MIXED SIGNALS AT RETURN OF AMBASSADOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000864 SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2024 TAGS: PREL CASC PGOV ASEC VE SUBJECT: MIXED SIGNALS AT RETURN OF AMBASSADOR REF: 08 CARACAS 01274 CARACAS 00000864 001.3 OF 002 Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FRANCISCO FERNANDEZ, REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary. US Ambassador Patrick Duddy returned to Venezuela July 1, following a nearly ten month expulsion and the 2008 recall of Hugo Chavez's Ambassador in Washington. On July 2, Ambassador Duddy hosted the annual Independence Day celebrations at the US Embassy in Caracas. Despite official invitations and high hopes for a new beginning, no senior level Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) officials attended the event. The GBRV made a point, however, of inviting the Ambassador to the Venezuelan Independence celebrations July 5 in Ciudad Bolivar, but again, no senior GBRV officials attempted to contact the Ambassador. During private meetings with other resident Ambassadors and business leaders, the USG's recent efforts for dialogue in the region, the US stance on Honduras, and the Ambassador's return drew praise. Media reaction to the return of the US Ambassador was generally positive. Nevertheless, despite the agreement to once again exchange Ambassadors, the GBRV is still inclined to criticize the U.S. and at the same time react sharply when they believe U.S. officials have criticized Venezuela even implicitly as evidenced by the MFA's condemnation of the Secretary's interview with opposition media outlet Globovision. End Summary. -------------- -------------- CHAVEZ OFFICIALS AVOID US AMBASSADOR DESPITE HIGH HOPES -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) The day after his July 1 return to Venezuela, Ambassador Duddy hosted the annual Independence Day celebration at the Embassy. The highly popular event was attended by over 3,000 people, the majority of which expressed their pleasure (and relief) to have the Ambassador back. Despite hundreds of official invitations to pro-Chavez Governors, Cabinet Members, and National Assembly members, no senior level GBRV officials attended the 4th of July event. ¶3. (C) Notwithstanding the lack of GBRV presence at the event, on July 3 the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended an official invitation for the Ambassador and other members of the diplomatic corps to attend the July 5 Venezuelan Independence Day celebrations in the provincial capital of Ciudad Bolivar. In hopes of opening up new dialogue with the GBRV, the Ambassador agreed to fly to Ciudad Bolivar, only to then be subjected in the official speeches to long diatribes condemning the "U.S. Empire" from both the commander of the armed forces and President Chavez himself. During a July 7 phone call with Venezuelan businessman and frequent unofficial pro-Chavez backdoor liaison to the Embassy, Rene Arreaza, the DCM reminded him that we remained disappointed that no senior officials had attended our national day reception on July 2. In addition, while the Ambassador had agreed to travel to Ciudad Bolivar this year on short notice to attend Venezuelan ceremonies presided over by President Chavez, the lack of an opportunity to interact with him was equally disappointing. -------------- SURVEY OF THE LANDSCAPE - TEN MONTHS ON -------------- ¶4. (C) Ambassador Duddy hosted a representational dinner for the ambassadors from Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom on July 6. The representatives from Canada, France and the United Kingdom all expressed their concern that following Chavez's electoral victories in November 2008 and February 2009, Venezuela's democracy is weaker than one year ago and headed in a more authoritarian direction. While the French were less optimistic than the Canadians that the opposition could pose a substantial challenge to Chavez in the 2010 national assembly elections, both agreed that economically the country is in much worse shape today. The Ambassador of Japan mentioned that while investors from his country are anxious to participate in Venezuela's petroleum industry, bankers have grown more CARACAS 00000864 002.3 OF 002 cautious given recent events in the country. According to the Brazilian Ambassador, President Chavez has personally assured him he likes the US Ambassador and feels he can work with him as a person. -------------- -------------- POSITIVE MEDIA REACTION TO THE RETURN OF AMBASSADOR -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) Ambassador Duddy's return to Venezuela has generated extensive media coverage throughout the country. Opposition and nonaligned press have characterized the reinstatement of ambassadorial level relations between the U.S. and Venezuela in an overwhelmingly positive light, and even government-owned and government-leaning outlets have tended to treat the matter in a positive fashion. ¶6. (U) Reporters met the Ambassador at the airport on July 1, to snap photos and glean comments which made headlines in all major national papers and television stations as well as several leading regional papers. Most reporters picked up on the Ambassador's comment that he hoped his return would prove to be "the first step for a bi-lateral relationship that is more productive, more direct and more fluid." One paper, the afternoon national daily "2001" even featured the Ambassador as its "figure of the day" on July 2, and in its Sunday addition included his photo and the aforementioned quote in its "Seven Phrases of the Week" section. On July 2, more than 30 local and international journalists attended the Embassy's Independence Day reception. The Ambassador's remarks and his comments during the PAS-arranged press conference were reported widely, resulting in articles, photos, and stories in all major networks and papers, including the AP, Telesur and CNN in Spanish. -------------- OLD HABITS DIE HARD, A SHORT HONEYMOON? -------------- ¶7. (C) Diario Vea, the pro-Government newspaper, returned to its revolutionary form in its July 8 edition in an article about recent events in Honduras. The article mentioned the return of the Ambassador in the context of saying that although Ambassador Duddy returned to Venezuela and expressed his desire for high level and fluid bilateral relations, the United States real goal is to overthrow governments in Latin America, with Honduras being merely the first domino in the row. ¶8. (C) On July 8, the Foreign Ministry released a communique condemning Secretary Clinton's interview with opposition media outlet Globovision on July 7. The MFA questioned the USG' sincerity about improving bilateral relations given the Secretary's comments. The communique charged that the interview sent an aggressive signal to Venezuela and all of Latin America. The communique also rejected "this disrespectful gesture" and called for the USG to rectify the record for the good of the bilateral relationship. The Ambassador met with the Congressional Friendship Group (CFG) on July 9 (septel). The CFG expressed its concern with the Globovision interview, while simultaneously sharing its hope for improved relations. ¶9. (C) Comment: Despite the agreement to once again exchange Ambassadors, the GBRV remains highly sensitive to even perceived criticism. The GBRV is also clearly reluctant to give up the tactic of blaming the U.S. for all problems, domestic or foreign. It has, nevertheless, attempted to differentiate between President Obama (the person) and the US Government (the evil empire). While the hope for a normalization of relations remains, the GBRV seems locked into the notion that normalization requires the USG to only express solidarity with actions taken by this government. Thus on an operational level the general attitude of intransigence toward the US mission and lack of contact with GBRV officials may continue until a real dialogue with the GBRV can begin. End Comment. DUDDY