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UNCLAS  CARACAS 002267 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PGOV VE
SUBJECT: TELESUR DEBUTS WITH MUCH FANFARE, LITTLE 
PROGRAMMING 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) THE MUCH-AWAITED LAUNCH OF TELESUR, THE REGIONAL 
TELEVISION STATION HATCHED BY VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT HUGO 
CHAVEZ-WITH NOMINAL COOPERATION FROM ARGENTINA, BRASIL, 
CUBA, AND URUGUAY-OCCURRED ON SUNDAY, JULY 24. THE 
INITIAL BROADCAST ORIGINATED FROM A THEATER IN CARACAS 
WHERE SELECT INVITED MEMBERS OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS HAD 
GATHERED TO WATCH WHAT AMOUNTED TO A NEARLY FOUR HOUR 
TALK SHOW, INTERSPERSED WITH VIDEO CLIPS FROM AROUND THE 
CONTINENT. IN A RELATIVELY SHORT CALL-IN, VENEZUELAN 
PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ FRIAS CLAIMED THAT THE STATION WILL 
MAINTAIN ITS INDEPENDENCE AND WILL NOT BE CONTROLLED BY 
ANY GOVERNMENT. THOUGH FEATURING A MOTLEY COLLECTION OF 
LEFT-LEANING PHILOSOPHERS, ARTISTS AND JOURNALISTS FROM 
THE REGION AND AROUND THE WORLD, WITH THE ATTENDENT VIEWS 
EXPRESSED, THE BROADCAST'S ANTI-AMERICANISM WAS LIGHT 
WHEN COMPARED TO MANY "ALO PRESIDENTE" BROADCASTS. THE 
PRODUCERS SEEMED TO HAVE MADE A SELF-CONSCIOUS EFFORT NOT 
TO SEEM LIKE AN OVERTLY "ALL-CHAVEZ" STATION.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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ON WITH THE SHOW 
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¶2. (U) THE INITIAL BROADCAST WAS TRANSMITTED VIA 
SATELLITE AND WAS THEORETICALLY AVAILABLE TO VIEWERS IN 
ALL OF THE AMERICAS AS WELL AS EUROPE. TO RECEIVE THE 
SIGNAL, HOWEVER, REQUIRED A LATEST TECHNOLOGY DIGITAL 
DECODER. (PAS CARACAS HAD TO BORROW ONE IN ORDER TO 
DECIFER THE SIGNAL.) SUCH EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES WERE NOT 
NEEDED FOR THE AVERAGE VENEZUELAN VIEWER. THE MAJOR 
SATELLITE PROVIDER (DIRECTTV) PERMANENTLY ALLOCATED A 
SPACE FOR THE CHANNEL ON THEIR VENEZUELAN SERVICE, WHILE 
THE MAJOR CARACAS CABLE PROVIDER "BORROWED" THE NATIONAL 
ASSEMBLY CHANNEL FOR THE BROADCAST, WHILE WORKING TO FIND 
ANOTHER PERMANENT SLOT FOR TELESUR. OTHER SMALLER CABLE 
OPERATORS ALSO CARRIED THE TRANSMISSION. WHILE TELESUR IS 
SUPPOSED TO BE PERMANENTLY PLACED ON CHANNEL 11 (ON THE 
OPEN BROADCAST SPECTRUM), THE TEST BROADCAST WAS ONLY 
AVAILABLE IN ITS ENTIRETY ON ONE OPEN CHANNEL, VTV 
CHANNEL 8 (THE STATE TELEVISION CHANNEL). 
 
¶3. (U) INTERNATIONALLY, IT SEEMS FEW VIEWERS WERE ABLE TO 
WITNESS THE LAUNCH. EMBASSIES IN PERU, BRAZIL, CHILE, 
ECUADOR, COLOMBIA, AND CUBA REPORTED LITTLE OR NO 
COVERAGE, WHILE BOLIVIA AND URUGUAY REPORTED THAT ONE 
STATION IN EACH TRANSMITTED AN HOUR OF PROGRAMMING. STATE 
TV IN ARGENTINA APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN THE MOST INTERESTED, 
REPORTEDLY TRANSMITTING THREE OF THE FOUR HOURS. 
 
