VZCZCXRO7043
PP RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHHA RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL
RUEHQU RUEHRD RUEHRG RUEHRS RUEHTM RUEHVC
DE RUEHGE #0679 1932055
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 122055Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3778
INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0067

C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 000679 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/CAR 
WHA/PPC - YONEOKA 
IO/UNP - HARRIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/12/2016 
TAGS: PREL UNSC CARICOM VE GY
SUBJECT: (C) FUZZY MATH: JAGDEO SAYS UNSC VOTE ALL ABOUT 
DOLLARS 
 
REF: A. GEORGETOWN 672 
     ¶B. GEORGETOWN 607 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Roland W. Bullen 
For Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (U) Action request see para 5. 
 
¶2. (C) President Jadgeo told Ambassador July 11 that CARICOM 
has made a condition on its support for Venezuela's UNSC seat 
candidacy -- that Venezuela must make a public statement that 
it will not use the UNSC seat to further the cause of its 
border issue.  In the context of the conversation, it was not 
clear if "border issue" included Bird Rock as well as the 
Guyana-Venezuela border. 
 
¶3. (C) Jadgeo discussed Guyana's and CARICOM's thinking at 
some length.  He contrasted the Guatemala-Belize and 
Venezuela-Guyana border disputes, saying that Venezuela and 
Guyana have an active UN Good Offices process (Comment: Post 
would characterize this process as "moribund") whereas 
Guatemala has aggressively pursued its claim.  Jagdeo cited 
Guatemala's failure to support (or opposition to) CARICOM 
issues in multilateral fora.  He also faulted Guatemala for 
not establishing relationships with CARICOM leaders: "People 
support people they know.  We don't know Guatemala.  We do 
know Venezuela."  Jadgeo cited Chile as an example of a 
country that had paid much attention to establishing and 
maintaining relationships with CARICOM leaders -- almost 
implying that CARICOM might (or might have) supported a 
Chilean UNSC bid.  By contrast, he cited Brazil as an example 
of a country that courted support for candidates, but then 
forgot about Guyana/CARICOM afterwards. 
 
¶4. (C) Jagdeo described his decision-making process for votes 
in international fora as "mercenary" and "you scratch our 
back, we scratch yours."   Venezuela has promised to pay for 
dredging several rivers in Guyana, which will cost millions 
of dollars.  So Guyana will vote for Venezuela.  But Jadgeo 
wants to see the tranferred funds in the bank first.  Asked 
how the projected $100 million of U.S. assistance to Guyana 
in the 2005-2007 time period would affect the "mercenary" 
equation, Jagdeo replied he would vote for the U.S., but the 
U.S. is not a candidate.  Jagdeo said he had heard that 
Venezuela had not supported Guyana in the IDB for two loans, 
adding "If this is true, no support."  As an economist, 
Jagdeo would take serious note of evidence that Venezuela has 
gone against loans to Guyana in the IDB or elsewhere. 
 
¶5. (C) ACTION REQUEST: From the conversation with Jagdeo, it 
appears there are two possible ways to derail Guyana's 
support for Venezuela: 
 
-- Demonstrate that Chavez does intend to use a UNSC seat to 
pursue its Guyana or Bird Rock claims. 
 
-- Show Jadgeo evidence that Venezuela has recently (within 
the last year) not supported loans to Guyana, either in the 
IDB or other international fora. 
 
Post would appreciate any information Department can provide 
regarding these two points. 
 
BULLEN