VENEZUELA: REVIEW FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT

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C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001487

SIPDIS

HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

TREASURY FOR MKACZMAREK

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USDOC FOR 4332 MAC/ITA/WH/JLAO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/20

TAGS: ECON, ETRD, ETTC, PREL, EINV, EPET, HURI, VE, CU

SUBJECT: VENEZUELA: REVIEW FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE

LIBERTAD ACT

REF: STATE 115416; 2006 CARACAS 1096; CARACAS 1022; CARACAS 1181

2007 CARACAS 694

CLASSIFIED BY: DUDDY, AMBASSADOR, DOS, AMB; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)

1. (U) Post's response to Reftel A questions follow.

2. (C) Has the host country, in post's opinion, worked to

promote the advancement of democracy and human rights in Cuba?

Post sees no evidence that the Government of the Bolivarian

Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) has undertaken policies or actions to

advance democracy or human rights in Cuba over the past six months.

3. (C) Has the host country made public statements or

undertaken other government actions, such as resolutions in the

national assemblies condemning human rights abuses in Cuba; or

actions in support of civil society in Cuba through host country's

diplomatic missions or other fora?

In the last six months, the GBRV has not made any public statements

or undertaken any government action to condemn human rights abuses

in Cuba or support civil society there. On the contrary, President

Hugo Chavez and the GBRV provide significant financial assistance

to Cuba and repeatedly praise its government. Chavez often

expresses admiration for Fidel Castro, calling him a father and a

mentor, and has described Cuba as a "revolutionary democracy."

Chavez openly criticizes the United States for denouncing human

rights abuses in Cuba. He is also a frequent critic of the US

embargo on Cuba. In 2009, during the Summit of the Americas,

Chavez refused to sign a final document that did not address Cuba's

exclusion from multilateral organizations in the Western

Hemisphere. In multilateral fora, the GBRV consistently votes with

Cuba and against the United States.

In 2008, the Venezuelan National Assembly passed resolutions

condemning the US embargo on Cuba and calling for the release five

Cuban spies jailed in the United States. On November 15, 2009,

>President Chavez held a ceremony with family members of the "Cuban

Five" and decorated them as heroes who are "unfairly detained" by

the US.

4. (C) Have there been any high-level diplomatic visits

between Cuba and the host country in the past six months?

High-level diplomatic visits between Cuban Officials and the GBRV

are common. President Chavez has visited Cuba at least three times

in 2009. On August 14, 2009, President Chavez travelled to Cuba to

visit Fidel Castro on his 83rd birthday. In April 2009, President

Chavez, accompanied by Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro and Energy

and Petroleum Minister Rafael Ramirez, travelled to Havana to

prepare for a summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples

of Our Americas (ALBA). President Chavez and Energy Minister

Ramirez also visited Cuba in February 2009. The GBRV has stated

that President Chavez plans to attend the next ALBA summit in

Havana in December 2009.

At the ministerial level, in May 2009, Tourism Minister Pedro

Morejon attended the International Tourism Fair (FITCUBA) in

Havana. In April 2009, Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez spoke at the

final plenary session of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordination

Bureau, and in February 2009, Rodriguez spoke at the commemoration

of the 10th anniversary of the Bolivarian Revolution.

Cuban officials also visit Venezuela frequently. In April 2009,

Cuban President Raul Castro, Vice President Ricardo Cabrisas,

Culture Minister Abel Prieto, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez,

Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca and

Francisco Soberon, President of the Cuban Central Bank, attended

the seventh ALBA summit in Venezuela.

On November 15, 2009, Ricardo Alarcon, President of Cuba's National

Assembly, participated in a ceremony in Caracas to decorate the

"Cuban Five." On October 23, 2009, Cuban Vice Minister for Health

Joaquin Garcias joined a celebration of the Miracle Mission's one

millionth eye operation. On October 14, 2009, Cuban Vice Public

Health Minister Marcia Cobas attended the inauguration of a

National Medical Genetic Center in Guarenas, Miranda state.

In addition to the highly-publicized visits documented above, Post

believes that contact between the two governments is regularized,

and that Venezuelan and Cuban officials frequently hold other

unpublicized meetings.

5. (C) What is the nature of investments (and names, if

known) that host country businesses have in Cuba?

The Venezuelan government has made substantial investments in Cuba,

particularly in the petroleum sector.

As reported in Ref B, PDVSA and the state-owned Venezuela

Industrial Bank have offices in Havana. In December 2007,

President Chavez personally inaugurated the Cienfuegos oil refinery

after PDVSA entered into a joint venture with the Cuban Petroleum

Company (CUPET) to operate the refinery; the anticipated production

is 65,000 barrels of petroleum products per day.

In July 2008, the GBRV agreed to build additional oil refineries in

Cuba, and in September 2008, the Cuban government announced that

Venezuela would provide financial support to repair an oil pipeline

connecting the city of Matanzas with the Cienfuegos refinery. In

December 2007, PDVSA built 100 homes for the elderly and disabled

near the Cienfuegos refinery through the Petrocasa program. PDVSA

and CUPET have agreed to conduct joint petroleum exploration

studies in the Gulf of Mexico and other areas in Cuban territory.

