BACHELET'S TRIP TO CUBA: TOP OFFICIALS PUT ON A

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTIAGO 000228

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/BSC, WHA/CCA, WHA/OAS, WHA/EPSC, INR/IAA,
DRL/MLGA, DRL/AWH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM ECON PGOV CI CU
SUBJECT: BACHELET'S TRIP TO CUBA: TOP OFFICIALS PUT ON A
POSITIVE SPIN, HIGHLIGHT CUBAN REACTION TO OBAMA
(C-AL9-00405)

REF: SANTIAGO 157

SANTIAGO 00000228 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Political Officer Jennifer Spande for reason 1.4 (b)


1. (C) Summary: Two key foreign policy makers--presidential
advisor Marcos Robledo and the MFA's #3 ranked official, Juan
Pablo Lira--maintain that President Bachelet's February trip
to Cuba was very successful, a contrast to the negative press
coverage it received. Bachelet raised human rights issues
privately with Cuban leaders. Raul Castro was positive about
the new administration and eager to know how a change in U.S.
policy could unfold. Cubans have high expectations of the
Obama administration. Lira was particularly struck by how
much Cuba had changed for the better since he lasted visited
the island in 1992. End Summary.


2. (U) Visiting OAS Permanent Representative and Summit of
the Americas Coordinator Ambassador Hector Morales,
accompanied by the Ambassador and emboffs, met with Robledo,
Lira, and other Chilean officials on March 4. Septel will
report on insight into Chile's priorities for the Summit of
the Americas, the principal focus of these meetings.

Bachelet's Cuba Trip Successful, Human Rights Raised
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Presidential advisor Marcos Robledo described
President Bachelet's February 10-13 trip to Cuba as
"positive, a very good visit" and said he was very surprised
by the negative coverage it had received in the Chilean
press. MFA Director General Juan Pablo Lira echoed Robledo's
comments in a separate conversation. He noted, "There were
many positive things that happened that weren't in the
newspapers," highlighting the large number of technical and
cooperative agreements signed and productive meetings.


4. (C) Both Robledo and Lira said that Bachelet had been
frank in her discussions with Cuban leaders, bringing up
human rights and other sensitive topics. Robledo said that
five days before the President's arrival in Havana, the
Chileans alerted the Cubans that they would not hold back on
the human rights issue. Robledo also highlighted the
February 5 speech of Ambassador Carlos Portales at the Cuba
Universal Periodic Review in Geneva as an example of Chile's
willingness to talk tough with Cuba. After praising Cuba's
signing of key human rights declarations, Portales called for
Cuba to live up to its commitments by promoting judicial
independence; protection for human rights defenders and
political dissidents; and guarantees of freedom of expression
and of movement inside and outside Cuba. He said the speech
was well-received by Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch. Among the Latinos, only Chile and Mexico had been
willing to speak up.


5. (C) The meeting between Raul Castro and Bachelet was
cordial, Robledo said, and the two leaders discovered that
they had much in common. Bachelet raised Cuba's entry into
the Rio Group as an important gesture, but one that raised
obligations on Cuba's part. Raul Castro was very positive
about the Obama administration and expressed interest in any
"antecedentes" or historical precedents that could hint at
how a possible change in U.S. policy towards the island
nation might unfold. Bachelet encouraged Raul to "exploit
the U.S. opening" by taking some positive steps to reach out.
Raul appeared to value this advice. Bachelet's visit
finished very well, he said, with the Cuban President being
extraordinarily gracious in escorting his Chilean peer to her
plane. (Note: Neither Robledo nor Lira commented on the
President's meeting with Fidel Castro, which is a sore spot
for Concertacion leaders due to Fidel's subsequent harsh
comments. See reftel. End Note.)

Reading Cuba's Tea Leaves
--------------


6. (C) Robledo and Lira were both encouraged by Cuba's
recent entry into the Rio Group; Robledo said that Cuba
needed more contact with other countries. This is an
interesting moment for Cuba, Robledo noted, saying that the
cabinet shuffle must have been planned and that Raul was
attempting to surround himself with the old guard in order to
"recuperate" his legitimacy. The signals coming out of Cuba
are contradictory, he admitted, but he believes that they are
positive overall. Robledo added that Cuban leadership should
take advantage of the "new environment" in the U.S., and Lira
commented that the Cuban people have very high expectations
of President Obama.

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7. (C) Lira and MFA Multilateral Affairs Director Juan
Eduardo Eguiguren shared their own analysis of some of the
moves in Cuba's cabinet shuffle. Lira, who accompanied the
President on her trip, said that he had been surprised when
Cuban Vice President of the Council of State Carlos Lage, who
has been one of Chile's closest official contacts in Cuba
with long standing ties to the Chilean PPD party, was not
present for any of Bachelet's meetings. Lage's absence
became clear when he was sacked. However, Lira said he was
perplexed that Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, who had
been active during the trip, was also replaced. Eguiguren
added that he had worked in the UN with Cuba's new Foreign
Minister, Bruno Rodriguez. Rodriguez would toe the party
line, especially in public fora, but after giving the
official position was a receptive and non-dogmatic listener.


8. (C) Ambassador Hector Morales, the U.S. Permanent
Representative to the OAS, told Robledo the U.S. wants Cuba
to integrate itself into the hemispheric community in line
with the democratic principles and values the rest of the
hemisphere accepts. Ambassador Morales added that some
countries in the hemisphere appeared to be trying to force
the issue even though Cuba was not very interested in OAS
membership. Moreover the question really is what is Cuba
prepared to do, and to note that President Obama had already
made a gesture towards Cuba during his presidential campaign
by signaling his willingness to relax restrictions on travel
and remittances, Ambassador Morales highlighted.

Cuba Then and Now
--------------


9. (C) Lira, the MFA's Undersecretary for Political Affairs
equivalent, went on at some length describing the dramatic
changes he had seen in Cuba during this visit as opposed to
his only other trip to the island, 17 years ago. During his
first visit in 1992, much of Havana had no water,
electricity, or transportation. He left the island "brutally
depressed" and "freaked out." Now, Havana has completely
changed for the better. There is public transportation,
beautification in the city center, and stores are open.
There is poverty, but no widespread police presence and he
felt comfortable walking extensively around the city on his
own.


10. (C) The huge influx of tourism has caused changes as
well, Lira explained. Cubans engaged in tourism can legally
hold Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC),which are helping to
create a parallel economy whose participants have access to
modern technology like cell phones and TV. Cubans now have
somewhat better access to information: hotels broadcast
international news networks that local residents working in
the hotels overhear, some homes have satellite dishes, and
tourist sector entrepreneurs trade stories and perspectives
with travelers.


11. (C) Lira noted that there is only a small Chilean
community in Cuba, consisting mainly of Chileans who have
married Cubans. Chile is particularly interested in learning
from Cuba's neurosurgery and rehabilitation expertise, which
he described as very advanced care for a very low price.

Comment
--------------


12. (C) Lira and Robledo, both key figures within Chile's
foreign policy establishment, are clearly frustrated by the
negative public and press reaction to a presidential trip to
Cuba that they feel was largely successful. While gushing
about progress in Havana, the agreements signed and
cooperation plans made, the two advisors were also quick to
assert that Chile had taken a stand--both in Havana and at
the UN--in favor of greater freedoms and human rights in
Cuba. End Comment.
SIMONS