Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BRIDGETOWN249
2009-04-27 19:26:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bridgetown
Cable title:
CODEL ENGEL VISIT TO ST. VINCENT HIGHLIGHTS SUMMIT
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRIDGETOWN 000249
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/CAR AND H
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL EFIN IR XL
SUBJECT: CODEL ENGEL VISIT TO ST. VINCENT HIGHLIGHTS SUMMIT
OF AMERICAS, SECURITY, TAX HAVENS, KOSOVO, AND IRAN
-------
Summary
-------
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRIDGETOWN 000249
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/CAR AND H
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL EFIN IR XL
SUBJECT: CODEL ENGEL VISIT TO ST. VINCENT HIGHLIGHTS SUMMIT
OF AMERICAS, SECURITY, TAX HAVENS, KOSOVO, AND IRAN
--------------
Summary
--------------
1. (SBU) During an April 19-20 visit to St. Vincent and the
Grenadines (SVG),a CODEL chaired by New York Congressman
Eliot Engel met with Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, Foreign
Minister Sir Louis Straker, and a host of local dignitaries.
The just-concluded Summit of the Americas, new directions in
U.S. foreign policy, tax havens, regional security, and Iran
headlined the CODEL's conversation with PM Gonsalves.
Gonsalves spoke glowingly about the outcome of the Summit of
the Americas and apprised the CODEL of his planned trip to
Portugal, the Holy See and Tehran. Also during the visit, FM
Straker confirmed that St. Vincent had agreed to join ALBA at
the meeting hosted by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela prior to the
Summit, but assured the CODEL that his country would not
participate in any military aspects of the association. End
summary.
--------------
St. Vincent Hosts CODEL Engel
--------------
2. (SBU) Foreign Minister Straker, a college classmate of
Congressman Engel, hosted the CODEL, whose other members were
Congressman Gregory Meeks and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.
St. Vincent's MFA provided excellent support throughout, and
hosted a lunch for the CODEL with Cabinet members and other
senior officials. In the course of the visit, The CODEL
visited Peace Corps projects targeting youth at risk and
seeking to create new employment opportunities, saw the
country's showpiece new tourism developments, and were driven
through the construction site for the proposed new $220
million airport, which Straker said was slated for completion
in 2012. The second day the delegation met the Prime
Minister, the Governor General and accepted Straker's
personal hospitality at his home, where he proudly displayed
several finds from his recent official visit to Iran.
--------------
Gonsalves Holds Forth
--------------
3. (SBU) On April 20, the CODEL met with PM Gonsalves, who,
like the CODEL, had just returned from the Summit of the
Americas in Trinidad. Gonsalves expressed satisfaction with
the dialogue at and outcome of the Summit, noting that a
solid foundation had been laid at the bilateral meetings
between CARICOM leaders and President Obama to improve
relations and expand cooperation in security, trade,
development, migration, and on the issue of tax havens.
Gonsalves told the CODEL that, while in Venezuela just prior
to the Summit, he had told Hugo Chavez that although U.S.
policy toward Cuba had been a failure to date, he sensed a
new mood and advised Chavez to give Obama a chance to explore
new ground with the Cuban government. The CODEL agreed that
Cuba was ripe for change and welcomed Raul Castro's apparent
willingness to put a broad range of issues on the table, but
Chairman Engel also noted that the Castro regime would need
to take some responsible steps to defrost the relationship,
notably on human rights. Looking further afield, Gonsalves
said the depiction of Nicaragua as the "Soviet and Cuban
beachhead in the 1980s" was still fresh in the mind of
President Ortega, and expressed concern that the U.S. does
not fully grasp the impact of this historical baggage on its
relationship with Nicaragua. "It requires time for men to
get things out of their system," Gonsalves explained. "It is
a catharsis." The CODEL assured Gonsalves that the
Administration does understand the history in the hemisphere,
adding that President Obama wants to move forward beyond the
arguments of the past to bring greater prosperity and
security throughout the Hemisphere.
