AMBASSADOR RAISES CARICOM LETTER WITH PM GONSALVES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRIDGETOWN 000646

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV XL
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RAISES CARICOM LETTER WITH PM GONSALVES
AT NATIONAL DAY

REF: WHA-EMBASSY EMAIL OF 10/23

Classified By: A/DCM Ian Campbell, reasons 1.5 (b,d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The Ambassador used the occasion of St. Vincent's
National Day celebration to call Prime Minister Gonsalves to
account over an inflammatory letter he sent to CARICOM
leaders on September 24. In the letter, Gonsalves expressed
support for irresponsible accusations by the Venezuelan
Ambassador to St. Vincent about American involvement in
alleged plots to assassinate Venezuelan president Chavez.
The usually affable Gonsalves was visibly taken aback by the
exchange - the planned 15 minute pull-aside went only 30
minutes, instead of the usual three hours he allocates for
private conversations with the Ambassador. Despite getting
the message this time, though, it is unlikely Gonsalves will
change his public tune or his behavior in the foreseeable
future. End summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador attended St. Vincent National Day
events October 27, including both the National Day parade and
a follow-on "Toast to the Nations" at the Prime Minister's
residence. Gonsalves used his nationally-broadcast National
Day speech at the parade to defend his foreign policy, noting
the need for St. Vincent to reach out to non-traditional
allies as support from traditional friends has slackened (but
notably not making specific reference to Iran, with whom St.
Vincent established relations earlier in the year).
Gonsalves blamed a multitude of sins on outside forces,
casting St. Vincent as the unwitting victim and attributing
the U.S. and other "western capitalist" countries as chief
culprits. He said the U.S. financial crisis is the primary
reason for St. Vincent's sluggish economy, and blamed western
capitalism for everything from global warming to oil prices
to the presence of drugs and guns in St. Vincent - ignoring
some rather obvious realities on many of these issues. He
did, though, note the contributions of all of St. Vincent's
benefactors, including the U.S. (after Australia and well
behind Cuba, Venezuela, and Taiwan, among others). The Toast
to the Nations following the parade was a less formal affair
- and was not broadcast. At the Toast, the PM went on at
great length about contributions of all the nations
represented to St. Vincent's development, giving the U.S.
rather more credit in the more private setting.


3. (C) Following the Toast, the Ambassador and Gonsalves
met privately for about 30 minutes. The Ambassador raised
the ref A points regarding the letter Gonsalves sent to
CARICOM leaders on September 24, noting the USG's deep
disappointment from an erstwhile friend in the region. The
Ambassador asked Gonsalves pointedly why he would accept
uncritically the accusations of a Venezuelan Ambassador who
had been at his post less than four months (and whose name he
could not even remember),without first seeking clarification
from the U.S. Ambassador, a traditional partner, whom he has
known for over two years. Gonsalves responded that the proof
he was shown by the Venezuelan was so "compelling" that he
felt justified in penning the letter, but he could not recall
any of the details of this compelling proof. He promised the
Ambassador he would ask the Venezuelans to forward the
information to him so he could send it to her. Gonsalves did
his level best to evade and obfuscate throughout the
conversation, turning the conversation to Bolivia, to Haiti
under Aristide, and even to the U.S. elections. When it
became clear that the Ambassador would not humor his endless
digressions, and continued to return the conversation to his
disappointing actions, Gonsalves tried to defend his support
for the Venezuelan accusations by citing a history of U.S.
government-sanctioned adventurism in the Caribbean dating
back to the 1950's. the meeting ended shortly thereafter,
with Gonsalves noting a need to get back to his constituents.

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COMMENT
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4. (C) Gonsalves was visibly rankled by this exchange - he
was uncharacteristically unable to talk his way out of, or
around, our displeasure over his irresponsible actions. He
usually holds forth for hours with the Ambassador at every
opportunity, making this meeting - at just 15 minutes past
the scheduled time allotment - abrupt by his standards. He
clearly received the message, but it is unlikely the exchange
will lead to any more responsible behavior in the foreseeable
future, as his National Day remarks reinforced.
OURISMAN