TFHA01 EL SALVADOR: PUSHING BACK ON MISGUIDED HAITI COMMENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000033 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/25 TAGS: PREL HA ES SUBJECT: TFHA01 EL SALVADOR: PUSHING BACK ON MISGUIDED HAITI COMMENTS CLASSIFIED BY: Robert I. Blau, Charge d' Affaires, Department of State, Executive Office; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (U) On Saturday, January 23, the leftist FMLN party held a rally in honor of one of their founders, Shafik Handal, at which Central American Parliament member Nidia Diaz criticized American bases in Latin America, the militarization of U.S. assistance to Haiti, and what she described as a more generalized U.S.-based plot to undo leftist gains in the region, as evidenced by the electoral victory of PiC1era in Chile. ¶2. (U) On-line daily "El Faro" contacted Embassy Information Officer Alberto Rodriguez over the weekend to obtain a USG reaction; IO corrected the record on Haiti, emphasizing that the USG presence was welcomed by the Haitian government and people, and that the missions were all humanitarian and necessary. Regarding basing, the IO pointed out that the Cooperative Security Location at Comalapa Airport operates pursuant to a bilateral agreement, which satisfies both countries' interest in combating narcotics trafficking. El Faro ran the IO's comments on Monday, January 25. ¶3. (U) Taking advantage of a ceremony to donate Merida-Initiative equipment to the Salvadoran Police on Monday, January 25, ChargC) d'Affaires responded to media questions on these same subjects, and once again corrected the record, making essentially the same points as IO did with "El Faro." ChargC) emphasized that the U.S. military, working with civilian agencies, the Haitian government, MINUSTAH, and other countries' representatives were saving lives, much as they did in the wake of mudslides and flooding caused by Tropical Storm Ida here in El Salvador in November. ChargC) also called Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez, who said that he had himself publicly clarified today (Monday, January 25) that Nidia Diaz's statements did not in any way reflect the position of the GOES, and that the U.S. effort responded to a natural disaster of enormous proportions. ¶4. (C) Comment: Haiti provides yet another context for the hard-line part of the FMLN to show its hostility to the USG, and at the same time embarrass the Funes government, which always responds by emphasizing that the FMLN does not speak for the GOES on foreign policy matters. Nidia Diaz, a former guerrilla commander, is one of the most radical FMLN members, but at her side were other key party leaders, such as FMLN Coordinator Medardo Gonzalez, Legislative Assembly Vice President Sigfrido Reyes, and Vice-President Salvador Sanchez-Ceren. Unfortunately, it is the hard-liners that dominate the party leadership, while more moderate members, such as the foreign minister, are caught between the competing forces of party discipline and loyalty to President Funes. BLAU