¶4. (U) THE BROADCAST, WHICH BEGAN 16 MINUTES LATE, 
LEAVING MANY IN SUSPENSE ABOUT THE CAUSE AND LENGTH OF 
THE DELAY, ORIGINATED FROM THE TERESA CARRENO THEATER, 
ONE OF CARACAS' QJOR PERFORMING ARTS CENTERS. THE SET 
WAS A SEMI-CIRCULAR TABLE FEATURING THE APPROXIMATELY 35 
PRESENT MEMBERS OF THE "ADVISORY COUNCIL" AND ANCHORED BY 
THEN VENEZUELAN MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS (HE HAS SINCE 
RESIGNED THAT POST) AND TELESUR PRESIDENT ANDRES IZARRA 
AND TELESUR DIRECTOR GENERAL ARAM AHARONIAN. THE LATTER 
TWO EACH GAVE A SET OF OPENING REMARKS, FOLLOWED BY 
COMMENTS FROM NUMEROUS ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS. THE BOARD 
IS COMPOSED OF (SOME WELL KNOWN) ACTIVISTS, ARTISTS, AND 
JOURNALISTS FROM LATIN AMERICA, EUROPE, AND THE UNITED 
STATES. FOUR AMERICAN BOARD MEMBERS WERE PRESENT, 
INCLUDING ACTOR DANNY GLOVER, WHO IN THE PAST HAS 
PUBLICLY SUPPORTED PRESIDENT CHAVEZ. OTHER NOTABLE 
MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL INCLUDE: PAKISTANI FILMMAKER AND 
 
 
WRITER TARIQ ALI, NICARAGUAN ERNESTO CARDENAL, 
ENTERTAINER HARRY BELEFONTE, AND BRAZILIAN FILM DIRECTOR 
WALTER SALLES (THE LAST TWO WERE NOT PRESENT). DESPITE 
SOME OF THE MARQUIS NAMES, THOUGH, MOST ARE LESS WELL- 
KNOWN FACES. ALI MADE PERHAPS THE MOST NOTABLE COMMENTS 
WHEN HE RECOUNTED HOW A U.S. GENERAL IN DOHA HAD BURST 
INTO AL-JAZEERA'S HEADQUARTERS DEMANDING AN APOLOGY FOR 
VIDEO THEY WERE RUNNING OF THE AFTERMATH OF A U.S. TANK 
ATTACK ON A CARLOAD OF IRAQI CIVILIANS, AND HOW IMPORTANT 
IT IS FOR THE WORLD NOT TO ALLOW THE U.S. POINT OF VIEW 
TO DOMINATE THE MEDIA DISCOURSE. 
 
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REGIONAL INTEGRATION, OR IDEOLOGICAL INDOCTRINATION? 
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¶5. U) PRESIDENT CHAVEZ, APPARENTLY AT PAINS TO NOT FA 
CRITICISM OF TELESUR AS HIS OWN VESSEL, DID NOTAPPEAR IN 
PERSON NOR ON VIDEO DURING THE BROADCAS. HE WAS SEEN 
JUST BLOCKS AWAY AN HOUR EARLIER A A COMMEMORATION 
CEREMONY MARKING SIMON BOLIVAR' BIRTHDAY, AND HOURS 
LATER AT A MUSIC FESTIVAL I ANOTHER PART OF CARACAS. 
ALMOST THREE HOURS INT THE BROADCAST, CHAVEZ CALLED-IN 
TO GIVE HIS REGADS. DURING THE CALL, WHICH LASTED ONLY 
19 MINUTE, CHAVEZ PROMISED THE STATION WOULD BE 
INDEPENDET. HE ALSO SAID VENEZUELAN AMBASSADOR TO THE 
U.S BERNARDO ALVAREZ_ HAD ASSURED HIM THAT THOUSANDS WRE 
WATCHING IN THE UNITED STATES (APPARENTLY INCLDING 
PRESIDENT BUSH, WHO CHAVEZ SAID WAS "GLUED O HIS TV"), 
WHILE FIDEL CASTRO TOO WAS VIEWING FOM HAVANA. (NOTE: 
CASTRO MAY HAVE BEEN WATCHING IA A SPECIAL FEED, BUT THE 
BROADCAST APPEARS NOTTO HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE TO CUBAN 
VIEWERS). CHAVEZ AID THE PROJECT, WHICH HE CLAIMS TO 
HAVE BEEN FOMULATING FOR THE PAST SIX YEARS, IS A 
"HOMERUN" OR-MORE APPROPRIATELY FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE 
CONTINENT-A "GOAL." 
 
