VZCZCXRO0147
PP RUEHAO
DE RUEHCV #0076/01 0121828
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121828Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2744
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 5806
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 5063
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 0951
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ PRIORITY 1508
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 9709
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 1583
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO PRIORITY 3202
RUEHAO/AMCONSUL CURACAO PRIORITY 0508
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 0216
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0378

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000076 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM VE
SUBJECT: MAJOR CARACAS HIGHWAY SHUTS DOWN AS RESIDENTS 
PROTEST MUDSLIDES 
 
 
This Message is Sensitive But Unclassified, please treat 
accordingly. 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (SBU)  On January 9, residents of "El Chupulun" in the 
municipality of Baruta staged protests on the Prados del Este 
highway, a major Caracas thoroughfare, shutting it down for 
two and half hours and causing major traffic congestion.  The 
residents were demanding that the mayor of Baruta take steps 
to protect their community against the dangerous mudslides 
that occurred recently after heavy rains poured through 
Caracas.  According to the government of Baruta, there is no 
way to fix the situation except to move them elsewhere; a 
solution the residents of "El Chupulun" say is unacceptable. 
They blame the government for using the earth from the hills 
behind them to repair the highway.  While there is no 
indication the two are related, it is odd that Baruta (one of 
the better and opposition managed parts of Caracas) is being 
called out for its mismanagement when President Chavez and 
the GOV have seen little popular demonstration as a result of 
the enormous negligence that resulted in the closing of 
Caracas' most important bridge.  End Summary. 
 
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Rain brings more civic problems 
------------------------------- 
¶2.  (U)  The recent harsh rains that spurred the eventual 
close of the Caracas-La Guaira bridge also caused mudslides 
in "El Chupulun," a poor, squatter neighborhood of the Baruta 
municipality in Southeastern Caracas.  While there have been 
no reports of injuries and only limited damage, residents 
fear the results could be much worse next time.  According to 
them, the municipal government of Baruta is to blame because 
over the last four years it has been digging earth out of the 
hill behind their community to make frequent repairs on the 
nearby Prados del Este highway, a major Caracas thoroughfare. 
 As a result, the residents of "El Chupulun" decided to use 
the highway as the location for a two and a half hour protest 
that completely shut down traffic during the morning rush 
hour. 
 
¶3.  (U)  The residents are demanding that the Baruta 
government (run by opposition party Primero Justicia) build a 
wall to protect them from future slides.  However, the Baruta 
Director of Planning claims this is impossible and has 
proposed the much more drastic solution of relocating all of 
the residents to another area.  According to the Director, 
engineers have studied the structural soundness of the hill 
and determined that a wall would not be effective and that 
there is no way to stop mudslides in the future.  The only 
safe solution, he says, is to move the residents to a 
different location.  The residents of "El Chupulun" say that 
this solution is unacceptable.  There has been no mention 
from the Baruta government as to who, if anyone, would pay 
for the relocation. 
 
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Comment 
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¶4.  (SBU)  Notably, Baruta is one of the best-run 
municipalities in the Caracas area, so it is interesting that 
this would be the location of one of the first post-bridge 
closure protests, especially considering that the mudslide 
seems to have  caused little damage.  It is also curious that 
the National Guard never stepped in to clear what is one of 
Caracas' major traffic arteries.  This, and the fact that it 
comes at such an opportune time, raises at least the 
possibility that there was a political motive behind the 
protests, perhaps to call attention away from the recent 
government mismanagment by the Chavistas.  There is no 
evidence to indicate that this was the case, however.  Either 
way, it's noteworthy that this opposition controlled (and 
well-run) part of the city is being held accountable for a 
rather small occurrence, when Chavez and the GOV have seen 
thus far only minimal political damage, thus far, from 
 
CARACAS 00000076  002 OF 002 
 
 
negligence that caused the closure of the country's most 
important bridge. 
WHITAKER