Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08LIMA1898
2008-12-10 20:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Lima
Cable title:
PERU RESPONSE TO CUBA: COUNTRY BY COUNTRY REVIEW
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C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 001898
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR WHA/CCA DAVID MCFARLAND AND WHA/AND
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018
TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL CU PE
SUBJECT: PERU RESPONSE TO CUBA: COUNTRY BY COUNTRY REVIEW
FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT
REF: STATE 126578
Classified By: CDA JAMES NEALON FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 001898
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR WHA/CCA DAVID MCFARLAND AND WHA/AND
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018
TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL CU PE
SUBJECT: PERU RESPONSE TO CUBA: COUNTRY BY COUNTRY REVIEW
FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT
REF: STATE 126578
Classified By: CDA JAMES NEALON FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (d).
1. (U) Following is Post's response to reftel questions.
PERUVIAN INVESTMENTS IN CUBA
--------------
2. (U) Post has not found any reliable data on Peruvian
investments in Cuba. The vast majority of Peru's limited
foreign direct investment is in Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador,
Central America, and the Cayman Islands. To the best of
our knowledge, no Peruvian businesses participated in the
Havana Trade Fair.
TRADE AGREEMENTS
--------------
3. (U) Under the 1980 Montevideo Treaty establishing the
Latin American Integration Association (LAIA),also known as
ALADI, Peru and Cuba both belong to the Economic
Complementation Agreement No. 50. Other member countries
include: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Peru and
Cuba also hold a bilateral investment agreement. Trade
between the two countries is minimal. From January to
December 2007, the value of Peru's exports to Cuba totaled
USD 2.3 million, ranking Cuba 75th worldwide in terms of
exports received from Peru. About 75 percent of Peru's
exports to Cuba consisted of: polymer plates, laminates,
sheets, strips, bags, cones and adhesives; books, brochures
and similar printed materials; and frozen, dry, salted or
briny squid and cuttlefish. Peru imports about half a
million dollars worth of products from Cuba per year,
including rum, vaccines and medical products.
PERU-CUBA EXCHANGE PROGRAMS
--------------
4. (SBU) In 1999 the two countries signed a Basic Agreement
on Technical Cooperation, but little has been implemented
under this agreement due to lack of financing and
prioritization. In 2008, then-Health Minister Hernan Garrido
Lecca signed several agreements to formalize Cuban medical
support in Peru. According to one agreement, the GOP will
provide funds in exchange for Cuban doctors and medical
expertise. The Minister also signed an agreement to
establish an ophthalmology center in Cusco. A third
agreement allows a Cuban medical brigade that has helped
Peruvian victims of the 2007 earthquake in Ica to remain in
the country longer-term. About 40 Peruvian students study
medicine and physical education in Cuba on GOC scholarships
at any given time.
GOP EFFORTS TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUBA
-------------- --------------
5. (C) Peru's leadership, including President Garcia, has
taken an ambivalent approach to promoting a democratic
transition in Cuba, and believe the current leadership
situation -- with Raul Castro formally in charge and Fidel
Castro still alive, presumably influencing events in some
manner from behind the scenes -- is fundamentally sensitive.
Garcia himself spoke out publicly several times during the
year criticizing political restrictions in Cuba. He has also
noted that incipient signs of a possible Cuban opening --
i.e., performance pay for public officials -- should be
encouraged. At the same time, GOP officials
emphasize that any transition process toward democracy should
be led by the Cuban people and that attempts by outside
actors to shape the outcome could cause a counterproductive
backlash.
HIGH LEVEL VISITS
--------------
6. (C) Peru's then-Health Minister Hernan Garrido Lecca
visited Cuba in late April of this year -- the first such
high-level visit in recent memory. Tentative plans for a
follow-on visit by the Foreign Minister later in the year, to
signal a thaw in bilateral relations and to encourage signs
of incipient reform under Raul Castro, did not come to
fruition.
ASSISTANCE
--------------
7. (U) In the aftermath of the earthquake in August 2007,
Cuba provided a trauma team consisting of 60 medical
professionals and medical equipment to the cities of Ica and
Pisco. The Cubans maintained two fully equipped hospitals
during the mission. As noted above, elements of this mission
have been formally allowed to remain in Peru longer-term in
the context of a formal bilateral agreement.
