Santiago Dec. 10 Media Report

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 001204 SIPDIS STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL SNAR EFIN CI SUBJECT: Santiago Dec. 10 Media Report Lead Story ¶1. President Bachelet will celebrate the International Human Rights Day today with a visit to Talagante, the location where the first victims of the military regime were found in 1978. Bachelet and presidential candidate Eduardo Frei have been highlighting human rights in the final portion of the presidential campaign (Conservative, independent La Tercera, 12/10). U.S.-Related News ¶2. Assistant Secretary Arturo Valenzuela will travel to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay next week as the region stands divided over the election in Honduras. In fact, the four countries that Valenzuela is visiting don't recognize the results of the election in Honduras and still consider Manuel Zelaya its president. Valenzuela will speak today to the foreign media on U.S. policy toward Latin America and Secretary Clinton will deliver a speech tomorrow on the same topic (Conservative, influential El Mercurio, 12/10). ¶3. Chile was excluded from Valenzuela's first trip to the Southern cone. Valenzuela will arrive to the region amid division over the recognition of the election in Honduras (La Tercera, 12/10). ¶4. All the countries that Assistant Secretary Valenzuela will visit have left-wing regimes and, unlike the United States, don't recognize the election in Honduras. However, they are not close to the axis formed by Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. At the Summit of the Americas, the United States announced a new stage in its relations with Latin America, but as months have gone by, relations have begun to deteriorate. That is why Valenzuela and Secretary of State Clinton have the mission of explaining the goals of U.S. diplomacy to their allies (Government-owned, La Nacion, 12/10). ¶5. Issues that separate the White House from the region: The most recent impasse that has "poisoned" U.S. relations with the region is the military agreement signed by Washington and Bogota. Both the United States and Colombia have tried to explain the scope of the agreement, which has been discussed in a wide number of forums in the region. The agreement, however, has never been revealed and this has hurt Washington's ties with some of its allies, such as Brazil. At the latest Summit of the Americas, Latin America asked the United States to lift the embargo on Cuba, but this did not happen and relations between the two countries remain unchanged (La Nacion, 12/9). Chile-U.S. ¶6. At a conference with experts on cancer from several countries including the United States, Undersecretary of Health Jeanette Vega announced an agreement that would allow Chilean women with breast cancer to receive experimental therapy in the United States (Regional daily La Prensa Austral, 12/1). Poll ¶7. The Centro de Estudios Publicos (CEP) released a "prediction" on Sunday's presidential election based on previous polling information: 44.1% for Sebastian Pinera, 31% for Eduardo Frei, 17.7% for Marco Enriquez Ominami, and 7.2% for Jorge Arrate (La Tercera, 12/10). Death of former President Eduardo Frei Montalva ¶8. Judge Alejandro Madrid ruled that the death of former President Frei in 1982, "was caused by the gradual administration of non-conventional toxic substances and a non-authorized pharmaceutical product called 'Transfer Factor',' plus the existence of an array of anomalous situations." Madrid believes that the gradual application of Transfer Factor facilitated septic shock (La Tercera, 12/10). ¶9. Forensic expert Laura Borgel said that the administration of Transfer Factor was not decisive in Frei's death, because "the mix of sulfuric mustard and thallium had already done their job." Borgel said that the most conclusive results were drawn from Frei's hair and were confirmed by foreign laboratories that she declined to identify (El Mercurio, 12/10). ¶10. The analysis of samples of Frei's brain and hair confirmed the presence of thallium and mustard gas in his body, which was exhumed in 2004 for forensic testing. The samples were tested in Chile and in the United States and led Doctor Laura Borgel to conclude that Frei was repeatedly administered small amounts of both chemicals. Borgel also studies blood tests taken from Frei before his death during his stay at the hospital before his death and said these were consistent with the use of the two chemicals in question. Borgel also used infrared and other testing methods to confirm her results. A source said that Borgel tested the samples at the U.S. Army Laboratory in 2007, which detected the presence of thallium. This occurred at the same time FBI tests ruled out the presence of drugs in Frei's body (Conservative, afternoon La Segunda, 12/9). SIMONS