropriate USG officials. In closing, Guzman offered his thoughts on Bolivia's troubled Constituent Assembly, noting that its probable demise would represent a major failure for the opposition as well as the GOB. He predicted that if the Constituent Assembly did not succeed, Morales would likely put the issues under consideration directly to the people in a referendum. RICE