VZCZCXRO4167
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0492 0721752
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131752Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5593
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1457
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1280
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0744
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1158

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
DRL 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
TREASURY FOR MAUREEN WAFER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID XM XL HA VE
SUBJECT: CHAVEZ ARRIVES LATE 
 
REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 78 
 
     ¶B. PORT AU PRINCE 266 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived in Haiti 
March 12 for meetings with Haitian President Rene Preval and 
Cuban Vice President Esteban Lazo Hernadez.  Though the GoH 
had announced bilateral meetings with the Venezuelan 
President, as well as a trip to a construction site, Chavez 
arrived four hours late -- while Preval waited at the airport 
-- and so the program was limited to a wreath-lying at 
Port-au-Prince's monument to Simon Bolivar, and a trilateral 
meeting followed by a press conference.  The organization of 
the day was clearly thrown off by Chavez' late arrival, and 
apparently ended with a delay of his plane's departure, again 
with Preval waiting at the airport. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) During the press conference, Preval confirmed the 
US $20 million that Chavez had announced in Venezuela on 
March 5.  Reportedly, the money will serve as humanitarian 
reserve fund for Haiti in order to back social, 
infrastructure and power-supply programs.  Chavez also 
re-announced his donations of garbage trucks to Haiti, which 
his Vice President had announced in late January.  (Note: 
According to press reports in late January, Venezuela will 
donate five or six garbage trucks and Haiti will purchase 25 
more.  End note.)  Also, the Venezuela president said he 
would augment the amount of fuel Haiti will receive through 
Petrocaribe from 5,000 barrels a day to 14,000 barrels. 
(Note: Haiti's daily fuel demand is only 11,000 barrels. 
Venezuela and Haiti announced last October that Petrocaribe 
would supply 100 percent of Haiti's fuel, up from 60 percent 
(the same jump Chavez made reference to at the press 
conference).  Since the initial shipment of fuel arrived May, 
2006, Haiti has not received any further shipments.  End 
note.)  Venezuela pledged funds for improvement to provincial 
Haitian airports and airport runways (also previously 
announced) and experts on economic planning to help identify 
development priorities.  Other pledges include Cuban 
commitment to bring medical coverage to all Haitian communes, 
Cuban and Venezuelan electrical experts to improve energy 
generation, and a trilateral cooperation bureau in 
Port-au-Prince. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Comment: Gabriel Verret, one of Preval's closest 
advisors, told the Ambassador that the trip could have been 
worse.  The GoH stopped a rally that was supposed to take 
place in favor of Chavez and tried to limit Chavez' speaking 
time at the press conference.  While waiting at the airport, 
Verret had let the Ambassador know that he (and presumably 
the President) were frustrated with Chavez' late arrival. 
Overall, disorganization and last-minute planning were 
evident, and even the pledges of aid and assistance are 
either old news or vague.  GoH officials have complained to 
post privately in the past that Venezuelan aid can be a 
burden the GoH: the initial Petrocaribe shipment sat in 
storage for months until the GoH finally succeeded in selling 
it (primarily to the only local company) and the public works 
minister complained in December that nobody could figure out 
how to make use of several tons of  tar Venezuela sent in 
late 2006. 
SANDERSON