FM Maduro Rails Against U.S. and DCA in Meeting of

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 001493 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBEC AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/20 TAGS: PREL VE CO SUBJECT: FM Maduro Rails Against U.S. and DCA in Meeting of International Leftist Parties REF: 09 CARACAS 1471; 09 CARACAS 1459; 09 CARACAS 1444 09 CARACAS 1430 CLASSIFIED BY: Robin D. Meyer, Political Counselor, DOS, POL; REASON: 1.4(D) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro inaugurated the first "International Meeting of Leftist Parties" in Caracas on November 19 with a televised diatribe against the United States. Calling the coup in Honduras a "coup against ALBA," and the Defense Cooperation Agreement as "a threat to UNASUR," Maduro said that President Obama was using his "smile to expand U.S. domination." He emphasized that "no empire has ever fallen without a fight," and urged the leftist parties of the world to unite against the hegemony of the United States and the capitalist system. Maduro spoke in his capacity as a leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV),which organized the two-day meeting and invited over 150 delegates from over 30 countries to discuss "the Empire's threats, the fall of capitalism, and the rise of 21st Century Socialism." PSUV leaders said delegates would also be invited to PSUV's Extraordinary Congress on November 21. End Summary. On Message on Honduras and the DCA ¶2. (C) Consistent with recent statements of many Venezuelan Government (GBRV) officials (Ref C),Maduro accused the U.S. of supporting the coup in Honduras and described the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the U.S. and Colombia as a threat to Latin America's sovereignty and to UNASUR. He called the coup in Honduras a "coup against ALBA," the Chavez-led Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our America, and again accused the U.S. of complicity in the ouster of Honduran President Zelaya. He spoke forcefully and at length about the threat posed by the "Yankee bases" in Colombia to the hemisphere, using, as he has before, a U.S. Air Force budget request to Congress as evidence of U.S. expansionary intentions (Ref D). He said Colombian President Alvaro Uribe had lied to all his fellow Latin American presidents about the real intent of the DCA. And in Questioning President Obama's Intentions ¶3. (C) Consistent with the recent statement by President Chavez (Ref A) and the public mural in Caracas (Ref B),Maduro attacked President Obama, saying that his "smile and greetings hide the intention to expand U.S. domination." He called on the delegates from around the world to unite against the U.S. threat to "sovereignty, independence, right to peace, and stability," noting that "no empire has ever fallen without a fight." DUDDY