Former President Lagos, FM Fernandez Urge that De Facto

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000935 SIPDIS AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBEC AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/10 TAGS: PREL PGOV CI HO SUBJECT: Former President Lagos, FM Fernandez Urge that De Facto Honduran President Step Down CLASSIFIED BY: Paul E. Simons, Ambassador, State, AMB; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) Summary. Two senior Chilean statesmen said that it is critical that the de facto president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, step down to facilitate regional recognition of the Honduran election. Former Chilean President Lagos also urged that incoming president Porfirio Lobo appoint a unity government and a truth commission, which would largely implement the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord. FM Fernandez told the Ambassador that Micheletti's prompt resignation could be the catalyst to broaden Southern Cone reconciliation with the incoming Lobo government. End summary. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador met with former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos on December 9. Lagos, who co-chairs the Tegucigalpa-San Jose implementation committee, spoke freely on his views of what is necessary to secure regional recognition of the election in Honduras. The Ambassador also spoke to Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez about Honduras on December 9. ¶3. (C) Lagos said that the Mercosur statement that its members will not recognize Porfirio Lobo's election is a mistake, since that limits their flexibility down the road. He also implicitly criticized the Chilean government for not taking a clear position on whether it will recognize the Honduran elections, suggesting it was reluctant to do so because of the risk of creating fissures in the Organization of American States (OAS). He said that the Chilean government needs to understand that recognizing a government is a purely bilateral decision and not an OAS decision. Reseating Honduras at the OAS is a separate process, which can be taken at a later date with much more elaborate conditionality. ¶4. (C) Lagos stated that there are two key steps necessary to facilitate regional recognition of Lobo's election. One, de facto president Micheletti cannot present the presidential sash to Lobo, since Micheletti is emblematic of the coup. Lagos suggested that Micheletti needed to step away from the presidency as soon as possible, and in any event at least a few days before the January 27 inauguration. Two, Lobo needs to present a unity government and implement a truth commission, and with that most of the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord would be implemented. ¶5. (C) FM Fernandez told the Ambassador that Micheletti's prompt resignation was essential to facilitate the normalization of relations between Honduras and Southern Cone countries. Brazil and Argentina, he agreed, want to climb out of the box they've created on Honduras, but need the figure of Micheletti -- who is clearly identified with the coup -- to step down. Micheletti's resignation would also facilitate internal agreement within different elements of the Chilean government on a strategy to support the Lobo government's reintegration into the region. SIMONS