SANTO DOMINGO ECONOMIC-POLITICAL ROUNDUP, MARCH 6,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTO DOMINGO 000289 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR, LA PAZ FOR A/DCM C LAMBERT E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2019 TAGS: PREL SNAR MARR CU HA DR SUBJECT: SANTO DOMINGO ECONOMIC-POLITICAL ROUNDUP, MARCH 6, 2009 Classified By: Roland W. Bullen, Charge d'Affaires, Reasons 1.4(b),(d) (SBU) In this edition of the roundup: ¶1. Movement on DR-Haiti Mixed Bilateral Commission ¶2. Fernandez Visits Cuba ¶3. HSV Swift Visit Brings Training and Humanitarian Outreach ¶4. Fernandez Hands Out the Spoils ¶5. Caribbean Discusses Drugs at UNODC Conference ¶1. (U) Movement on DR-Haiti Mixed Bilateral Commission According to a press report in Santo Domingo, Haitian President Preval has signed a decree naming his government,s representatives to the Mixed Bilateral Commission (CMB), including Prime Minister Pierre-Louis as head of delegation. The CMB, largely dormant since 1998, will address a broad range of bilateral issues, including trade, agriculture, education, culture, health, tourism, migration, sports, crime, and human rights. The Dominican delegation, which was named in 2008, will be led by Foreign Minister Morales. A date for the first meeting has not yet been set. ¶2. (U) Fernandez Visits Cuba President Fernandez visited Cuba the first week of March to attend, together with several other heads of state, the "XI International Meeting of Economists Regarding Globalization and Development Problems." In comments to the press, Fernandez said that after 50 years of failure, the embargo should be revised, taking advantage of a new administration in the U.S. Fernandez also met with Fidel Castro, with whom he discussed the international economic crisis and baseball, and traveled to Santiago de Cuba to celebrate the historical and cultural ties between the two countries. In addition, the Dominican Republic and Cuba created a working commission to negotiate an agreement on cooperation in the field of education. ¶3. (SBU) HSV Swift Visit Brings Training and Humanitarian Outreach The U.S. Navy High Speed Vessel (HSV) Swift arrived in Santo Domingo February 25 for a ten-day visit. The mission of the Swift is to enhance the capabilities and inter-operability of host-government naval units, as well as engage in "strategic communications" -- i.e. to send the message that the United States is a partner of the country and willing to support its efforts to combat shared challenges such as terrorism and narcotrafficking. The HSV Swift also provides humanitarian outreach, such as delivering water filters and gifts for children in orphanages. The training and assistance provided via HSV Swift, as well as the presence of this impressive ship, send a strong signal of the commitment of the U.S. government to enhance security and prosperity throughout the region. POLOFF Alain Norman served as Political Advisor aboard the Swift, riding from Bluefields, Nicaragua, to Santo Domingo and conducting several briefings, among other duties. ¶4. (C) Fernandez Hands Out the Spoils Two recent meetings provided fresh evidence of a political spoils system that is wasting tax dollars and bloating the bureaucracy. In a meeting with Youth Minister Rodriguez, Public Affairs Section staff learned that the small Ministry has 23 Subsecretarios (Under- and Assistant-Secretaries). Rodriguez said that only five have offices and that the remainder are "on call," implying that they perform little-to-no work in return for their salaries. In a meeting with Labor Minister Puig, POLOFFs asked about recent leadership changes and inquired who should be our points of contact. Puig replied that there are 28 Subsecretarios at the Ministry, adding, with a smile, that "many of them are just put there by the President." He directed POLOFFs to two Subsecretarios that are clearly performing the jobs assigned to them. ¶5. (U) Caribbean Discusses Drugs at UNODC Conference From February 17 to 20, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime held the "Ministerial Conference on Illicit Drug Trafficking, Transnational Organized Crime, and Terrorism," hosted by the Dominican Republic. The event was well attended, with Caribbean ministers, UNODC Executive Director Costa, and CARICOM Secretary-General Carrington participating. In a Political Declaration, the parties established the Santo Domingo Partnership Monitoring Mechanism and urged UNODC to reopen an office in the Caribbean (full text sent to WHA/CAR). At a session for donor countries, visiting INL Program Officer Kevin Brown described U.S. assistance in the region, praised the effort to tackle drugs from a regional perspective, and acknowledged the importance of donor coordination. (U) Please visit us at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/ BULLEN