ASSISTANCE TO CUBA IN AFTERMATH OF HURRICANES
GUSTAV AND IKE
--------------
8. (U) No information has been found on a direct offer or
delivery of humanitarian aid; however, indirectly through the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA),Peru has pledged $10,000 of which some money
may be directed to assist the Cuban people.
NEALON
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR WHA/CCA DAVID MCFARLAND AND WHA/AND
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2018
TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL CU PE
SUBJECT: PERU RESPONSE TO CUBA: COUNTRY BY COUNTRY REVIEW
FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT
REF: STATE 126578
Classified By: CDA JAMES NEALON FOR REASONS 1.4(b) and (d).
1. (U) Following is Post's response to reftel questions.
PERUVIAN INVESTMENTS IN CUBA
--------------
2. (U) Post has not found any reliable data on Peruvian
investments in Cuba. The vast majority of Peru's limited
foreign direct investment is in Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador,
Central America, and the Cayman Islands. To the best of
our knowledge, no Peruvian businesses participated in the
Havana Trade Fair.
TRADE AGREEMENTS
--------------
3. (U) Under the 1980 Montevideo Treaty establishing the
Latin American Integration Association (LAIA),also known as
ALADI, Peru and Cuba both belong to the Economic
Complementation Agreement No. 50. Other member countries
include: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Peru and
Cuba also hold a bilateral investment agreement. Trade
between the two countries is minimal. From January to
December 2007, the value of Peru's exports to Cuba totaled
USD 2.3 million, ranking Cuba 75th worldwide in terms of
exports received from Peru. About 75 percent of Peru's
exports to Cuba consisted of: polymer plates, laminates,
sheets, strips, bags, cones and adhesives; books, brochures
and similar printed materials; and frozen, dry, salted or
briny squid and cuttlefish. Peru imports about half a
million dollars worth of products from Cuba per year,
including rum, vaccines and medical products.
PERU-CUBA EXCHANGE PROGRAMS
--------------
4. (SBU) In 1999 the two countries signed a Basic Agreement
on Technical Cooperation, but little has been implemented
under this agreement due to lack of financing and
prioritization. In 2008, then-Health Minister Hernan Garrido
Lecca signed several agreements to formalize Cuban medical
support in Peru. According to one agreement, the GOP will
provide funds in exchange for Cuban doctors and medical
expertise. The Minister also signed an agreement to
establish an ophthalmology center in Cusco. A third
agreement allows a Cuban medical brigade that has helped
Peruvian victims of the 2007 earthquake in Ica to remain in
the country longer-term. About 40 Peruvian students study
medicine and physical education in Cuba on GOC scholarships
at any given time.
GOP EFFORTS TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUBA
-------------- --------------
5. (C) Peru's leadership, including President Garcia, has
taken an ambivalent approach to promoting a democratic
transition in Cuba, and believe the current leadership
situation -- with Raul Castro formally in charge and Fidel
Castro still alive, presumably influencing events in some
manner from behind the scenes -- is fundamentally sensitive.
Garcia himself spoke out publicly several times during the
year criticizing political restrictions in Cuba. He has also
noted that incipient signs of a possible Cuban opening --
i.e., performance pay for public officials -- should be
encouraged. At the same time, GOP officials
emphasize that any transition process toward democracy should
be led by the Cuban people and that attempts by outside
actors to shape the outcome could cause a counterproductive
backlash.
HIGH LEVEL VISITS
--------------
6. (C) Peru's then-Health Minister Hernan Garrido Lecca
visited Cuba in late April of this year -- the first such
high-level visit in recent memory. Tentative plans for a
follow-on visit by the Foreign Minister later in the year, to
signal a thaw in bilateral relations and to encourage signs
of incipient reform under Raul Castro, did not come to
fruition.
ASSISTANCE
--------------
7. (U) In the aftermath of the earthquake in August 2007,
Cuba provided a trauma team consisting of 60 medical
professionals and medical equipment to the cities of Ica and
Pisco. The Cubans maintained two fully equipped hospitals
during the mission. As noted above, elements of this mission
have been formally allowed to remain in Peru longer-term in
the context of a formal bilateral agreement.
ASSISTANCE TO CUBA IN AFTERMATH OF HURRICANES
GUSTAV AND IKE
--------------
8. (U) No information has been found on a direct offer or
delivery of humanitarian aid; however, indirectly through the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA),Peru has pledged $10,000 of which some money
may be directed to assist the Cuban people.
NEALON