Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MONTEVIDEO454
2009-08-07 14:23:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Montevideo
Cable title:  

URUGUAY: PRESIDENT VAZQUEZ NONCOMMITTAL AS

Tags:  CO PREL UY 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0884
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMN #0454 2191423
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071423Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9266
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000454 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/BSC MARY DASCHBACH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CO PREL UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY: PRESIDENT VAZQUEZ NONCOMMITTAL AS
COLOMBIA'S URIBE SEEKS SUPPORT

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000454

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/BSC MARY DASCHBACH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CO PREL UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY: PRESIDENT VAZQUEZ NONCOMMITTAL AS
COLOMBIA'S URIBE SEEKS SUPPORT


1. (U) Summary. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe took his
whirlwind tour of South America to Uruguay August 6, meeting
with President Tabare Vazquez to solicit the Uruguayan
leader's support for an agreement granting U.S. forces access
to seven Colombian military bases. Vazquez expressed
Uruguay's respect for Colombia's sovereignty in the matter,
but also affirmed Uruguay's historical opposition to foreign
intervention in Latin America. End Summary.


2. (U) Uribe's visit to Uruguay marked the penultimate leg
of a continental tour in which Uribe lobbied regional heads
of state to back the U.S/Colombia agreement prior to the
August 10 meeting of the Union of South American Nations
(Unasur) in Quito. (Note: Vice President Rodolfo Nin Novoa
will represent Uruguay at the Unasur summit; President
Vazquez will not attend.)


3. (U) An Uruguayan MFA press release following the visit
portrayed Vazquez as neither condemning nor supporting the
proposed agreement. According to the statement, during his
meeting with Uribe the Uruguayan president emphasized the
principle of non-intervention in internal matters of other
states while also maintaining Uruguay's historical opposition
to the establishment of foreign military bases in Latin
America. Finally, Vazquez also urged a peaceful solution to
controversies between states - an obvious reference to the
diplomatic tensions between Venezuela and Colombia that have
been linked to the proposed agreement.


4. (U) Comments from local politicians fell along similar
lines as the government's statement. Despite earlier
statements decrying the U.S. as a party-crasher ("convidado
de piedra") in Colombia and condemning the agreement itself
as a scam ("balurdo medio grueso"),Jose Mujica, presidential
candidate for Vazquez's Frente Amplio (FA) coalition, toned
down his rhetoric during a visit to Brasilia (septel),urging
negotiation and reconciliation. Despite Mujica's
equivocation, FA leadership came out more strongly against
the agreement, releasing an official statement charging that
the accord "not only threatens the sovereignty of the
Colombian people, but also constitutes a direct threat in the
region, affecting democratic stability and peaceful
coexistence on the continent." While opposition National
Party (PN) candidate Luis Alberto Lacalle did not comment on
the Vazquez/Uribe meeting, PN senator Sergio Abreu told a
local newspaper that his party respects Colombia's
sovereignty in the matter, but would never permit American
bases in Uruguay.




Schandlbauer