4. (SBU) Gonsalves also shared his perspectives on Bolivian
President Evo Morales, who, he claimed, personified the whole
history of repression of the indigenous people and whose
ability to control the pent-up historical frustrations was
limited. He described Morales as a leader for whom normal
tactical considerations play little role, and who acts on
emotions rather than political reason. Chairman Engel noted
that Morales' decision to declare our Ambassador persona non
BRIDGETOWN 00000249 002 OF 003
grata on charges that were demonstrably false had
unfortunately set back relations. Responding to a question
from the CODEL, FM Straker confirmed that St. Vincent had
joined Hugo Chavez' Bolivian Alternative for the Americas
(ALBA),but assured the CODEL that St. Vincent would not be a
part of any of the military aspects of the organization.
--------------
Tax Havens
--------------
5. (SBU) Turning to financial issues, Gonsalves argued that
the Caribbean has received a "bad rap" when it comes to the
topic of tax havens. By way of illustration, he expanded on
the recent case of the Millennium Bank in St. Vincent, which
had come under investigation by the SEC and had generated
negative headlines about St. Vincent. Acknowledging that the
bank may have been a front for a ponzi scheme, Gonsalves
maintained that the St. Vincent bank's role was substantially
less than the U.S. banks with which it was affiliated. He
described how the bank collected funds from customers in the
U.S. and then immediately forwarded the funds back to the
U.S. for deposit in a U.S. bank. Very little of the money
($4 million) actually stayed in St. Vincent, he noted, but
when the news broke that the Millennium bank was coming under
investigation, all eyes looked at St. Vincent as the catalyst
instead of focusing on the U.S.-based perpetrators of the
fraud. Gonsalves pointed out that, while tax havens may be
an issue of concern and fairness in the U.S., most of them
are closely connected with or run out of the U.S., and that
tarring the entire Caribbean offshore financial sector for
the illegal acts of a few American criminals or tax evaders
was unfair.
--------------
Security: "We're Doing You a Favor"
--------------
6. (SBU) Turning to regional security, Gonsalves provided his
assessment of challenges facing the region, though his
comments betrayed a lack of understanding of some current
arrangements. Gonsalves averred that the U.S., in its
preoccupation with Iraq and Afghanistan, had shifted most of
its funds and assets out of the Caribbean. He commented that
before the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. supported
two C-26 aircraft in the region for drug interdiction and
other security purposes, but that the funding had been taken
away and the aircraft were just sitting and needed to be
mothballed. (COMMENT: This depiction is largely inaccurate.
The C-26s, which were donated by the U.S. to Barbados on
behalf of the Regional Security System, are still flying with
funding coming primarily from Barbados with some new U.S.
support from JIATF-S. According to the RSS Coordinator, the
primary limitation on the C-26's operational abilities is the
failure of St. Vincent, Dominica and Antigua to pay their
share of the operating costs. END COMMENT) Gonsalves went
on to describe the Regional Security System as very costly,
and said he believes Caribbean nations are doing the U.S. a
favor by stemming the flow of drugs through the Caribbean.
The decision to cut the C-26 aircraft funding, he said, just
didn't make sense.
-------------- ---
CODEL Registers Concern Over Relations with Iran
-------------- ---
7. (SBU) On the margins of the meetings and discussions, the
CODEL registered its concerns with both PM Gonsalves and FM
Straker about St. Vincent's recent decision to open
diplomatic relations with Iran and the PM's visit to Iran to
seek support for his new airport project. Chairman Engel
noted Iran's continued defiance of UN resolutions and
unwillingness to work with the international community
constructively. He also expressed concern about the motives
behind Iran's expanding interest in the Caribbean and Latin
America. FM Straker acknowledged the risks involved, but
said that St. Vincent needed international support if it was
to be able to complete its signature airport project, which
the government believes is vital to the nation's development.
He said the government would welcome U.S. involvement as
well.
