This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BUENOS AIRES 003067 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/29/2014 
TAGS: PHUM PREL AR UNSC MEETINGS WITH AMBASSADOR
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH FM BIELSA 
 
REF: A. STATE 223883 
 
          ¶B. BUENOS AIRES 3041 
     ¶C. STATE 232102 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Lino Gutierrez, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador Gutierrez met October 29 with 
Foreign Minister Bielsa to deliver a letter from Secretary 
Powell congratulating Argentina on its selection to the UN 
Security Council and to review other bilateral and regional 
issues.  The Ambassador expressed his satisfaction with the 
strong state of bilateral ties and reiterated our continued 
support for strengthening democracy and strong economic 
growth in Argentina.  The Ambassador also expressed 
appreciation for Argentina's leadership role in Haiti and in 
support of constitutional democracy in Bolivia.  FM Bielsa 
said Argentina was committed to Haiti for the long haul and 
is considering sending additional troops.  He said Haiti 
would be a priority for Argentina when it assumes its seat on 
the UNSC.  On Venezuela, Bielsa believed the situation had 
improved since the referendum, but noted he was still 
concerned with Chavez's rhetoric and was closely monitoring 
proposals to restrict the freedom of NGO's.  On Cuba, Bielsa 
said relations with the Castro regime had become distinctly 
cooler recently as a result of the government's refusal to 
grant a travel permit to Dr. Molina to visit her family in 
Argentina.  He said that if Senator (First Lady) Cristina 
Kirchner did visit Cuba next year, she planned to meet with 
the wives of the jailed dissidents (Panuelos Blancos). 
However, he doubted the visit would happen since he expected 
the Castro government would not permit the meeting with the 
dissidents.  The FM expressed his hope that a meeting with 
Secretary Powell would prove possible in December.  End 
 
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Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C) Ambassador Gutierrez met October 29 with Foreign 
Minister Raphael Bielsa to convey the letter from the 
Secretary Powell congratulating Argentina on its selection to 
 
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the United Nations Security Council (reftel A).  The 
Ambassador, who was accompanied by the DCM and POLCOUNS, also 
took the opportunity to review a wide range of bilateral and 
regional issues of mutual concern.  The MFA Director for 
North American Affairs, Ambassador Vicente Espeche Gil also 
sat in on the meeting.  On delivering the letter, the 
Ambassador stated we looked forward to working closely 
Argentina on the Security Council and that we would be 
contacting them soon, both here and with their Mission in New 
York, to arrange for working level consultations on the range 
of key issues facing the Council, especially security issues 
such as counterterrorism and weapons of mass destruction. 
 
¶3.  (C) FM Bielsa assured the Ambassador of his willingness 
to cooperate closely with us on Security Council matters. 
Bielsa then said ""speaking of the Security Council,"" that for 
Argentina, the situation in Haiti would be one of their top 
priorities when they assumed their seat in January.  Bielsa 
(who recently returned from a visit to Haiti) said Argentina 
was fully committed to Haiti for the ""long haul"" and that 
this commitment included sending additional Argentine troops 
to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.  Bielsa said 
MINUSTAH was ""only the beginning"" of what needed to be a 
concerted effort by the international community to develop a 
comprehensive strategic plan to assist in Haiti's 
reconstruction.  He said there was an urgent need for ""clear 
politics, sound management, money and more people"" if the 
international effort in Haiti were to succeed.  He said the 
GOA was preparing papers on its thinking on Haiti and would 
forward them to us. 
 
¶4.  (C) Reflecting on his recent visit to Haiti, Bielsa said 
the situation was very worrying and very complex.  He 
stressed the need to take preventative measures against 
violence which he believed originated from many sectors, both 
political and criminal.  The situation was exacerbated he 
said by the total breakdown of capacity within the country. 
What little infrastructure that remained was rendered useless 
by the lack of maintenance.  He described the actions of 
Argentine troops in Haiti as ""heroic"" noting that medical 
staff had treated over 3,000 patients since their arrival. 
Bielsa said the deployment of Argentine troops to Haiti had 
been unpopular domestically and that the government had been 
accused of being the ""Marines of the U.S."" but that it was 
important for Argentina to act responsibly and in concert 
with its neighbors on hemispheric issues.  The Ambassador 
reiterated the thanks both President Bush and Secretary 
Powell had expressed to the GOA for their assistance in Haiti 
and stressed that this was an important example of what we 
can accomplish together regionally. 
 
