Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08PORTOFSPAIN315
2008-07-17 13:00:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Port Of Spain
Cable title:  

T&T PRIME MINISTER RAISES CUBA'S PARTICIPATION IN

Tags:  PREL OAS CU TT 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHSP #0315/01 1991300
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R 171300Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9286
INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000315 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR USOAS, WHA/EPSC, WHA/CAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2018
TAGS: PREL OAS CU TT
SUBJECT: T&T PRIME MINISTER RAISES CUBA'S PARTICIPATION IN
THE NEXT SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS WITH U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE
OAS

REF: PORT OF SPAIN 121

Classified By: Ambassador Roy L. Austin, reasons 1.4 (b,d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000315

SIPDIS

STATE FOR USOAS, WHA/EPSC, WHA/CAR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2018
TAGS: PREL OAS CU TT
SUBJECT: T&T PRIME MINISTER RAISES CUBA'S PARTICIPATION IN
THE NEXT SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS WITH U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE
OAS

REF: PORT OF SPAIN 121

Classified By: Ambassador Roy L. Austin, reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Manning asked visiting USOAS
Ambassador Morales what it would take for the U.S. to agree
to Cuba's participation in the next Summit of the Americas.
Asserting that there is "clear change" in Cuba, Manning said
he hopes the U.S. would relax its stance. Morales responded
by making it clear that the US would oppose any effort to
include Cuba in the Summit. He said that the U.S. hopes to
see real change in Cuba, and he underscored that the 34
democracies of the Hemisphere have agreed that democracy and
the rule of law are the conditions for participating in the
Summit. Manning indicated that CARICOM Heads would put the
same question to the U.S. presidential candidates, whom they
were seeking to meet during the mid-June Caribbean conference
in New York. Manning also shared views on Summit themes and
relations with the U.S. and Venezuela. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) US Ambassador to the OAS Hector Morales and
Ambassador Austin met with Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) Prime
Minister Patrick Manning on May 19 to discuss preparations
for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, which will take place
in Port of Spain in April 2009. Manning was joined by
Ambassador Luis Alberto Rodriguez, the GOTT National Summit
Coordinator, as well as Nieves Callendar and Page DeLeon from
the Office of the Prime Minister. State/E Special Assistant
Tom Pierce and A/DCM also attended.


3. (SBU) Manning said he is looking for the right opportunity
to announce the dates of the Summit, which will be April
17-19, 2009. (NOTE: T&T's Foreign Minister subsequently
announced the April 17-19 dates at the OAS General Assembly
meeting in Medellin.) He noted that it will be the first of
two summit meetings taking place next year in Port of Spain,
followed by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in
October 2009. Morales responded that the Summit will also be
the first opportunity for a new U.S. President to meet with
the other 34 democratically elected leaders of the hemisphere.

--------------
Cuba at the Summit ) What would it take?

--------------


4. (C) Keying off the reference to democracy, Manning asked
what it would take for the U.S. to agree to Cuba's
participation in the Summit. While professing to understand
the U.S. position, Manning asserted that Raul Castro is "not
the same as Fidel" and that there is "clear change" taking
place in Cuba. He added that even U.S. companies are
positioning themselves in expectation that Cuba will open up.
In response, Morales told Manning that the U.S. would oppose
any effort to include Cuba in the Summit. Morales noted that
the U.S. would not be alone in this opposition, saying that
the 34 democracies of the Hemisphere have agreed that
democracy and the rule of law are the conditions for
participating in the Summit. He cited both the Quebec Summit
declaration and the Inter-American Democratic Charter as
precedents. With respect to conditions in Cuba, Morales
underscored that the U.S. hopes to see real change.


5. (C) Manning argued that in light of U.S. relations with
China, it appears "duplicitous" for the U.S. to hold on to an
"extreme" position on Cuba. As Cuba makes "a move to
liberalize," Manning continued, he hoped the U.S. would also
move to relax its policies. The Quebec Summit declaration
may have been appropriate in 2001, he added, but
circumstances have changed. Manning indicated that he would
raise the issue again during visits to the U.S., including
the upcoming Caribbean conference in New York, where CARICOM
Heads hope to engage the U.S. presidential candidates.
Morales reiterated that the U.S. hopes to see real change in
Cuba such as free and fair elections and human rights
improvements, but stressed that both this U.S. administration
and the next one will continue to view the issue of Summit
participation in accordance with past hemispheric
commitments.

--------------
Summit Themes
--------------

6. (C) Turning to SOA themes, Morales welcomed T&T's focus on
human prosperity, energy security, and environmental
sustainability, but he also signaled that leaders would need
to be careful not to make commitments on climate change that
might harm the region's competitiveness. While Manning did
not comment on whether T&T would seek a mandate on climate
change at the Summit, he did avow that as a regional center

PORT OF SP 00000315 002 OF 002


of heavy industry T&T would do its part to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions. He further commented that he saw no viable
alternatives to replace fossil fuels, although he hoped to
see reconsideration of nuclear power in developed countries.


7. (C) On security, Manning said the key issue for the
Caribbean is drug trafficking, a problem "not of our making."
Successful counter-narcotics efforts in Mexico and Colombia
had diverted the drug trade to the Eastern Caribbean. T&T
was doing its part by strengthening its own defenses, helping
to upgrade the Regional Security System's fleet of C-26
aircraft, and making resources available to less prosperous
islands by contributing US$79 million annually to the CARICOM
Petroleum Fund. Nevertheless, while the Caribbean
understands the need for self-reliance, Manning urged the
U.S. not to underestimate the region's susceptibility to
corruption at the hands of drug traffickers. He also relayed
that T&T will convene a "commanders' conference" in mid-June
for Southern Caribbean nations to discuss with the U.S. and
other outside partners how best to cooperate on regional
security.

--------------
Relations with the U.S., Venezuela
--------------


8. (C) On bilateral relations, Manning briefly noted his past
sense that the U.S. had taken for granted T&T's role in U.S.
energy security as the leading supplier of liquefied natural
gas. Manning indicated that the relationship has improved,
thanks in part to the recent visit of U.S. Energy Secretary
Bodman, and he said he would welcome a visit by the Secretary
of Defense as well.


9. (C) Manning described T&T's relations with Venezuela as
"not what they should be" and said he is attempting to change
that. He had spoken with Hugo Chavez on the margins of the
recent EU-Latin America meeting in Lima, and the two had
agreed to meet "at the earliest opportunity."

--------------
Summit Coordinator Downplays Cuba
--------------


10. (C) In a follow-on meeting May 20, TT National Summit
Coordinator Rodriguez professed surprise that Manning had
raised Cuba with Morales, and he asserted that the issue had
never come up in his own extensive consultations with the
Prime Minister on Summit preparations. Morales told
Rodriguez that if Cuba's participation in the Summit is a
priority for T&T, it would create a significant problem and
result in the US not participating. Rodriquez said he was
not in a position to interpret Manning's words, but he sought
to put the PM's question into the context of ongoing regional
discussion of how Cuba might play "a more effective role" in
the Caribbean. Rodriguez asserted that T&T's priorities for
the Summit are poverty, the environment, food security, and
energy security, and T&T does not want Cuba to become a
Summit "side-show" that would divert attention from these
issues.
AUSTIN