BRIDGETOWN 00000249 003 OF 003
--------------
Recognition of Kosovo
--------------
8. (SBU) Chairman Engel also urged the FM and PM to move
ahead with recognition of Kosovo. He noted the progress
Kosovo had made in meeting goals established by the UN in
ensuring minority rights, the strong support of international
financial institutions, and the expanding number of states
that have recognized Kosovo. Both Gonsalves and Straker took
on board the case for recognition and promised to review the
issue.
--------------
Recapitalization of the IDB
--------------
9. (SBU) Congressman Meeks, who chairs the House
Sub-Committee on International Monetary Policy and Trade,
asked PM Gonsalves how the recapitalization of the IDB would
benefit St. Vincent. Gonsalves noted that the cost of
subscription for individual OAS countries had made IDB
membership prohibitive for St. Vincent, which received funds
from the Caribbean Development Bank. Meeks indicated to
Gonsalves that the region need to develop a unified approach
to its borrowing from the IDB.
--------------
Appeal on UNGA Votes
--------------
10. (SBU) In side meetings with FM Straker, Chairman Engel
appealed to the Foreign minister to re-examine St. VIncent's
voting pattern on some key UNGA issues. He urged St. Vincent
to move from "yes" to abstaining, or at least absenting form
the votes, on The Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Special
Committee to Investigate Israeli Human Rights Abuses, and the
Division on Palestinian Affairs in the Office of the
Secretary General. Straker agreed to look into these issues
and to consider a new approach to voting, adding that a visit
of OECS foreign ministers to Israel might provide an
opportunity for decision makers in the Eastern Caribbean to
gain fresh perspective on these issues.
--------------
Comment
--------------
11. (SBU) Gonsalves was in good spirits following a
successful Summit of the Americas, and was clearly looking
for ways to engage the U.S. in positive fashion. That said,
he is still looking for the U.S. to do most of the work,
whether in funding improvements to security, strengthening
regulation of banks, or in regard to Cuba. The CODEL's tour
of the future airport site revealed a project long on
ambition but, so far short on results. A massive engineering
exercise will be needed to literally move mountains and fill
in valleys just to prepare the ground for development - this
on top of the over $100 million already spent to purchase
homes and land to relocate families living in the path of
this Caribbean Three Gorges Dam equivalent. If the project
comes together, we will be in a good position to assist SVG
in meeting international standards on airport management and
security.
12. (U) CODEL Engel has cleared this message.
HARDT
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/CAR AND H
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL EFIN IR XL
SUBJECT: CODEL ENGEL VISIT TO ST. VINCENT HIGHLIGHTS SUMMIT
OF AMERICAS, SECURITY, TAX HAVENS, KOSOVO, AND IRAN
--------------
Summary
--------------
1. (SBU) During an April 19-20 visit to St. Vincent and the
Grenadines (SVG),a CODEL chaired by New York Congressman
Eliot Engel met with Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, Foreign
Minister Sir Louis Straker, and a host of local dignitaries.
The just-concluded Summit of the Americas, new directions in
U.S. foreign policy, tax havens, regional security, and Iran
headlined the CODEL's conversation with PM Gonsalves.
Gonsalves spoke glowingly about the outcome of the Summit of
the Americas and apprised the CODEL of his planned trip to
Portugal, the Holy See and Tehran. Also during the visit, FM
Straker confirmed that St. Vincent had agreed to join ALBA at
the meeting hosted by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela prior to the
Summit, but assured the CODEL that his country would not
participate in any military aspects of the association. End
summary.
--------------
St. Vincent Hosts CODEL Engel
--------------
2. (SBU) Foreign Minister Straker, a college classmate of
Congressman Engel, hosted the CODEL, whose other members were
Congressman Gregory Meeks and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke.
St. Vincent's MFA provided excellent support throughout, and
hosted a lunch for the CODEL with Cabinet members and other
senior officials. In the course of the visit, The CODEL
visited Peace Corps projects targeting youth at risk and
seeking to create new employment opportunities, saw the
country's showpiece new tourism developments, and were driven
through the construction site for the proposed new $220
million airport, which Straker said was slated for completion
in 2012. The second day the delegation met the Prime
Minister, the Governor General and accepted Straker's
personal hospitality at his home, where he proudly displayed
several finds from his recent official visit to Iran.
