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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0516
INFO RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
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RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
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UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000030 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL SNAR EFIN CI
SUBJECT: Media Report January 9-11 
 
WHA A/S Valenzuela 
 
¶1.            A/S for WHA Arturo Valenzuela will visit Chile Monday 
and Tuesday on a tour that includes meetings with government and 
political representatives. The U.S. high-ranking official will meet 
with President Michelle Bachelet, Foreign Minister Mariano 
Fernandez and Finance Minister Andres Velasco. One of the topics in 
the agenda is the eventual reelection of Jose Miguel Insulza for 
OAS Secretary General. (Conservative, independent La Tercera 1/9) 
 
 
 
¶2.            Yesterday, Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez met in 
Washington with WHA A/S Arturo Valenzuela. This was a key meeting, 
since the United States has not revealed its support for Jose 
Miguel Insulza yet, with whom the relations have chilled since the 
latter supported the initiative to withdraw Cuba's expulsion from 
the regional organization.  Valenzuela will visit Santiago Monday 
and Tuesday to meet with President Bachelet, the two presidential 
candidates, and to sign a bilateral extradition agreement. 
(Conservative, newspaper-of-record El Mercurio 1/9) 
 
 
 
¶3.            The two Chilean presidential candidates, Sebastian 
Pi????era and Eduardo Frei, have scheduled separate meetings with 
Arturo Valenzuela, President Barack Obama's advisor. (El Mercurio 
1/11) 
 
 
 
¶4.            Column by Editor Steve Anderson, entitled "U.S. State 
Department Hemispheric Chief Arturo Valenzuela Visits Chile" 
"Arturo Valenzuela... is in Santiago today, Monday to meet with 
President Michele Bachelet and with presidential candidate 
Sebastian Pi????era and Eduardo Frei. Top item on the agenda, report 
the national media, is Chile's promotion of a second five-year 
mandate for Organization of American States (OAS) General Secretary 
Jose Miguel Insulza... The prior OAS history will no doubt will 
(sic) shadow the meetings occurring in Santiago this week. Although 
Valenzuela is no Noriega, the U.S. State Department has upset many 
Southern Cone leaders by its acquiescence to the military coup in 
Honduras last year and its duplicitous role in keeping Honduran 
President Mel Zelaya from returning to office. The Western 
Hemisphere office was rudderless at the time of the coup, with 
Valenzuela's appointment held up by conservatives in the U.S. 
Senate. Southern Cone nations, led by Brazil, have strongly 
condemned this U.S. diplomacy." (English-language digital 
newspaper, Santiago Times, 1/11) 
 
 
 
U.S. -Chile 
 
¶5.            "Obama Will not Visit Chile in the Remainder of the 
Bachelet Administration" The possibility of a presidential visit to 
Chile is remote.  The U.S. Embassy in Chile commented that "there 
is nothing planned" now or in the near future... The Chilean 
mission in the United States said that they have not been contacted 
in any way about an eventual visit by President Obama. For now, the 
only chance for a Chilean president to meet Obama is at the April 
summit on nuclear security to take place in Washington. Michelle 
Bachelet will not be in power then and either Sebastian Pi????era or 
Eduardo Frei will be the one to shake his hand. (El Mercurio 1/10) 
 
 
 
¶6.            Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez made a short 
stop-over in Washington after his surprise visits to Caracas and 
Managua last week seeking support for OAS Secretary General Jose 
Miguel Insulza's reelection.  Fernandez discussed with Insulza 
about the various scenarios which could take place at the Permanent 
Council's meeting on Wednesday. (La Tercera 1/10) 
 
 
 
¶7.            President Bachelet inaugurated Thursday a modern 
 
inspection site of fruits and vegetables destined for the U.S. 
market. The state-of-the-art facilities in the area of Teno, in 
central Chile, will increase the capability of the Chilean 
Agricultural and Animal Service (SAG) to conduct pre-departure 
inspections of produce exported to the United States.  The 
President opened the facility accompanied by U.S. Under Secretary 
of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulation Programs Edward Avalos, 
U.S. Ambassador Paul Simons, and other officials. (El Mercurio 
1/11) 
 
 
 
Frei Case 
 
¶8.            Interview with Dr. Enrique Paris, Director of the 
Toxicology Center at Catholic University of Chile, in which he 
dismissed the reports prepared by Chilean experts Carmen Cerda and 
Laura B????rgel who revealed alleged presence of mustard gas and 
thallium in former President Eduardo Frei Montalva's sample 
tissues. Dr. Paris accused Dr. B????rgel of basing much of her 
arguments on scientific literature and not quoting the author. He 
also reiterated that Dr. B????rgel's findings have not been supported 
by laboratories in the United States or other countries. (El 
Mercurio 1/10) 
 
 
 
Local 
 
¶9.            Seven days before the presidential runoff, an El 
Mercurio-Opina S.A. opinion poll conducted in Santiago, Concepcion 
and Valparaiso gave opposition presidential candidate Sebastian 
Pi????era 46.1%, over government coalition contestant Eduardo Frei, 
who obtained 41%  (El Mercurio 1/9) 
 
 
 
U.S. Air Security 
 
¶10.          International round-up editorial on the events 
unraveled after the Christmas Day failed terrorist attempt against 
a U.S. commercial airliner: "It was expected that Obama would 
differentiate from George W. Bush and behead the ones responsible. 
He did not... Obama was upset with the security services but calm. 
It was the Obama who often takes a distance and seeks for a 
solution, consults, studies and reconciles. This irks his critics 
who, particularly when it comes to terrorism, ask for further 
action... This has been a tough first year for Obama. (El Mercurio 
1/11) 
SIMONS