VENEZUELA: TITLE III OF LIBERTAD ACT

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000683 SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO WHA/CCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/19/2018 TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL CU VE SUBJECT: VENEZUELA: TITLE III OF LIBERTAD ACT REF: A. STATE 52541 ¶B. 2006 CARACAS 1096 ¶C. 2007 CARACAS 694 ¶D. 2007 CARACAS 597 ¶E. 2007 CARACAS 804 ¶F. 2006 CARACAS 3548 Classified By: Acting Economic Counselor Shawn E. Flatt for Reason 1.4 (D) ¶1. (C) In response to Reftel A, Post sees no evidence that the BRV has undertaken policies or actions to advance democracy, human rights, or fundamental freedoms in Cuba over the past year. On the contrary, President Hugo Chavez is Fidel Castro's closest ally, provides substantial resources to Cuba, and has repeatedly and publicly praised the Cuban government. Chavez has criticized countries for commenting on the human rights situation in Cuba. Post's response to Reftel A questions follow: ¶2. (C) What is the nature of investments (and names, if known) that host country businesses have in Cuba? As reported in Reftel B, state oil company PDVSA and state-owned Venezuela Industrial Bank have offices in Havana. In addition, PDVSA entered into a joint venture with the Cuban Petroleum Company (CUPET) to operate the Cienfuegos oil refinery. President Chavez inaugurated the refinery in December 2007 and it is expected to produce 65,000 barrels per day of petroleum products. PDVSA and CUPET also agreed to conduct joint studies in the Gulf of Mexico and other areas in Cuban territory. On January 27, 2007 Cuba and Venezuela signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the construction of a joint steel factory, three oil and petroleum distillates storage facilities, a nickel factory, and a study to evaluate the opening of a power station in Cuba. In December 2007, the Venezuelan social production company Petrocasa built 100 homes for the elderly and disabled in Cuba. Petrocasa supplied construction advice and the houses, which were made out of PVC. Cuba supplied concrete and steel for the project. We also understand that Venezuela private sector companies operate in Cuba, but we do not have a full listing of the companies or details of their operations. We are also unaware of BRV entities or individuals trafficking in confiscated property in Cuba. ¶3. (C) Are there any bilateral trade agreements between host country and Cuba? Yes, between January and November 2007, Venezuela and Cuba signed over 42 bilateral commercial agreements and Post calculates that these often vague promises of joint cooperation and projects are valued at an estimated USD 5.72 billion (Reftel C). Fourteen of these agreements were signed on October 15, 2007 and include petroleum exploration by PDVSA in Cuban waters, construction of a fiber optic telecommunications cable between Venezuela and Cuba, and the construction of a hotel on a Cuban key. On February 28, 2007 during the seventh meeting of the Cuba-Venezuela Intergovernmental Commission in Havana, participants announced the approval of 355 cooperation projects worth USD 1.5 billion, including an agreement to build 11 ethanol plants that process sugar cane (Reftel D). On April 29, 2007 Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba and Nicaragua signed numerous agreements in areas such as oil, education, health, finance, and culture to advance the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas and the People,s Commercial Treaty (ALBA-TCP). ALBA is a trade agreement/Latin America integration project that was created December 14, 2004 as a Venezuelan and Cuban proposal to counter the U.S. sponsored Free Trade Agreement for the Americas (FTAA). (Reftel E). Cuba and Venezuela signed an additional 14 agreements in December 2007. Several of the fourteen agreements were in the field of energy. Two agreements covered studies to increase the capacity of the Cienfugos refinery from 65,000 barrels per day to 108,000 to 150,000 barrels per day as well as a study to increase the capacity of the Hermanos Diaz refinery. The other agreements dealt with increasing the storage capacity of the Matanzas terminal and activating the Matanazas-Cienfuegos pipeline. In addition, an agreement was signed for the exploration and development of six hydrocarbon blocks in the Pinar del Rio province. Another agreement dealt with the development of chemical and petrochemical plants in the Cuban provinces of Ciego de Avila, Nuevitas, and Sagua la Grande. It is not clear what the remaining agreements covered. According to the PDVSA press release announcing the signing of the agreements, 27 Venezuelan-Cuban joint ventures are operating in Cuba and the Cuban-Venezuelan Mixed Commission invested 1.5 billion USD during 2007. In January 2008, during the seventh meeting of the Cuban Venezuelan Mixed Commission, representatives signed additional agreements for 76 projects primarily in the area of agriculture. Agreements were also signed for communications, sports, health, education and transportation projects but neither government revealed any details about the projects. According to a PDVSA press release dated January 18, 2006, the 76 projects will require an investment of almost 1.4 billion USD. Among the projects listed were the 11 ethanol plants. In addition, one agreement covered basic engineering studies for an animal feed plant. 18 Venezuelan government ministries and 21 Cuban ministries were tasked with carrying out the projects. Presidents Chavez and Castro signed the Integrated Cooperation Agreement (ICA) between Cuba and Venezuela on October 30, 2000. Under the 2004 amended terms of the ICA, Venezuela supplies 92,000 barrel of oil per day to Cuba in exchange for the following services in Venezuela: dentistry, optometry, diagnostic centers, rehabilitation units, medical equipment and medicine. Cuba also offers services in the following social missions: Mission Milagro (eye surgery for the poor),Deportes Barrio Adentro (sports),Mission de Amor, and Venezuela Adentro. Contacts allege that BRV imports from Cuba sometimes bypass customs and tax officials and enter Venezuela via military ports. These items are reportedly not considered in official trade statistics compiled by the BRV tax authority. ¶4. (C) Are there any exchange programs between host country and Cuba, including but not limited to: scholarships for host country nationals to study in Cuba; Cuban-paid medical travel for host country nationals; and Cuban doctors working in the host country? Venezuela and Cuba have wide-ranging exchange programs as noted in the previous paragraph. According to the January 2008 PDVSA press release, 39,000 Cubans were working in Venezuela with almost 31,000 working in the health sector. Details on the Cuban medical personnel's activities in Venezuela can be found in Reftel F. A December 2007 PDVSA press release claimed that one in 53 Venezuelans had received medical treatment under Cuban-Venezuelan medical programs. According to Cuban government-controlled online newspaper, Granma International, 2,400 Venezuelan doctors are enrolled in Cuban education institutions. In January 2007, Chavez also announced plans to send 100,000 poor Venezuelans on all-expense paid vacations to Cuba. Venezuelans would travel on Cuba's state-run airline Cubana de Aviacion. ¶5. (C) Has the host country, in Post's opinion, worked to promote the advancement of democracy and human rights in Cuba? No. Venezuela makes it a point to vote with Cuba and against the United States in multilateral fora. In addition, Venezuela staunchly defends Cuba publicly, including clearly undemocratic practices that abuse the fundamental freedoms of Cuban citizens. ¶6. (C) Have there been any high level diplomatic visits between Cuba and host country in the past six months? High-level visits between Venezuela and Cuba are frequent and ongoing. Most recently, President Chavez briefly stopped in Havana, on November 21, 2007 on his return from visits to Saudi Arabia, Iran, France and Portugal, and spoke with President Fidel Castro and First Vice President Raul Castro. Chavez returned to Cuba in December 2007 for the Cienfuegos oil refinery inauguration and signature of the 14 agreements mentioned in paragraph 3. Chavez has frequently made quick, unannounced visits to Cuba in the past and it is possible that he has visited Cuba more recently. Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez visited Cuba in January 2008 in order to attend the seventh meeting of the Cuban Venezuelan Mixed Commission. DUDDY