BELIZE: POSITIVE INITIAL MEETINGS WITH PM AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L BELMOPAN 000108

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR WHA/CEN - R. BEAL
EMBASSIES ALSO FOR LEGATT, DEA, REGIONAL AFFAIRS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR EPET SOCI BH
SUBJECT: BELIZE: POSITIVE INITIAL MEETINGS WITH PM AND
DEPUTY

REF: A. A) 07 BELMOPAN 287

B. B) BELMOPAN 93 (BOTH NOTAL)

Classified By: Ambassador Robert Dieter for reason 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Initial meetings with Prime Minister
Barrow and Deputy Prime Minister Vega went well. Both said
that they felt bilateral relations were on a good track.
They said that the main challenge ahead was to run a clean
administration, and while they were optimistic about the
future they also do not underestimate the challenges facing
Belize in the areas of crime, external debt and corruption.
END SUMMARY.


2. (U) In separate meetings February 19 the Ambassador
congratulated Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Deputy Prime
Minister Gaspar Vega for their party's election victory and
expressed his desire to continue building good relations
between Belize and the U.S.

PM BARROW
--------------


3. (U) Appearing relaxed, Barrow began by noting that he
was very pleased that the President called to congratulate
him on his election. He said that the two had had a good
conversation and that he was honored by the call.


4. (C) On bilateral relations, Barrow's assessment was that
things were going well. His only recommendation at this
early stage was "steady as she goes," with both countries
keeping an eye out for incremental improvements. In response
to a question about the implementation of bilateral
agreements on stolen cars and extradition, Barrow said that
he welcomed consultations to tighten up implementation and
treaty language.


5. (C) Barrow said he was still making appointments to
senior positions at ministries and other government bodies
and that it would be a few more weeks until the government
was fully functioning. He was planning a March 14 session
for the opening of the National Assembly, to be followed by a
dinner in Belize City for a wide group of stakeholders
including the diplomatic corps, business, labor and church
groups. Barrow saw this as an opportunity to reach out to
many people and outline a vision for his government. He did
say that Cathy Esquivel, wife of former Prime Minister Manuel
Esquivel, would be named to head the National AIDS
Commission. (COMMENT: From our perspective this is good
news. The U.S. contributes significantly to HIV/AIDS
prevention and we have had a sense for some time that
Belize's approach to the problem was poorly led and focused
more on attending conferences and giving speeches than
actually treating patients. Cathy Esquivel has been a member
of the Commission and is a business woman with a good
reputation for efficiency. END COMMENT.)


6. (C) Barrow said that one of his most pressing problems
was law and order. He noted in particular that the police
needed help to fight drugs and gangs more effectively. (NOTE:
Specific assistance requests will be sent by septel. END
NOTE.) He said the government needed a more effective
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to bring cases and
clear up a large backlog. The current DPP had a year left on
his contract but is in poor health and was not showing a lot
of leadership in bringing cases. Barrow spoke of the need
for a special court to try gang and gun-related cases to
speed them through the judicial system and address the most
serious offenses quickly.


7. (C) On public finances, Barrow noted that he had brought
the well-respected former Finance Secretary Dr. Carla Barnett
back to government to focus on the debt. There was a crucial
need to "bridge the financing gap" caused in part by
uncontrolled government spending in the run-up to the
election and which threatened the government's ability to
meet rescheduled debt payments. He said that he expected to
go to Taiwan for additional budget support, noting that
Taipei had always been helpful in the past.


8. (C) Regarding Venezuela, Barrow said that, while not
keen on Chavez's "hegemonic aspirations" in the region, the
bottom line was that Belize had to get funds from somewhere
to be able to service its debt. He said that there was a
"slightly bitter taste" in his party from the apparent

Venezuelan support for the rival PUP in the advance of the
election but that he did not rule out the need to ask
Venezuela for additional grants or loans. He said that he
"won't follow Chavez's wake on anti-Americanism" which he
said was "if fashionable, not practical." Barrow noted that
his days as a supporter of "noisy nationalism" were over and
that he was now "older and wiser."


9. (C) Barrow concluded by noting that, while a lot of
issues were outside of his control, good governance was
"totally on us." He and his government had the power to
improve ethical standards and behavior and if they did not do
so they could blame no one but themselves.

DEPUTY PM VEGA
--------------


10. (C) Much of the discussion with Gaspar Vega focused on
his ministerial portfolio at Natural Resources. The Ministry
maintains land records and issues titles and oversees as well
forestry and petroleum. It was rocked with scandals during
the Musa government, and Vega made it clear that one of his
main challenges was going to be cleaning up an inherited
mess. He said that Ministry staff were demoralized. He had
spoken to them saying that change had come and that the
Ministry would be run cleanly. Serious cases of wrongdoing
were going to be prosecuted and clearly inappropriate land
transactions were going to be revoked. Vega said that there
had already been some resignations from the Ministry as a
result.


11. (C) Vega expressed amazement at how far corruption had
gone in the previous government. Of the US$10 million grant
for "housing improvements" received from Venezuela just after
the election was called, Vega said that the new government
had determined that at least US$7.5 million had been rapidly
disbursed, mainly to help PUP candidates buy votes. (NOTE:
The new Minister of Housing subsequently told the press that
all of the money had been given away, often with little or no
documentation and in some cases to people who did not even
own houses. There is apparently no mechanism in place to
collect loan payments or to recover inappropriately disbursed
funds. END NOTE.)


12. (C) Vega also noted the frenzy with which the previous
government had sold off assets at low prices just before the
election, including Ministerial vehicles and construction
machinery from the Ministry of Works. He said efforts would
be made to investigate inappropriate transactions and seek to
recover government assets.


13. (C) On petroleum, Vega said that the Ministry was going
to review all of the exploration and production sharing
agreements recently made by the previous government. He
mentioned that he was going to meet with Allan Saum, an
American who had alleged that he had been asked for a bribe
by a previous Minister. He said he understood the importance
of a level playing field and a transparent process for
awarding oil agreements.


14. (U) When asked what sort of assistance his ministry
could use, Vega singled out the Forestry Department, which he
said is unable to enforce the laws and prevent illegal
logging. He agreed with the assessment that a strengthened
DPP able to carry out successful prosecutions would be a
significant help.


15. (C) Bio Note: Vega confirmed what he had previously
told Pol/Econ Chief: that he entered the U.S. illegally in
1980 while in transit from Jamaica to Belize, moved to
California and married a Belizean woman who was a U.S.
resident. He acquired residency through her and worked in
the insurance industry until 1988 when he returned to Belize.
He has three children born in the U.S. by his first wife and
two born in Belize by his second wife.

COMMENT
--------------


16. (C) Both Barrow and Vega seem realistic about the
challenges they face in trying to change the culture of
corruption that has taken hold in Belize. They both insist
that the days of impunity are over and that they are telling
Cabinet members that the UDP government will not operate the
way the PUP did. Both appeared candid in their desire for

continued good relations with the U.S., and our initial take
is that they will be amenable to working with us more closely
than the previous government.

DIETER