¶6. (U) THEN VENEZUELAN COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER AND 
TELESUR PRESIDENT ANDRES IZARRA HAILED THE STATION AS THE 
BEGINNING OF A NEW INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ORDER, A 
COUNTERWEIGHT TO A GLOBAL NEOLIBERALISM WHICH, ACCORDING 
TO THE MINISTER, IS A THREAT TO LATIN CULTURES. IZARRA 
WENT ON TO SAY, "TELESUR IS AGAINST THE OLIGARCHIES OF 
OUR COUNTRIES AND THEIR ASSOCIATES IN THE NORTH. TELESUR 
IS AGAINST CULTURAL IMPERIALISM, AGAINST IMPERIALISM IN 
ALL FORMS. IT IS NOT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, AS SOME 
HAVE SAID, WHICH IS PROVED BY OUR AMERICAN ADVISORS." 
 
¶7. (U) ONE CURIOUS ASPECT OF THE BROADCAST WAS THE 
LANGUAGE BARRIER. THE TWO PRESENTERS DURING THE BROADCAST 
TOOK TURNS SPEAKING IN SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE, THOUGH NOT 
REPEATING THE SAME INFORMATION, MEANING ONE TOOK 
DIFFERENT INFORMATION AWAY FROM THE EXPERIENCE DEPENDING 
ON ONE'S LINGUA FRANCA. ANOTHER UNUSUAL ASPECT WAS THE 
SOUND OF BRAZILIAN REPORTERS SPEAKING HEAVILY-ACCENTED 
SPANISH, LEAVING THE VIEWER UNCERTAIN ABOUT WHICH 
LANGUAGE THEY WERE ACTUALLY HEARING. THIS PROBLEM LED TO 
SOME JOKING AMONGST THE PRESENTERS AND GUESTS ABOUT THE 
NEED TO LEARN PORTUGUESE, OR AT LEAST, "PORTAOL." THIS 
ISSUE RAISES SERIOUS QUESTIONS FOR TELESUR, IN THAT THEY 
MUST DEVISE AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO BROADCAST BILLINGUALLY. 
PREVIOUS COMMENTS HAVE INDICATED THEY EXPECT TO USE 
PORTUGUESE SUBTITLES, HOWEVER, THAT MAY PROVE TO BE 
DIFFICULT AND COSTLY, ESPECIALLY WITH LIVE BROADCASTS. 
 
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ALL THE "NEWS" THAT'S FIT TO AIR 
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¶8. (U) FOLLOWING THE INITIAL FOUR HOUR BROADCAST, TELESUR 
REVERTED TO ITS FALL-BACK PROGRAMMING, WHICH HAS BEEN 
PROMOTIONS AND VIDEO CLIPS OF CULTURALLY-FOCUSED 
FEATURES. ONE NEW ADDITION, THOUGH, WAS THE "TELESUR 
 
