PRESIDENT ARIAS DISCUSSES HIS MEDIATION EFFORTS

S E C R E T TEGUCIGALPA 000663

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA A/S TOM SHANNON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV AEMR KDEM MARR PINR HO
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT ARIAS DISCUSSES HIS MEDIATION EFFORTS

REF: (A) TEGUCIGALPA 635 AND PREVIOUS (B) SECSTATE
69222

Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens, reasons 1.4 (b & d)


1. (S) President Arias called the Ambassador the evening
of July 27 to get an update on the situation in Honduras
and our efforts to support his mediation efforts. The
Ambassador responded that the situation was mixed. On the
positive side, the Honduran military was now moving in the
direction of supporting Arias' mediation effort and a
settlement along the lines of his most recent 12-point
proposal. The Ambassador noted that the Honduran military's
issuance of a statement on July 25 supportive of a
negotiated settlement was a strong step forward. The
Ambassador added that through persistent U.S. efforts here in
Tegucigalpa and in Washington many Hondurans in the
political, business, and civil society communities were
now supportive of a democratic solution as offered by Arias'
mediation. The Ambassador stressed that we continued to
pause in our economic assistance, had completely suspended
our military aid, and were moving to put direct pressure on
regime officials by withdrawing their diplomatic visas. The
Ambassador noted that the recent visit of a congressional
delegation led by Congressman Connie Mack, in which the CODEL
had met in a very high-profile manner with de facto regime
President Roberto Micheletti, had not been helpful to our
efforts to find a democratic and constitutional solution to
the crisis, since it gave the Micheletti the hope to hang
tough and not negotiate on the issue of the quick return of
President Zelaya.


2. (S) Arias agreed with the Ambassador's assessment. He
added that President Zelaya's continued antics on the
border were also not helpful. Arias made clear that he
opposed Zelaya's lingering presence on the border and his
threats to return with supporters back to Honduras. Both
agreed that the practical reaction to Zelaya's threats on
the border was a hardening of the regime's position, making
an agreement more difficult. Arias and the Ambassador also
agreed that Zelaya was increasingly isolated and being
influenced in a radical direction by Venezuela and
Nicaragua. The Ambassador told Arias that Zelaya advisor
Rixi Moncada had mentioned yesterday that there was a
chance that President Zelaya would attend the Tuxtla Summit
on Wednesday. Arias responded that he and his government had
not been informed of Zelaya's planned participation in the
Summit, although he agreed it would be a very wise decision
if he chose to travel to Costa Rica. Both agreed that
Zelaya should consider traveling to Washington for
consultations
with the U.S. Administration and the OAS, and possibly travel
to other capitals including Mexico.


3. (S) Arias mentioned that the Honduran Congress's
consideration of the Arias proposal, particularly the
political amnesty aspects of the deal, were extremely
important. The Ambassador briefed Arias on the
congressional deliberations begun on July 27, which
included the creation of congressional commissions to study
the different aspects of the proposed agreement. The
Ambassador said that the embassy would make a major push
this week to influence Congress to throw their support
behind Arias' mediation. They agreed to stay in touch.
LLORENS