FM MADURO BLAMES USG FOR OIL DISPUTE, TERRORISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000206

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/16/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV ENGR SNAR VE
SUBJECT: FM MADURO BLAMES USG FOR OIL DISPUTE, TERRORISM

REF: A. CARACAS 000168

B. CARACAS 000182

CARACAS 00000206 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR ROBERT RICHARD DOWNES,
REASON 1.4 (D)


1. (C) Summary. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro insisted to
local media February 13 that the USG is behind ExxonMobil's
dispute with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (BRV). He
also reiterated long-standing BRV accusations that the USG is
working with the opposition and local media to destabilize
the Hugo Chavez government. The next day, Maduro accused
President Bush and U.S. Representative Ros-Lehtinen of being
terrorists. Maduro also attributed two recent small
detonations in Caracas (for which a pro-government
organization claimed responsibility) to the United States.
Maduro's statements reflect his visceral anti-Americanism.
He is also one of many senior BRV officials, as reflected in
the BRV's media outlets, trying to shift the blame for all of
Venezuela's domestic problems onto the United States. End
Summary.

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Maduro Blames USG For ExxonMobil Dispute
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2. (U) Taking issue with a statement by the State Department
spokesman, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told the media
February 13 that the ongoing legal dispute between ExxonMobil
(XM) and Venezuela (Ref A) is not "commercial, but rather
political." Maduro defined the issue as one between
"President Chavez, who has recovered oil wealth for
Venezuelans and our continental sovereignty, and the United
States government and its internal (read, local) lackeys, who
prepared laws during the 1980's and 1990's to put their hands
on the largest energy reserves that exist on the planet."
Maduro also asserted that the USG is "nothing but the direct
representation of the oligarchy and transnational
bourgeoisie; it is the multinationals' state, which simply
operates through political power, in this case, the State
Department."


3. (U) The Venezuelan foreign minister also accused the media
and opposition politicians of exploiting ExxonMobil's
judicial efforts to freeze Venezuelan state oil company
PDVSA's assets to try to "destabilize" the Venezuelan
government. He said unspecified "small-time" political
personalities want to return to power in order to get their
hands directly on Venezuelan oil. He argued that rather than
seek compensation, ExxonMobil should pay compensation to the
people of Venezuela, the southern hemisphere, and other poor
people for "plundering over the course of a century." Maduro
said the BRV is engaging other countries in a "global effort"
to defend the sovereign interests of Venezuela.

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Maduro Blasts U.S. Member of Congress
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4. (U) Asked about local media reporting regarding U.S.
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's concerns about
Venezuelan ties to terrorism, Foreign Minister Maduro told
reporters February 14 that Ros-Lehtinin is "linked to
Cuban-American mafia terrorist groups." He accused the
congresswoman of protecting Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando
Bosch and added that the first person that should be placed
on a terrorism list is President Bush. Maduro also asserted
that the USG is engaged in a destabilization plan in
Venezuela and accused the USG of being responsible for the
detonation of small explosives in front of a statue of George
Washington and the Papal Nuncio in Caracas (Ref B). A
radical pro-government organization left leaflets at both
sites.


5. (U) Maduro also defended the BRV's counternarcotics
efforts. He said "Venezuela is one of the world's leaders in
drug seizures." Maduro noted that thousands of tons of
illicit drugs enter the United States despite the USG's
"money, power, and technology." He told the media that the
USG is spending resources in Iraq and building a fence along
the Mexican border "instead of combating drug distribution
and trafficking."

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Comment
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CARACAS 00000206 002.2 OF 002




6. (C) Foreign Minister Maduro's most recent outbursts
against the United States are representative of his
consistently shrill, anti-American public rhetoric. Maduro
is just one of many BRV officials seeking to exploit
ExxonMobil's commercial dispute with Venezuela to try to
rally flagging public support for President Chavez. National
Assembly President Cilia Flores even accused staunch Chavista
legislator Luis Tascon of being a pawn of the United State
after he made charges of corruption against the current tax
authority (SENIAT) director. Given rising public concern
over crime, inflation, and rolling shortages of basic
foodstuff, BRV officials appear predisposed to be even more
vitriolic than usual, if only to distract public attention
from pressing national problems. The BRV's latest rhetoric
is likely testing the credibility of even loyal Chavez
supporters.

DUDDY