 
NEWSCAST," WHICH UNLIKE A TRADITIONAL NEWS PROGRAM, WAS 
JUST A SERIES OF NON-TIMELY (NOT HEADLINE-BASED) NEWS 
FEATURES. THESE ALL INCLUDED A LEFTIST SLANT AND SOME HAD 
AN OVERTLY ANTI-U.S. BIAS. TOPICS COVERED IN THESE 
TYPICALLY FOUR TO FIVE MINUTE REPORTS, WERE: 
-POST-COUP HAITI (CHAOS, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT, AND 
EXPLOITATION OF HAITIAN WORKERS BY WESTERN ORGANIZATIONS, 
THE LATEST FEATURING VIDEO OF "USA" MARKED SUPPLY BAGS AS 
ITS VISUAL). 
-DISPLACED COLOMBIANS LIVING IN SQUALID CONDITIONS ON THE 
OUTSKIRTS OF BOGOTA (WITH NO MENTION OF HOW THEY BECAME 
DISPLACED, I.E. BECAUSE OF INSURGENTS). 
-CARACAS PROTESTS AGAINST MURDERS OF POOR 
SQUATTERS/FARMERS (GIVEN EARLIER IN THE WEEK BY THE 
VENEZUELAN VICE PRESIDENT AS AN EXAMPLE OF THE DEATHS 
THAT THE PRIVATE MEDIA DON'T CARE ABOUT, TO DEFLECT 
CRITICISM OF THE POLICE MASSACRE OF STUDENTS IN CARACAS). 
-THE AWARDING OF THE OLYMPICS TO LONDON, WITH MENTION OF 
HOW NEGLECTED LATIN AMERICA IS IN THIS REGARD, AND 
FEATURING A QUOTE FROM THE VENEZUELAN VICE MINISTER OF 
SPORTS CRITICISING THE CHOICE OF LONDON BECAUSE OF THE 
BRITISH GOVERNMENT'S PARTICIPATION IN THE IRAQ WAR, WHICH 
HE TERMED CONTRARY TO THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT. 
-MOST IMPORTANTLY, A STORY ABOUT 400 U.S. MARINES LANDING 
IN PARAGUAY TO, AS THEY QUOTE FROM BOLPRESS, "NO DOUBT 
HEAD TO THE TRIPLE BORDER WHERE THE U.S WANTS TO 
ESTABLISH A BASE," WHICH, ACCORDING TO THE TELESURE 
NARRATOR, "CALLS OUR ATTENTION GIVEN THAT THE RIVER IS 
ONE OF THE GREATEST SOURCES OF FRESH WATER" IN THE 
REGION. THIS REPORT ALSO MAKES MENTION OF THE IMMUNITY 
FROM PROSECUTION AND FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL 
COURT BUILT INTO THE DEPLOYMENT AGREEMENT. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶9. (SBU) WHILE IT APPEARS TELESUR WILL NOT BE ALL CHAVEZ, 
ALL THE TIME, CHAVEZ'S PET ISSUES WILL DEFINITELY BE THE 
FOCUS OF MUCH PROGRAMMING. GIVEN ITS BASE IN CARACAS, ITS 
STAFF, ITS FUNDING (51% VENEZUELAN), AND ITS PRESIDENT, 
IT WOULD BE SAFE TO ASSUME THAT THE VIEWER CAN EXPECT 
MORE OF THE SAME WHEN IT COMES TO COMMENTARY AND "NEWS." 
THAT BEING SAID, CARE SHOULD BE TAKEN NOT TO DEMONIZE THE 
VERY EXISTENCE OF THE CHANNEL, WHICH DOES FEATURE SOME 
VALUABLE CULTURAL ASPECTS AND IS BOUND TO AWAKEN SOME 
REGIONAL/CONTINENTAL IDENTITY IN VIEWERS. TO PUBLICLY 
VIEW THE ENTIRE ENTERPRISE AS THREATENING WOULD BE TO 
FALL INTO A TRAP WHICH CONFIRMS THE U.S. WANTS NOTHING 
MORE THAN TO DOMINATE THE PUBLIC DISCOURSE AND DEVALUES 
THE UNIQUE CULTURAL IDENTITY OF THE REGION. TELESUR 
SUPPORTERS AND GOV OFFICIALS HAVE ALREADY COMMENTED THAT 
THE RECENT CONGRESSIONAL AMMENDMENT ADDRESSING THE 
STATION IS PROOF THAT IT IS A THREAT TO THE U.S.'S 
DOMINATION OF THE REGION'S MEDIA.  A MORE EFFECTIVE 
STRATEGY WOULD BE TO POINTOUT AND CONTRADICT SPECIFIC 
INSTANCES OF ANTI-AMRICANISM WHICH SURFACE IN NEWS AND 
OPINION CONTENT, THEREBY PUTTING THE PRODUCERS (AND THEIR 
GOV MSTERS) ON THE DEFENSIVE. 
 
BROWNFIELD 
 
 
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      2005CARACA02267 - UNCLASSIFIED