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Viewing cable 07MANAGUA726, ORTEGA FOLLOWS CHAVEZ' LEAD IN CONFRONTING U.S.

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07MANAGUA726 2007-03-20 15:29 2011-06-21 08:00 CONFIDENTIAL Embassy Managua
VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #0726 0791529
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 201529Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9524
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1015
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 000726 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2017 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR KDEM NU VE
SUBJECT: ORTEGA FOLLOWS CHAVEZ' LEAD IN CONFRONTING U.S. 
 
REF: CARACAS 0584 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reason 1.4(d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez traveled to 
Nicaragua on March 11 to use the country as a platform to 
criticize the United States and the Central American leg of 
President Bush's recent trip.  Chavez' trips to Nicaragua 
have inspired President Daniel Ortega to abandon his 
pre-election message of "peace and reconciliation" and jump 
on the anti-U.S. bandwagon.  Ortega's reversion to 
confrontational 1980s-style rhetoric has generated concern 
among moderate Nicaraguans, who had vainly hoped that he had 
turned a new leaf.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hastily arranged a 
March 11 visit to Nicaragua to coincide with President Bush's 
trip to Guatemala.  Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel 
Ortega traveled to Leon to pay homage to legendary poet Ruben 
Dario before launching into a stereophonic anti-U.S. tirade. 
Chavez criticized Bush's trip to Latin America as 
"ridiculous" and labeled him a "political cadaver."  Chavez 
urged Ortega to copy the Venezuelan system of "21st century 
socialism" by establishing citizens' councils and warned him 
not to allow the "right-wing opposition... supported by the 
Empire" to derail the Sandinista project.  The Venezuelan 
president promised that Nicaragua would no longer be subject 
to the "ghastly" influence of the IMF and pledged to build a 
$2.5 billion oil refinery in Leon. 
 
3. (U) Ortega followed Chavez' pronouncements by demanding 
that the U.S. withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and 
cease construction on the southern border wall.  If the U.S. 
truly had good intentions regarding Latin America, Ortega 
claimed, it would start by paying the $17 billion owed to 
Nicaragua for mining Corinto harbor and helping to finance 
the contra rebels.  (Note: The Chamorro government renounced 
all claims and the $17 billion figure is a Sandinista 
creation that was never stipulated by The Hague or any other 
judgment.  End Note.) 
 
4. (SBU) Chavez' visit was widely criticized by the 
Nicaraguan opposition and the press.  Opposition leaders from 
the ALN, PLC, and MRS accused Chavez of interventionism and 
scolded Ortega for letting Chavez use Nicaragua as a platform 
to criticize the U.S.  The newspapers lampooned Ortega as a 
puppet of Chavez and a slave to Venezuelan oil wealth and ran 
several negative editorials.  Several contacts indicated that 
moderate Nicaraguans are increasingly uncomfortable with 
Ortega's attacks on the United States. (septel). 
 
5. (U) The Ortega/Chavez trip to Dario's tomb also re-ignited 
a debate over two original manuscripts of Dario's poems that 
Ortega bequeathed to Chavez during a February 23 trip to 
Caracas.  At the time, Ortega was roundly condemned for 
giving away valuable artifacts of Nicaragua's cultural 
heritage -- in a poll conducted by "La Prensa," 92 percent of 
respondents considered that Ortega was wrong to gift the 
manuscripts to Chavez.  Many hoped (in vain) that Chavez 
would use the occasion of the homage to Dario to return the 
manuscripts to Nicaragua. 
 
6. (C) Comment: Ortega continues to struggle with the "dual 
discourse" demanded by most of Nicaraguan society and the 
moderate members of his party and the extremists (and 
paymaster Chavez).  He appears, nevertheless, to be much more 
comfortable in the role of left-wing populist ideologue than 
playing a responsible head of state.  He is animated, 
sometimes close to euphoric, during his encounters with 
Chavez, but mumbles listlessly through prepared remarks when 
meeting with USG officials.  Ortega's attitudinal shifts may 
well portend the future direction of Nicaraguan foreign 
policy unless the FSLN moderates who truly comprehend the 
benefits of a positive relationship with the U.S. can reign 
him in. 
TRIVELLI