Lunch with Correa's Mother and Sister -

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000021


CONFIDENTIAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV EC
SUBJECT: Lunch with Correa's Mother and Sister -
Admiration for Secretary Clinton and America

Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griff...


id: 189085
date: 1/27/2009 20:03
refid: 09GUAYAQUIL21
origin: Consulate Guayaquil
classification: CONFIDENTIAL
destination:
header:
R 272003Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 9686
INFO AMEMBASSY QUITO
AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
AMEMBASSY LIMA
AMEMBASSY CARACAS
AMEMBASSY LA PAZ


-------------- header ends --------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L GUAYAQUIL 000021


CONFIDENTIAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV EC
SUBJECT: Lunch with Correa's Mother and Sister -
Admiration for Secretary Clinton and America

Classified By: Consul General Douglas Griffiths for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: At a friendly lunch with President
Rafael Correa's mother (Norma Delgado) and Sister
(Pierina Correa) Correa?s mother expressed great
admiration for Secretary Clinton, gratitude for her
extended family's opportunities in the United States and
recognition that "Rafael" could sometimes be a bit
outspoken. Pierina Correa spoke of her campaign to be
elected Prefect for Guayas Province and her family's
leftist political tendencies, especially in supporting
the rights of migrants. The Ambassador used the intimate
setting to stress the successes of our Forward Operating
Location in Manta, and the negative impact of its
closing. End Summary


2. (SBU) The President's mother, Norma Delgado told us
that after raising her children in Ecuador, she went to
the U.S. in order to care for her elderly parents. She
became an American citizen and cared for her parents in
an age-restricted mobile home community in Lake Forest,
CA until their deaths in 2008. Following the death of
her father, at the age of 101, Delgado decided to return
to Guayaquil to be near her children and grandchildren.
Delgado said that her entire extended family had settled
in the United States, and expressed gratitude for the
opportunities that the U.S had given her family. Delgado
also repeatedly expressed her admiration for Secretary
Clinton, and noted that she was a long-time Clinton
supporter. Mrs. Delgado largely avoided politics, but
she made it clear that she was pained by attacks on her
son the President. However, she did acknowledge that
"Rafael" could be a bit outspoken.


3. (C) President Correa's sister, Pierina Correa, is an
architect by training, but most recently has been working
for a foundation advocating on behalf of Ecuadorian
migrants. She is currently a "pre-candidate" for the
position of Prefect of Guayas Province. Pierina Correa
told us that she was polling strongly, and that she
expected to win the Pais Movement's primary election for
prefect. She said that her candidacy had caused a
fissure in the Pais Movement as traditional leftists in
Guayas, including Constituent Assembly member Gustavo
Darquea and Ricardo Patino (currently Coordinating
Minister for Politics) and his brother Raul Patino,
resent her success and accuse her of trading on her
relation with the President.


4. (C) Pierina Correa said that she and her brother have
adopted the "progressive" political tradition of her
family. She noted that her grandfather was injured in
the "war" between progressive thinkers and President Eloy
Alfaro. Pierina Correa made some pointed comments
critical of U.S. immigration policy, which her mother
quieted by references to her own positive immigration
experience. When Pierina Correa erroneously linked the
U.S. Foreign Operating Location in Manta to the
interception of intended migrants, the Ambassador set the
record straight and used the opening to detail the
achievements of the FOL. Intending the remarks to reach
the President, the Ambassador stressed our regret at
having to abandon the successful operations, and
underscored the damage the closure would have on the
international counter-narcotics effort.


5. (C) Comment: We had heard from other members of the
family that the President's mother wanted to meet with
the ambassador. She was clearly delighted by the
invitation and was a bit nervous about dining with the
representative of her adopted nation's President.
Pierina Correa who spent extended periods in the U.S.
during her youth and speaks excellent English engaged
with us in her trademark direct style. She also showed
signs of her brother's perplexing blend of practicality
and leftist ideology. In any case, she clearly is
proud of her U.S. connections and is convinced her
brother is not anti-U.S.

GRIFFITHS

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