--------------
Gonsalves Holds Forth
--------------
3. (SBU) On April 20, the CODEL met with PM Gonsalves, who,
like the CODEL, had just returned from the Summit of the
Americas in Trinidad. Gonsalves expressed satisfaction with
the dialogue at and outcome of the Summit, noting that a
solid foundation had been laid at the bilateral meetings
between CARICOM leaders and President Obama to improve
relations and expand cooperation in security, trade,
development, migration, and on the issue of tax havens.
Gonsalves told the CODEL that, while in Venezuela just prior
to the Summit, he had told Hugo Chavez that although U.S.
policy toward Cuba had been a failure to date, he sensed a
new mood and advised Chavez to give Obama a chance to explore
new ground with the Cuban government. The CODEL agreed that
Cuba was ripe for change and welcomed Raul Castro's apparent
willingness to put a broad range of issues on the table, but
Chairman Engel also noted that the Castro regime would need
to take some responsible steps to defrost the relationship,
notably on human rights. Looking further afield, Gonsalves
said the depiction of Nicaragua as the "Soviet and Cuban
beachhead in the 1980s" was still fresh in the mind of
President Ortega, and expressed concern that the U.S. does
not fully grasp the impact of this historical baggage on its
relationship with Nicaragua. "It requires time for men to
get things out of their system," Gonsalves explained. "It is
a catharsis." The CODEL assured Gonsalves that the
Administration does understand the history in the hemisphere,
adding that President Obama wants to move forward beyond the
arguments of the past to bring greater prosperity and
security throughout the Hemisphere.
4. (SBU) Gonsalves also shared his perspectives on Bolivian
President Evo Morales, who, he claimed, personified the whole
history of repression of the indigenous people and whose
ability to control the pent-up historical frustrations was
limited. He described Morales as a leader for whom normal
tactical considerations play little role, and who acts on
emotions rather than political reason. Chairman Engel noted
that Morales' decision to declare our Ambassador persona non
BRIDGETOWN 00000249 002 OF 003
grata on charges that were demonstrably false had
unfortunately set back relations. Responding to a question
from the CODEL, FM Straker confirmed that St. Vincent had
joined Hugo Chavez' Bolivian Alternative for the Americas
(ALBA),but assured the CODEL that St. Vincent would not be a
part of any of the military aspects of the organization.
--------------
Tax Havens
--------------
5. (SBU) Turning to financial issues, Gonsalves argued that
the Caribbean has received a "bad rap" when it comes to the
topic of tax havens. By way of illustration, he expanded on
the recent case of the Millennium Bank in St. Vincent, which
had come under investigation by the SEC and had generated
negative headlines about St. Vincent. Acknowledging that the
bank may have been a front for a ponzi scheme, Gonsalves
maintained that the St. Vincent bank's role was substantially
less than the U.S. banks with which it was affiliated. He
described how the bank collected funds from customers in the
U.S. and then immediately forwarded the funds back to the
U.S. for deposit in a U.S. bank. Very little of the money
($4 million) actually stayed in St. Vincent, he noted, but
when the news broke that the Millennium bank was coming under
investigation, all eyes looked at St. Vincent as the catalyst
instead of focusing on the U.S.-based perpetrators of the
fraud. Gonsalves pointed out that, while tax havens may be
an issue of concern and fairness in the U.S., most of them
are closely connected with or run out of the U.S., and that
tarring the entire Caribbean offshore financial sector for
the illegal acts of a few American criminals or tax evaders
was unfair.
--------------
Security: "We're Doing You a Favor"
--------------
6. (SBU) Turning to regional security, Gonsalves provided his
assessment of challenges facing the region, though his
comments betrayed a lack of understanding of some current
arrangements. Gonsalves averred that the U.S., in its
preoccupation with Iraq and Afghanistan, had shifted most of
its funds and assets out of the Caribbean. He commented that
before the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. supported
two C-26 aircraft in the region for drug interdiction and
other security purposes, but that the funding had been taken
away and the aircraft were just sitting and needed to be
mothballed. (COMMENT: This depiction is largely inaccurate.
