BRV APPOINTS OLD FACES TO NEW PLACES

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000536 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR USOAS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR VE SUBJECT: BRV APPOINTS OLD FACES TO NEW PLACES REF: CARACAS 000284 Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Daniel Lawton for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) Summary. The National Assembly (NA) confirmed three veteran loyalists as ambassadors to the United Nations (UN), Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) on April 10. Vice Foreign Minister for North American Affairs Jorge Valero will reportedly maintain his MFA job, but also become Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the UN. Ambassador Roy Chaderton will transfer from Mexico City to replace Valero as Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the OAS. Former Human Rights Ombudsman German Mundarain will go to Geneva. All three political appointees have extensive senior government experience and reputations as "polished" Bolivarian ideologues. End Summary. Jorge Valero: New UN PermRep -------------- ¶2. (C) Vice Foreign Minister Jorge Valero will assume duties as Venezuela's PermRep to the United Nations. According to North American Affairs Director Yaneth Arocha, Valero will also continue to be Vice Minister for North American Affairs and Multilateral Affairs, moving back and forth between New York and Caracas. A utility diplomat, Valero covered three geographic bureaus during 2007-2008 MFA senior staffing gaps (Reftel). At the MFA, he was rarely accessible to U.S. or Canadian diplomats. Valero replaces Francisco Arias Cardenas, who has assumed duties as the MFA Vice Minister for Latin America. ¶3. (SBU) Valero has served as Venezuela's Ambassador to the OAS from 2002-2006 and staunchly defended the Chavez government there during the short-lived 2002 coup, the recall referendum, and during an OAS debate about Venezuelan interference in Peru's elections. He attracted local headlines in 2004 by using the OAS as a platform to make false accusations about purported U.S. violations of Venezuelan sovereignty. Valero took specific aim at the democracy promotion programs of USAID and the National Endowment of Democracy, arguing that such programs support "anti-democratic activities of the opposition." Roy Chaderton: New OAS PermRep -------------- ¶4. (C) Roy Chaderton Matos replaces Jorge Valero as Venezuela's PermRep to the OAS. A career diplomat, Chaderton served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Hugo Chavez from 2002 to 2004. He is currently the BRV's ambassador to Mexico, where he has met public criticism for Venezuela's support for left-wing opposition groups and the BRV's recent decision to nationalize the cement industry (affecting a major Mexican firm). Chaderton previously served as Venezuela's emissary to LONDON and Bogota, In Colombia, he was part of a group trying to mediate a peace agreement between the FARC and the Pastrana administration. Chaderton is a former member of the Christian Democrat Party (COPEI). German Mundarain: New Geneva PermRep -------------- ¶5. (C) German Mundarain served as the BRV's Human Rights Ombudsman from 2000-2007. He was widely perceived among human rights NGOs as ineffective and as an apologist for the central government. In the run-up to the December 2 constitutional referendum, Mundarain traveled extensively abroad to explain and defend President Chavez's proposed constitutional reforms. This is his first diplomatic assignment. ¶6. (C) Comment. Like Chavez's cabinet changes in January and his appointments to senior positions of his United Socialist Party of Venezuela, these diplomatic appointments represent a reshuffling of senior Chavez loyalists rather than incorporating or promoting new faces. All three officials have significant government experience and are widely perceived as some of the most articulate spokespersons for the Venezuelan government. End Comment. DUDDY