¶5.  (C) The Ambassador said our bilateral relations with 
Argentina in general, and on specific issues in particular, 
were strong.  He assured Bielsa of continued USG support for 
the strengthening of democracy and for strong economic growth 
in Argentina noting we were watching closely the ongoing debt 
restructuring efforts.  The Ambassador referred to the recent 
meeting between Assistant Secretary Noreiga and Deputy 
Foreign Minister Taiana in Washington as an example of how we 
were working to increase cooperation between our countries on 
both bilateral and multilateral issues.  The Ambassador also 
welcomed the upcoming visit to Washington by MFA Under 
Secretary for Foreign Policy Roberto Garcia Moritan for the 
 
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November 22 pol-mil talks as another example of our 
increasing cooperation.  The Ambassador said that the request 
for a meeting between Bielsa and Secretary Powell had been 
submitted but that the schedules for both were already very 
complicated during the proposed December timeframe. 
(Comment: Bielsa quickly indicated his availability during 
the first week of December again demonstrating his keen 
desire for a meeting.)  When asked about the possible 
ramifications of next week's presidential elections, the 
Ambassador underscored the constancy of U.S. strategic 
interests in the region. 
 
¶6.  (C) Turning to other regional issues, the Ambassador 
thanked Bielsa for his efforts in supporting the 
constitutional government in Bolivia.  The Ambassador 
underscored our concerns about human rights and the future of 
democracy in Venezuela, noting the DCM had recently met with 
the MFA Under Secretary for Latin American Affairs Dario 
Alessandro to raise the potential arrest warrants for SUMATE 
leaders and the proposed restrictions on foreign funding for 
NGO's supporting human rights (reftel B).  Bielsa responded 
that he believed the situation in Venezuela was better than 
it was before the referendum but that the GOA was closely 
monitoring the NGO situation.  He said that he had sent 
instructions to Argentina's mission in Caracas to maintain 
its dialogue with all segments of Venezuelan society and that 
the GOA would continue to work quietly but firmly behind the 
scenes in support of democracy.  The Ambassador emphasized 
that President Kirchner occupies a special position with 
Chavez and is in a position to exert a very positive 
influence. 
 
¶7.  (C) On Cuba, Bielsa said relations with the Castro regime 
had gone into a deep freeze in recent months adding that 
Castro's refusal to grant a travel permit to Cuban scientist 
Hilda Molina and her mother to visit her son and his family 
in Argentina had become a major stumbling block.  He said the 
GOA was doing all it could to secure travel permits for 
Molina and her mother and had difficulty understanding why 
Castro was so opposed.  He added the Molina problem had 
become a ""bottom line, non-negotiable"" issue for the GOA and, 
barring a resolution, made a proposed visit by First Lady 
(and Senator) Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to Cuba 
unlikely.  Bielsa said, however, that if the First Lady did 
travel to Cuba, it would be contingent on her being allowed 
to visit with dissident spouses (the so-called ""ladies in 
white"") which he did not think likely.  (Comment:  Bielsa did 
not even mention the possibility of a visit by President 
Kirchner.) 
 
¶8.  (C) Turning to security issues, Bielsa asked the 
Ambassador how the GOA was doing in cooperating with the U.S. 
on border security in the Tri-border region.  The Ambassador 
said we had received excellent cooperation from all branches 
of the Argentinean security services.  Bielsa commented that 
there were different views of the problems in the Tri-border 
region reflecting the different optics of those concerned, 
e.g. the tourism, commercial and security sectors.  However, 
Bielsa stressed that the GOA was ""very attentive"" to our 
security concerns in the Tri-border area. 
¶9.  (C) On other security issues, the Ambassador informed 
Bielsa of the invitation to observe multilateral maritime 
exercises in support of the President's Proliferation 
Security Initiative in Key West, Florida in November (reftel 
C).  He thanked Bielsa for his previous support of the PSI. 
Bielsa thanked the Ambassador for the invitation to send 
observers calling it ""fantastic."" 
 
¶10.  (C) Comment:  Bielsa was positive and forthcoming on all 
the issues we raised with him.  Of particular import was his 
unequivocal statement that Argentina would be in Haiti for 
the long haul and is considering sending additional troops. 
Also of considerable interest were Bielsa's comments on the 
cooling relationship with Cuba.  His commitment that a 
potential visit by the First Lady to Cuba was contingent on 
Cuba's allowing her to meet with dissidents was especially 
welcome and represented new policy ground for the GOA. 
 
¶11.  (C) The conversation with Bielsa demonstrated clearly 
that the GOA is prepared to move forward in a substantive 
manner on increased cooperation with the U.S. as set forth in 
the proposed action agenda discussed recently in the meeting 
between Assistant Secretary Noreiga and Deputy Secretary 
Taiana.  Bielsa's eagerness to meet with the Secretary also 
is a strong indication of his desire to move our bilateral 
cooperation to a new level.  End Comment. 
 
 
 
GUTIERREZ