In April of 2006, PDVSA and the Cuban company Internacional

Maritima S.A. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create

TransALBA, a jointly owned petroleum transportation company. In

2009, TransALBA acquired two 72,700 ton tankers to transport crude

oil from Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela to the Cienfuegos refinery in

Cuba. TransALBA is considering the purchase of a third tanker that

can access shallow Central American ports. Also in 2006, the

Venezuelan Ministry of Infrastructure and the Cuban Ministry of

Transportation formed Astilleros de Maracaibo y el Caribe

(ASTIMARCA) in a joint venture to repair PDVSA oil tankers.

On July 29, 2009, the GBRV published a decree in the Official

Gazette creating Puertos del Alba, a state-owned company charged

with "modernizing, renovating, equipping, and constructing" ports

in Venezuela and Cuba (Ref C). Cuba's Grupo Empresarial de La

Industria Portuaria (ASPORT) has a 49 percent share in Puertos del

Alba and will allegedly act as the company's business development

arm (Ref D).

In June 2008, the Greater Caribbean Telecommunications Company, a

joint venture between Cuba's Telecommunications Signal

Transportation Company and Venezuela's Telecom, outlined progress

made on a project to connect Cuba and Venezuela via fiber optic

cable on the ocean floor. The Greater Caribbean Telecommunications

Company originally planned to lay the first cable by the end of

2009. On November 3, 2009, the Cuban News Agency reported that the

installation of the cable is now scheduled for 2010, with

operations beginning in 2011.

In July 2008, the GBRV announced the formation of Aceros del ALBA,

a steel company jointly owned by Venezuela (49 percent) and Cuba's

Acinox S.A (51 percent). The company, located in Venezuela's

Monagas state, was expected to produce 500,000 tons of steel a

year.

In addition to the agreements listed above, the GBRV and the Cuban

government have entered into MOUs to study the feasibility of joint

ventures in tourism, music production, film works and agriculture.

While Venezuelan private sector companies also operate in Cuba,

Post does not have a full listing of these companies or details of

their operations.

6. (C) Are there any bilateral trade agreements or other

cooperative agreements between the host country and Cuba?

Cuba and Venezuela signed an Integrated Cooperation Agreement (ICA)

in October 2000. Under this agreement, Venezuela promised to

supply 53,000 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil and petroleum

products to Cuba in exchange for medical and other assistance; this

commitment was subsequently increased to 92,000 b/d. Although Cuba

is also a member of Petrocaribe, a multilateral agreement in which

member countries buy Venezuelan oil and refined products at

preferential rates, it receives oil through the ICA. According to

PDVSA's statistics, Cuba received an average of 93,300 barrels of

Venezuelan oil per day in 2008.

In exchange for heavily subsidized oil, Cuba provides medical

assistance and supports a variety of social programs in Venezuela.

In 2009, under the ICA, Venezuela and Cuba completed approximately

680 projects in the areas of health, sports culture, education,

energy, science, technology, and medicine. According to one

Embassy contact, Venezuela spent an estimated USD 5.6 billion on

Cuban medical training, vaccines, and equipment in 2008, although

the lack of transparency makes it difficult to estimate the value

of these services with accuracy.

In December 2008, during the ninth annual meeting of Cuba-Venezuela

Mixed Commission, Petroleum and Energy Minister Ramirez said that

the two countries had completed 72 projects at a cost of USD 1.35

billion. In the eighth meeting of the Cuban-Venezuelan Mixed

Commission, representatives signed agreements for 76 projects,

primarily in the area of food and agricultural industry.

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 in January 2008, the 76 projects required an

investment of USD 1.3 billion.

Between January and November 2007, Venezuela and Cuba signed over

42 bilateral commercial agreements. Post estimates these promises

of joint cooperation are worth an estimated USD 5.72 billion (Ref

E).

7. (C) Are there any exchange programs between the 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?

In October 2009, President Chavez announced that Cuba would send an

additional 1,111 doctors to revitalize Barrio Adentro, Venezuela's

flagship medical services program for the poor (Ref F). Besides

Barrio Adentro, Cuban doctors are involved in several other medical

and social programs in Venezuela, including Mission Milagro (to

provide eye surgery for the poor) and Deportes Barrio Adentro (to

support sports in poor neighborhoods). According to one Embassy

contact, there are currently 30,000 Cuban medical professionals in

Venezuela. (Note: This estimate is unverifiable. End Note.)

In December 2008, during the ninth meeting of the Cuban-Venezuela

Mixed Commission, Energy and Petroleum Minister Rafael Ramirez said

that there were 1,400 Cuban agricultural technicians working in

every state in Venezuela, 6,000 Cuban sports trainers assisting

athletes in 335 municipalities, and more than 4,000 Venezuelan

professionals enrolled in 49 different postgraduate programs in

Cuba, including an undetermined number of Venezuelan students

studying medicine.

DUDDY

VENEZUELA: REVIEW FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III OF THE LIBERTAD ACT

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