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  CARACAS 000560 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
NSC FOR CBARTON 
USCINCSO ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS USAID FOR DCHA/OTI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2014 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM VE
SUBJECT: DAS DESHAZO PRESSES SIGNATURE COUNT WITH VP RANGEL 
 
 
Classified By: Abelardo A. Arias, Political Counselor, 
for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (C) WHA DAS Peter DeShazo told Vice President Jose Vicente 
Rangel on February 16 that the world is watching the manner 
in which the National Electoral Council(CNE) carries out the 
signature count on the recall petition against President Hugo 
Chavez.  DAS DeShazo expressed full support for the work of 
the OAS and Carter Center in providing international 
observation of the signature verification process.  He urged 
the GOV to give precedence to the will of the citizens over 
technicalities in the verification process.  VP Rangel 
countered that the USG is trying to place the opinion of the 
OAS and Carter Center over the decision of the CNE, which has 
sovereign authority in the matter.  He challenged the USG to 
declare its willingness to respect the CNE's decision 
regardless of the outcomes.  DeShazo reiterated several times 
that the process must be transparent, fair, and respectful of 
citizens who signed in good faith.  Individual press 
statements by both DeShazo and Rangel after the meeting 
echoed the same sentiments.  End Summary. 
 
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DAS DeShazo Supports OAS and Carter Center 
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¶2. (C) WHA DAS Peter DeShazo, accompanied by the Ambassador, 
met with Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel on February 16. 
New Foreign Minister Jesus Perez, MFA Chief of Staff Arevalo 
Mendez, North American Deskoff Rebeca Guevara, and poloff 
(notetaker) also attended.  DAS DeShazo started by expressing 
the USG's full support for the work of the OAS and Carter 
Center in the signature verification process, especially of 
the statement issued by the two institutions on February 13 
(ref).  DeShazo said the USG is concerned that the National 
Electoral Council CNE) is apparently raising excessive 
technicalities in the signature verification process in the 
various recall drives, including against President Hugo 
Chavez.  DAS DeShazo expressed concern that these technical 
issues are being given prevalence over the will of citizens 
who signed the petition against Chavez in good faith. 
DeShazo said the USG values very much the opinion of the OAS 
and Carter Center in the process. 
 
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JVR: Don't Discount CNE's Sovereign Authority 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Rangel responded that the OAS and Carter Center are 
invited as observers by the CNE, the only entity that can 
call the referendum.  Rangel repeatedly tried to trap DAS 
DeShazo into saying that the OAS and Carter Center were 
"above" the CNE.  DeShazo replied each time that we support 
the OAS and Carter Center observation effort.  Rangel accused 
the USG of attempting to supplant the OAS and Carter Center 
over the CNE.  He said the GOV will respect the decision of 
the CNE no matter what (though he noted that both the GOV and 
the opposition would have the right to appeal the decision to 
the Supreme Court).  He challenged the USG to commit to 
respect the decision of the CNE, suggesting that the USG 
would not respect a decision that favored President Chavez. 
Rangel said the "will of the people" is respected in 
Venezuela better than any other country because its 
constitution permits the recall of elected officials.  Rangel 
objected to labelling as "technicalities" serious problems 
like signatures by the deceased, signatures by foreigners, 
and multiple signatures by the same person.  Rangel noted 
that the signature forms presented by GOV supporters against 
opposition deputies contained many errors as well. 
 
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Means Just As Important As the Ends 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) DAS DeShazo assured Rangel the USG respected the 
 
sovereignty of Venezuela and the authority of the CNE, 
however, he noted that transparency in the process is 
crucial, something that can only be helped by OAS and Carter 
Center participation.  These institutions have raised the 
existence of problems, such as the treatment of the 
"planillas planas" (signature forms in which required 
information was filled out by one person and then signed by 
individual signatories).  Declining to answer Rangel's demand 
that the USG commit to respect the final CNE decision, 
DeShazo insisted several times that the manner in which the 
decision is carried out is just as critical.  It must be 
transparent and fair and give precedence to the will of the 
citizens, he told the Vice President.  The USG and the rest 
of the world would draw its conclusions based on these 
criteria, DeShazo concluded. 
 
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Press Statements Trade Shots 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Speaking to press after the meeting, DAS DeShazo 
reiterated USG support for the OAS and Carter Center, noting 
that their presence facilitated a peaceful, constitutional, 
democratic and legal solution in accordance with OAS 
Resolution 833.  He backed up the observers' joint statement 
of February 13, highlighting the need to favor popular 
expression over excessive technicalities.  In response to a 
question, DAS DeShazo recognized that the CNE will make the 
decision, but that it should do so free of political 
pressure.  Asked about recent charges by President Chavez 
that the USG is funding allegedly seditious NGOs via the 
National Endowment for Democracy (NED), DeShazo pointed out 
that the NED's work has an established track record for 
supporting democracy worldwide and is open to a wide range of 
political actors.  Both sides in Venezuela have received 
funding, DeShazo noted. 
 
¶6. (U) VP Rangel, after meeting with DeShazo, told reporters 
he welcomed OAS and Carter Center participation.  He said 
they would widen international observation to include other 
groups that observed the signature drives.  He also warned 
the USG to refrain from casting the OAS and Carter Center as 
a parallel mechanism to the sovereign authority of the CNE. 
Rangel said he had asked DeShazo what the USG response would 
be if the CNE rejected the presidential recall petition and 
said he got no response.  He then added that he did not care 
what the USG thinks since the matter is exclusively 
Venezuelan.  Rangel renewed Chavez's accusations that the USG 
is funding the opposition, suggesting that those groups who 
took money might be guilty of violating a Supreme Court 
decision from 2001. 
 
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Comment 
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¶7. (C) Rangel was contentious throughout the meeting and 
repeatedly tried to bait DAS DeShazo into committing to the 
CNE's final decision.  He was in lockstep with the Chavista 
line that the international community seeks to subordinate 
the CNE to international observers.  The GOV is obviously 
disturbed by the OAS/Carter Center statement of February 13 
and has begun a smear campaign to discredit them.  The GOV is 
clearly positioning itself to deny the referendum, and to 
neutralize the moral authority of the international 
observers. 
 
¶8. (U) DAS DeShazo cleared this cable. 
SHAPIRO 
 
 
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      2004CARACA00560 - CONFIDENTIAL