CHAVEZ CALLS PRESIDENT OBAMA "A PRISONER OF THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000851

SIPDIS

HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2024
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM VE
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ CALLS PRESIDENT OBAMA "A PRISONER OF THE
EMPIRE"

REF: CARACAS 833

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Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ,
REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: In a media interview following the
Venezuelan Independence Day celebration in Ciudad Bolivar on
July 5, President Hugo Chavez said that while President Obama
is not responsible for the events in Honduras, the United
States tacitly supports the coup and the provisional
government. Joined by senior military and civilian
officials, Chavez presided over an event that showcased the
Venezuelan armed forces. Chavez's Independence Day speech
highlighted the situation in Honduras, and emphasized the
difference between Venezuelan and Honduran soldiers. Calling
for Venezuelan soldiers to constantly be on alert, Chavez
said the American empire is attacking ALBA (the Bolivarian
Alliance of Latin America). Recognizing that President Obama
remains very popular among his base, Chavez avoided
criticising him while continuing to blame the United States
for what he perceives as wrong in the region. End Summary.

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"The Evil American Empire"
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2. (C) In an interview on the government-supported
television station Telesur following the independence day
ceremony, President Chavez called on President Obama to
"clarify the U.S. position" regarding the coup in Honduras.
Insisting that the coup has the tacit support of the U.S.
government, Chavez said "I'm not saying that Obama supports
the coup - I think Obama is a prisoner of the empire." While
Chavez on July 1 had acknowledged President Obama's support
for Manual Zelaya (Reftel),during his July 5 interview
Chavez implied that President Obama's position was not clear,
saying "it would be great to hear the U.S. president state
his position on this issue." (Note: Former Minister of
Interior, Ramon Rodriquez Chacin, followed up this statement
during a July 6 United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV)
press conference calling on Obama "to define his position and
explain why the coup is being supported by the U.S.
military." End Note.) Chavez also harshly criticized the
U.S.'s influence in Latin American in his speech during the
official Independence Day ceremony. "The time of the Evil
American Empire must come to an end," he said, and the U.S.
"is responsible for a large part of the ills of this
continent."

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Heavy Military Presence and Rhetoric
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3. (SBU) Senior Government of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela (GBRV) officials, both civilian and military,
joined Chavez in Ciudad Bolivar for the nationally televised
Independence Day celebration on July 5. The Commander of
Strategic Operations, General Carlos Mata Figueroa was the
Master of Ceremonies of the event. Figueroa also attended an
extraordinary session of the National Assembly, held in
Ciudad Bolivar's Plaza Bolivar on July 5, where he said that,
unlike in Honduras, there was no place for rebellion or
treason in the Venezuelan Armed Forces, because "the
soldiers' discipline and consciousness stem from the ideas
and force of the Bolivarian spirit." Chavez's Independence
Day speech highlighted the events in Honduras, linking the
declaration of an independent Venezuela on July 5, 1811 with
the support Venezuela has given to Zelaya in his attempts to
return to Honduras. Chavez contrasted Venezuelan and
Honduran soldiers, saying that the Venezuelan soldiers were
loved by the people while the Honduran soldiers were acting
like a foreign occupying force in their own country. "What a
shame that we are not Honduran soldiers," Chavez said, "for
we would be with the people with weapons in our hands to
defend them from the bourgeois and dictatorial government".
In Venezuela, Chavez declared, "we will always continue on
the path of revolution."

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Comment
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4. (C) Chavez continues to attack U.S. influence and
presence in Latin America, and his rhetoric against the U.S.
has once again increased in the past week. In spite of
President Obama and Secretary Clinton's clear support for

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Zelaya as the legitimate president of Honduras, Chavez has
said he is unsure of Obama's personal position, and suspects
that the U.S. government as a whole supports the coup in
Honduras. Recognizing the U.S. President's popularity in
Venezuela and in Latin America, Chavez is likely to continue
to attempt to differentiate President Obama from the rest of
the U.S. government, and insinuate that the President is not
responsible because much of the U.S. government continues to
behave as it has in the past.

DUDDY