RCTV President Asks U.S. to Press U.S. Cables Operators to

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000109 SIPDIS AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF AMEMBASSY BERLIN PASS TO AMCONSUL LEIPZIG AMEMBASSY ATHENS PASS TO AMCONSUL THESSALONIKI AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PASS TO AMCONSUL QUEBEC AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PASS TO AMCONSUL RECIFE E.O. 12958: DECL: 2035/01/28 TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM VE EINV SUBJECT: RCTV President Asks U.S. to Press U.S. Cables Operators to Restore Its Signal REF: 10 CARACAS 75; 10 CARACAS 101 CLASSIFIED BY: Robin D. Meyer, Political Counselor, State, POL; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) Summary. In a meeting with the Charge on January 26, RCTV President Marcel Granier asked the U.S. government to press DirectTV, Net Uno, and Inter to restore RCTV programming in Venezuela. Granier charged that these were "U.S. companies" and that they had illegally bowed to Venezuelan government (GBRV) pressure in dropping RCTV from their schedules on January 24 (ref a). Granier said RCTV could not survive financially if it had to abide by the regulations governing "national" audiovisual producers. Since he saw the regulation as specifically targeted at RCTV, he expressed doubt that any dialogue with Cabello would change the GBRV's decision. Moreover, he "would cease being me" if he sought a dialogue and compromise with the GBRV. According to Granier, RCTV reaches 67 percent of the Venezuelan market, including 40 percent of the poorest class. Three of the smaller cable channels affected by the January 21 decision were reclassified as "international" producers on January 26 and returned to the air (ref b). Action request contained in para 10. End Summary. RCTV Charges that U.S. Cable Operators Acted Illegally ¶2. (C) On January 26, RCTV President Marcel Granier and RCTV Legal Counsel Oswaldo Quintana Cardona met with Charge, PAO, and Polcouns to discuss the closing of RCTV on January 24 (ref a). Granier claimed that DirectTV, Net Uno, and Inter had no legal basis for removing RCTV from their programming simply based on the verbal demand of Diosdado Cabello, the Minister of Housing and Public Works and the head of the government regulatory agency Conatel, and pressure by President Chavez. Granier claimed these cable operators were "U.S. companies" and that they had acted illegally since there was no judicial order or administrative sanction that required them to remove RCTV from their programming. (Note: Post believes Granier meant that these companies were U.S.-owned. End Note.) He characterized their actions as a form of corruption and a violation of the rights of the cable subscribers. He argued that they should have resisted GBRV pressure on principle. ¶3. (C) Granier said he was turning to the U.S. government for help since he claimed RCTV International has been a registered U.S. company since 1982. He specifically asked the U.S. government to press DirectTV, Net Uno, and Inter, which he also claimed were "U.S. companies," to restore their RCTV programming. He urged the Charge to make them understand that they were serving as "accomplices in the violation of human rights." He discounted their supposed fears of potential official retribution by claiming the GBRV would not risk the outcry that would result from closing down the country's major cable operators that reach millions of homes. RCTV's Bleak Future ¶4. (C) Granier did not dispute that RCTV had met the definition of "national producer" at the time the regulation was issued on December 22. However, he argued that regulation was unconstitutionally being applied retroactively. Rather than assess RCTV's pre-December 22 programming to determine whether it met the 70 percent threshold for classification as a "national" producer, Conatel should have made its assessment based on the four-month period after the regulation was adopted. Granier claimed that RCTV's post-January 13 programming met the requirements for classification as an "international" producer and therefore should continue to be exempt from the law requiring "national" producers to carry certain Presidential speeches ("cadenas") and government announcements and to limit commercial advertisements. Granier further charged that Conatel had provided no "due process" for RCTV to appeal the decision before pressuring the cable operators to remove RCTV from their programming. ¶5. (C) Granier said that Cabello's public insistence that RCTV could register as a "national" producer and then have its status reviewed after four months was insincere. According to Granier, Cabello knew that RCTV could not survive financially for that period if it had to air required government broadcasts and was limited to only one commercial per program. In addition, Granier doubted that Cabello would really reassess RCTV's status as a "national" producer after that period since he believed the new regulation had been designed specifically to close RCTV. More importantly, Granier said that "I would cease being me" if he agreed to any compromise with the GBRV. He said RCTV had not been in direct contact with Cabello or Conatel since 2002, and even had difficulty transmitting official documents to them. ¶6. (C) According to Granier, while RCTV is not appealing to Conatel, it is filing legal appeals with the Venezuelan Supreme Court. (Note: Per ref b, on January 27, three of the small cable stations affected by Conatel's decision returned to the air after being reclassified "international" producers. However, Granier's assessment that RCTV was the target of the new regulation and unlikely to win any appeal with Conatel is widely shared. End Note.) ¶7. (C) Granier said he hoped RCTV could establish some kind of "fund" to help the 1,500 RCTV workers who were affected by the closing of the station. Politics at Heart of Dispute ¶8. (C) Charge stressed to Granier the political nature of the dispute between the government and RCTV, which was unlikely to be resolved through the GBRV's regulatory process, and expressed interest in RCTV's views regarding the role of the cable operators in the shutdown of the station. Comment and Action Request ¶9. (C) Post does not believe that the GBRV will back down from its decision to classify RCTV as a "national" producer despite domestic and international protests given its longstanding hostility toward Granier and his reciprocal attitude toward the government. Moreover, Conatel's decision to reclassify three of the smaller stations and permit them back on the air gives the government a faC'ade of procedural legitimacy for this new regulation. ¶10. (C) Post requests Department's guidance regarding RCTV's request that we approach DirectTV, Net Uno, and Inter to discuss the possible restoration of their RCTV programming. Post would also appreciate information as to whether RCTV International, DirectTV, Net Uno, and Inter are "U.S.-owned" companies. CAULFIELD