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DE RUEHWN #0978/01 1591838
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081838Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2658
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1449
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0071
RUEHCV/USDAO CARACAS VE
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 000978 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL EAID CU XL
SUBJECT: CUBAN-EASTERN CARIBBEAN LOVE AFFAIR CONTINUES 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Cuba and the Eastern Caribbean continued 
their very public romance in May.  The St. Lucia Prime 
Minister traveled to Havana and returned with a pledge from 
Cuba to train 300 St. Lucian nurses, while his Government 
praised the "wonders" of Cuba's eye care assistance program. 
Dominica and St. Vincent saw the opening of Cuban embassies 
and hosted Cuban delegations to discuss the various forms of 
aid Havana provides to what are the two poorest countries in 
the Eastern Caribbean.  In Grenada, meanwhile, the Prime 
Minister and other officials swiftly came to Cuba's defense 
when a newspaper dared to report allegations that Cuban 
medical personnel had sexually molested patients.  In doing 
so, the Government officials took pains to point out the 
significant medical assistance Cuba provides Grenada.  These 
developments indicate that Cuba's relationship with the 
Eastern Caribbean remains healthy, so long as the region 
continues to receive some form of Cuban largesse.  End 
summary. 
 
------------------------ 
St. Lucia PM Visits Cuba 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (U) St. Lucia Prime Minister Kenny Anthony traveled to 
Cuba in May, where he visited medical facilities and met with 
Caribbean students attending Cuban universities.  During the 
trip, Anthony characterized his nation's ties with Cuba as 
being "not for sale" but based upon "profound respect and 
friendship."  After the PM returned from his five-day visit, 
the Government of St. Lucia (GOSL) announced that Cuba would 
provide nursing training to 300 St. Lucians, which is 
intended to help St. Lucia overcome a shortage of nurses.  As 
is true throughout the Caribbean, many local nurses have left 
the region for more lucrative employment elsewhere.  The 
nursing students are expected to depart for Cuba in June to 
take an intensive three-month Spanish language program before 
beginning their two-year nursing course. 
 
--------------------- 
Cuba Performs Wonders 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The St. Lucia Government also released a statement in 
May praising Cuba's eye care assistance program, which 
"continues to perform wonders for St. Lucians of all walks of 
life."  According to the GOSL, the program has treated 1,800 
St. Lucians since it began in August 2005.  St. Lucians 
continue to travel each month to Cuba for advanced eye care, 
with a group of 99 people having gone in May.  The GOSL 
calculated that to date the Cuban program has provided the 
equivalent of a whopping US$6.2 million in assistance to St. 
Lucia.  The Government also noted that St. Lucia's diplomatic 
representation in Cuba has been significantly upgraded over 
the past year and its former Consulate in Cuba is now a 
full-fledged Embassy. 
 
----------------------- 
Cuban Embassies and Aid 
----------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Dominica and St. Vincent also opened embassies in Cuba 
during the past year, a gesture that was reciprocated in May 
when Cuba opened embassies on these small Caribbean islands. 
Officials in Dominica and St. Vincent also met with Cuban 
delegations that arrived for the biannual sessions of both 
countries' Joint Commission for Economic and Technical 
Cooperation with Cuba.  The governments of Dominica and St. 
Vincent portrayed these meetings as opportunities to discuss 
current and future avenues of cooperation with Cuba. 
Considering, however, that neither Dominica nor St. Vincent 
has much to offer Cuba, these exchanges appear to have been 
simply a chance for the Cubans to discuss with local 
officials the aid being delivered to their countries. 
 
----------------------------- 
St. Vincent-Cuban Compliments 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) During a ceremony to mark the Cuban visit to St. 
Vincent, Foreign Minister Louis Straker called Cuba "a source 
of stability" for attempting to help eliminate poverty in the 
Caribbean.  Straker also commented, "In the area of foreign 
affairs, we stand in support of the principles that Cuba 
stands for:  non-interference in the area.  Cuba has not been 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000978  002 OF 002 
 
 
interfering in the affairs of countries in the Caribbean." 
The head of the Cuban delegation, Deputy Minister of Economic 
Collaboration and Investment Orlando Miguel, publicly thanked 
St. Vincent for voting in favor of Cuba's membership on the 
UN Human Rights Council. 
 
----------------------------- 
Grenada PM Sticks Up for Cuba 
----------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Grenada did not host a visit by a Cuban delegation in 
May, but the Government had an opportunity to demonstrate its 
commitment to Cuba when Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and 
other officials criticized a local newspaper for publishing 
an article that alleged Cuban medical personnel working in 
Grenada may have sexually abused patients.  The weekly paper, 
"Grenada Today," carried the story in its May 20 edition of a 
woman who alleged that she had been fondled by a Cuban 
doctor, later identified as actually being a nurse, before 
going into surgery at Grenada's main hospital.  According to 
the paper, this was the second such allegation made against 
Cuban medical personnel in the past few months. 
 
¶7. (U) The newspaper was roundly criticized by the Prime 
Minister, the Minister of Health, and other officials for 
publishing unfounded allegations that could potentially harm 
Grenada's relationship with Cuba.  In objecting to the 
report, all pointed to the substantial assistance Grenada 
receives from Havana.  One Government minister called on 
supporters of the ruling New National Party to boycott the 
paper.  In a statement, the Cuban Ambassador to Grenada 
called the report "anti-Cuban propaganda." 
 
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Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) These recent events involving Cuba and the Eastern 
Caribbean are demonstrative of Havana's relationship with the 
region.  Cuba delivers what aid it can, considering its own 
economic troubles, while the small Eastern Caribbean nations, 
eager to receive aid from any source, offer Cuba predictable 
praise and periodic votes at the UN and other international 
fora.  The establishment of new Cuban embassies in Dominica 
and St. Vincent, which will likely serve to better coordinate 
Cuban aid, indicates a deepening of this relationship. 
 
¶9. (SBU) On the other hand, the attacks leveled by the 
Grenada Prime Minister and other officials against a 
newspaper that dared to say something uncomplimentary about 
Cuban nationals suggests a level of insecurity about the 
basis of this relationship.  Despite their co-location, the 
English-speaking, democratic nations in the Eastern Caribbean 
have little in common with communist Cuba.  Even the Foreign 
Minister of left-leaning St. Vincent could offer only 
lukewarm praise for Cuban foreign policy by recognizing the 
principle of "non-interference."  Regional leaders typically 
credit Cuban charity, but not its politics. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Havana and the Eastern Caribbean engage in a very 
public sort of love affair that includes a fair amount of 
romanticization of Cuba and its revolutionary leader. 
Perhaps, however, underneath the warm embraces portrayed in 
endless photo ops, if one were to take away Cuba's assistance 
to its small island neighbors, their feelings for each other 
would actually be rather tepid. 
KRAMER