Honduras: presiones de EE UU

Cable sobre las peticiones de Venezuela a Honduras

Venezuela pidió a Honduras sacar a las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia de la lista de organizaciones terroristas

29 ene 2011 - 21:42CET

ID:	139018
Date:	2008-01-28 22:55:00
Origin:	08TEGUCIGALPA89
Source:	Embassy Tegucigalpa
Classification:	CONFIDENTIAL
Dunno:	08TEGUCIGALPA57 08TEGUCIGALPA84
Destination:	VZCZCXRO3302 OO RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHHA RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHQU RUEHRD RUEHRG RUEHRS RUEHTM RUEHVC DE RUEHTG #0089 0282255 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 282255Z JAN 08 FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7597 INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS IMMEDIATE RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL//CINC/POLAD// IMMEDIATE RUEAHND/CDRJTFB SOTO CANO HO IMMEDIATE RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-5// IMMEDIATE RHMFISS/DIRJIATF SOUTH IMMEDIATE RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC IMMEDIATE RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L TEGUCIGALPA 000089 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/27/2018 TAGS: PTER, PREL, ECIN, EPET, MARR, VE SUBJECT: GOH SAYS FARC NOT A TERRORIST GROUP, ATTENDS ALBA SUMMIT: PAYOFF FOR PETROCARIBE? REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 57 (NOTAL) B. TEGUCIGALPA 84 (NOTAL) Classified By: Ambassador Charles Ford, reasons (b, c & d) 1. Summary: During his January 16 visit to Honduras, sources tell us that Venezuela President Hugo Chavez asked Honduran President Zelaya to either remove the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) from any terrorist lists or publicly acknowledge it as not being a terrorist organization. As the GOH has no official "terrorist lists" the announcement was made January 28 via a "leaked" press article. We believe Chavez may have also asked Zelaya to sign onto the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) or at least send a representative to the Sixth annual ALBA Summit starting on January 25. Zelaya sent his outgoing Foreign Minister Milton Jimenez, who claimed his mission was to finalize Petrocaribe, but who sat in on all the ALBA meetings and was acknowledged by Chavez as an official observer. End Summary. 2. (C) According to sources within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), during his January 16 visit to Honduras (ref a) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez asked President Manuel Zelaya to either remove the FARC from any terrorist lists or publicly acknowledge it as not being a terrorist organization. We understood from our contacts that Zelaya was asking the Ministries of Defense, Security and Foreign Affairs to give him their opinions on this issue before he made a final decision. The issue then went public before any internal discussions could apparently be held. In an article in the conservative El Heraldo on January 28, the headline read "The FARC is not on any Honduran Terrorist Lists." In the article, Vice Foreign Minister Enrique Reina is quoted as saying the GOH has condemned all terrorist attacks, but that in the case of Colombia, they regard the FARC as an internal matter that the Colombians need to resolve. He added that the GOH approaches the matter multilaterally and regionally, through the joint security policy of the System for Central American Integration (SICA). The article was followed by an "urgent" diplomatic note sent to Embassy in which these points were reiterated. The MFA Director of External Affairs, Eduardo Rosales Ramirez, denied that these pronouncements were made in response to a request by Chavez, and confirmed that the MFA does not have its own list of terrorist organizations, but bases its actions on both the UN and USG lists. Rosales also accused El Heraldo (which is owned by Jorge Canahuati, who is most closely aligned with the Nationalist party) of maliciously creating a story to damage the Zelaya administration. 3. (C) Sources tell us that when Chief of Defense Romeo Vasquez Velasquez was asked his opinion on the issue, Vasquez said that since the FARC does not threaten Honduras' borders, it is considered an internal threat and not a terrorist organization. But when approached directly on January 28, Vasquez told A/DAO that "Your (the USG) terrorist list is our terrorist list," adding that the HOAF does not work from the UN lists and does not maintain its own list. Vasquez was upset that the press had published the article, saying the editors had done it purposely to stir up trouble with the United States. 4. (C) Comment: Although flat out denied by MFA sources, we still suspect that Chavez asked Zelaya to make a pronouncement in support of the FARC in return for his concessional Petrocaribe deal (ref b). In addition, we believe Chavez asked Zelaya to send a representative to the Sixth ALBA Summit if he was serious about getting a Petrocaribe deal. So on January 25, FM Milton Jimenez flew to Venezuela and participated in the summit as an official observer. We doubt it is mere coincidence that Chavez did not sign the draft Petrocaribe deal until the conclusion of the ALBA summit, when he could have signed it during his January 16 visit (ref B). End Comment. FORD