BOLIVIA: CONTINUED MIXED MESSAGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 000434

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PHUM PINR ENVR ASEC BL
SUBJECT: BOLIVIA: CONTINUED MIXED MESSAGES

REF: A. LA PAZ 418

B. LA PAZ 409

C. LA PAZ 407

D. LA PAZ 373

Classified By: A/EcoPol Chief Brian Quigley for reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) Summary: While official media give extensive coverage
of Foreign Secretary David Choquehuanca's March 19
announcement that Bolivia seeks to "rebuild mutual trust"
with the USG, President Evo Morales' March 20 statement that
he will "personally investigate the presence of external
agents" and other recent hostile actions by his
administration indicate the government is likely to continue
its aggressively anti-USG campaign. End summary.

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Good Cop Choquehuanca Plays Nice
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2. (C) In a March 19 press conference, Foreign Minister David
Choquehuanca, just back from Nicaragua, announced the
Bolivian government's intention to improve relations with the
United States "in a framework of mutual respect."
Choquehuanca said a government commission would travel to
Washington and that "representatives of the U.S. will come to
Bolivia." "The U.S. has manifested its desire to work. We
will... form commissions to rechannel our relations with new
rules of the game." (Note: We have not had any official
communication regarding a Bolivian commission traveling to
the U.S. End note.) According to official media reports,
Choquehuanca called this moment "an inflection point" in
bilateral relations. Press reports went on to cite the
impact of a recent meeting between Brazil President Inacio
Lula de Silva and President Obama, in which the Brazilian
president encouraged a rapprochement between the U.S. and
Latin America, specifically referring to Chavez and Morales.

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Meanwhile, Morales Attacks (Again)
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3. (U) Essentially repeating his and his deputies'
accusations from March 11, 12, and 13 (Reftels B, C),
President Morales on March 20 renewed his promise to
"personally investigate" anyone who is "selling information
to external agents." Morales has said previously that
"foreign agents" were "buying the loyalty" of Bolivian
security forces and that "there is an army official who has
direct contact with the CIA." On March 15, Government
Minister Alfredo Rada made a separate accusation that the
police guarding the Embassy were "truly working as officers
of the U.S. Embassy" and implied they were supplying
intelligence to the CIA (Reftel B). These statements
followed the March 9 expulsion of Embassy officer Francisco
(Frank) Martinez (Reftel D).

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Comment
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4. (C) In a meeting with Vice Foreign Minister Hugo
Fernandez (Reftel A),Charge raised the long-standing
proposal of a Bolivian-U.S. USAID commission. While
Choquehuanca may play the role of moderate for the benefit of
domestic and international press eager to show an improvement
in bilateral relations, the rest of the government's actions
and rhetoric indicate otherwise. Continuous proclamations of
CIA presence in the country, "personal" investigations by
Morales into supposedly seditious activities, and accusations
of nefarious Embassy involvement with the police force, not
to mention the recent expulsion of an Embassy officer, more
than counterbalance Choquehuanca's message. This press
conference is not consistent with other recent messages sent
or actions taken by the Morales government, and
Choquehuanca's Obama-Lula references simply attempt to paint
a pretty picture in the leadup to the Summit of the Americas.
End comment.
LAMBERT