EL SALVADOR: TPS ANNOUNCEMENT ROLLOUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 001066 SIPDIS DEPT FOR THE SECRETARY NSC FOR STEVE HADLEY DHS FOR SECRETARY CHERTOFF E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ES SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: TPS ANNOUNCEMENT ROLLOUT REF: A. SAN SALVADOR 1031 ¶B. SAN SALVADOR 700 Classified By: The Ambassador, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 4. ¶2. (C) Elmer Charlaix, Private Secretary to Salvadoran President Tony Saca, told the Ambassador September 5 the President was concerned and perplexed at USG handling of Temporary Protective Status (TPS) extension for El Salvador. Specifically, Charlaix said the GOES did not understand why the USG planned to treat perhaps its closest ally in the hemisphere equally with Nicaragua and Honduras. Charlaix said the discrepancy was especially acute since Nicaragua has recently recognized the breakaway Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and Honduras had just signed on to Venezuelan President Chavez,s ALBA complete with denunciations of the United States for good measure. ¶3. (C) Salvadoran Foreign Minister Marisol Argueta told DCM August 27 (Ref A) she hoped the TPS announcement be handled in a way was helpful to President Saca, specifically requesting the TPS rollout be choreographed to allow a Saca-POTUS meeting before the formal announcement. Argueta also made a similar point about El Salvador being a close ally. ¶4. (C) Comment and Action Request: We believe Saca's frustration with the TPS decision rollout is understandable. Embassy urges Washington consider the possibility of de-linking the Salvadoran TPS decision announcement from those of Nicaragua and Honduras in order to respond positively to this request from President Saca. GLAZER