HONDURAS: REVIEW FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 001836 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2017 TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL PHUM CUCO HN SUBJECT: HONDURAS: REVIEW FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT REF: A. A. STATE 158768 ¶B. B. TEGUCIGALPA 879 ¶C. C. TEGUCIGALPA 1652 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires James Williard, reasons 1.4 (b and d) (U) The following responses are keyed to the questions posed in Ref A. ¶1. (C) The GOH does not have any investments in Cuba. There are some companies that export products to Cuba, the biggest of which are Lido Pozuelo, Marmoles de Honduras, and Corporacion Dinant. ¶2. (C) The GOH does not have any bilateral trade agreements with Cuba. The two governments were working on establishing an agreement in 2001-2002, but it was never concluded. There is an agreement on investment promotion, but it is pending congressional approval. ¶3. (C) There are approximately 280 Cuban medical doctors working in Honduras. Cuban doctors first arrived after Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras in 1998. In October 1999, Honduras and Cuba signed an Agreement on Health Cooperation under which Cuban medical brigades provide health care in the most underdeveloped areas of the country, financed by the GOH. Cuba also provides scholarships for Hondurans to study medicine at the Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina (ELAM) in Havana. Approximately 300 Honduran students initiated the six-year program at ELAM in 1999 and 218 graduated in 2005 (reftel B). Post does not have data on the number of students that graduated in 2006. Additionally, in 2006 the Honduran press reported that the mayor of San Pedro Sula and the Cuban Ambassador signed an agreement for the provision of free reading and writing lessons in the municipality. According to the report, the Cuban Ambassador said that advisors would arrive in-country in mid-October 2006 to train program facilitators. The press also reported a proposal for 1,000 Cuban teachers to go to Honduras to "provide free education throughout the country." Post is not aware of these activities being carried out. ¶4. (C) In Post's opinion, the GOH has not worked to promote the advancement of democracy and human rights in Cuba. In a meeting in September 2007, Foreign Minister Milton Jimenez offered to serve as a conduit between the USG and GOC, and said the GOH would consider being receptive to civil society in Cuba, however we doubt the GOH will follow through on this pledge. ¶5. (C) Honduran President Manuel Zelaya traveled to Cuba on October 9 with a delegation of over fifty people, including the Foreign Minister, other cabinet members, and members of Congress. The delegation's stated purpose was to sign a maritime treaty with Cuba. However, after the delegation arrived in Cuba, the GOH announced that the signing was cancelled due to an International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision handed down the day before on a maritime dispute between Honduras and Nicaragua that could affect the borders between Honduras and Cuba. The trip was negatively reported in the Honduran press and most members of Congress considered it to be a "failure" (reftel C). WILLIARD