The C-26s, which were donated by the U.S. to Barbados on
behalf of the Regional Security System, are still flying with
funding coming primarily from Barbados with some new U.S.
support from JIATF-S. According to the RSS Coordinator, the
primary limitation on the C-26's operational abilities is the
failure of St. Vincent, Dominica and Antigua to pay their
share of the operating costs. END COMMENT) Gonsalves went
on to describe the Regional Security System as very costly,
and said he believes Caribbean nations are doing the U.S. a
favor by stemming the flow of drugs through the Caribbean.
The decision to cut the C-26 aircraft funding, he said, just
didn't make sense.
-------------- ---
CODEL Registers Concern Over Relations with Iran
-------------- ---
7. (SBU) On the margins of the meetings and discussions, the
CODEL registered its concerns with both PM Gonsalves and FM
Straker about St. Vincent's recent decision to open
diplomatic relations with Iran and the PM's visit to Iran to
seek support for his new airport project. Chairman Engel
noted Iran's continued defiance of UN resolutions and
unwillingness to work with the international community
constructively. He also expressed concern about the motives
behind Iran's expanding interest in the Caribbean and Latin
America. FM Straker acknowledged the risks involved, but
said that St. Vincent needed international support if it was
to be able to complete its signature airport project, which
the government believes is vital to the nation's development.
He said the government would welcome U.S. involvement as
well.
BRIDGETOWN 00000249 003 OF 003
--------------
Recognition of Kosovo
--------------
8. (SBU) Chairman Engel also urged the FM and PM to move
ahead with recognition of Kosovo. He noted the progress
Kosovo had made in meeting goals established by the UN in
ensuring minority rights, the strong support of international
financial institutions, and the expanding number of states
that have recognized Kosovo. Both Gonsalves and Straker took
on board the case for recognition and promised to review the
issue.
--------------
Recapitalization of the IDB
--------------
9. (SBU) Congressman Meeks, who chairs the House
Sub-Committee on International Monetary Policy and Trade,
asked PM Gonsalves how the recapitalization of the IDB would
benefit St. Vincent. Gonsalves noted that the cost of
subscription for individual OAS countries had made IDB
membership prohibitive for St. Vincent, which received funds
from the Caribbean Development Bank. Meeks indicated to
Gonsalves that the region need to develop a unified approach
to its borrowing from the IDB.
--------------
Appeal on UNGA Votes
--------------
10. (SBU) In side meetings with FM Straker, Chairman Engel
appealed to the Foreign minister to re-examine St. VIncent's
voting pattern on some key UNGA issues. He urged St. Vincent
to move from "yes" to abstaining, or at least absenting form
the votes, on The Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Special
Committee to Investigate Israeli Human Rights Abuses, and the
Division on Palestinian Affairs in the Office of the
Secretary General. Straker agreed to look into these issues
and to consider a new approach to voting, adding that a visit
of OECS foreign ministers to Israel might provide an
opportunity for decision makers in the Eastern Caribbean to
gain fresh perspective on these issues.
--------------
Comment
--------------
11. (SBU) Gonsalves was in good spirits following a
successful Summit of the Americas, and was clearly looking
for ways to engage the U.S. in positive fashion. That said,
he is still looking for the U.S. to do most of the work,
whether in funding improvements to security, strengthening
regulation of banks, or in regard to Cuba. The CODEL's tour
of the future airport site revealed a project long on
ambition but, so far short on results. A massive engineering
exercise will be needed to literally move mountains and fill
in valleys just to prepare the ground for development - this
on top of the over $100 million already spent to purchase
homes and land to relocate families living in the path of
this Caribbean Three Gorges Dam equivalent. If the project
comes together, we will be in a good position to assist SVG
in meeting international standards on airport management and
security.
12. (U) CODEL Engel has cleared this message.
HARDT