VZCZCXRO5873
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0944/01 1441745
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 241745Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6166
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1539
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1358
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000944 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR FISK 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
INR/I 
WHA/EPSC FOR FAITH CORNEILLE, ED MARTINEZ 
EB/IFD 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR 
TREASURY FOR JEFFREY LEVINE 
COMMERCE FOR SCOTT SMITH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/22/2032 
TAGS: PINR EPET EAID VE HA
SUBJECT: (C) C-AL7-00733: VENEZUELAN AID TO HAITI 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 66324 
     ¶B. 06 PORT AU PRINCE 1377 
     ¶C. 06 PORT AU PRINCE 1598 
     ¶D. PORT AU PRINCE 833 
     ¶E. PORT AU PRINCE 829 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d 
) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: Venezuelan promises of over USD one billion 
in aid and assistance to Haiti have not materialized except 
for two examples of in-kind assistance.  Venezuela delivered 
a shipment of petroleum and asphalt, both of which arrived 
without forewarning, and the GoH re-sold the goods to no 
immediate benefit to the Haitian people.  Though GoH 
officials have grown increasingly skeptical of Venezuelan 
promises (and have said so much to Emboffs in private), they 
continue to hope that President Chavez will follow through on 
at least a portion of what he has committed.  In a bout of 
optimism, the GoH ended its contract with the largest 
electricity supplier to Port-au-Prince, partially because of 
its faith in future Venezuelan assistance to the electricity 
sector totaling 160 MW of additional capacity.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The answers below are keyed to the questions in Ref A. 
 
QUESTION B 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A team of Venezuelan engineers visited Haiti in 
December, 2006 to assess potential technical assistance to 
the airports.  There have been no results from the visit. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) According to Venezuelan news reports, President 
Chavez shipped garbage trucks to Haiti in March.  Pol 
specialist called government contacts in the public works 
ministry and customs, none of whom could confirm that the 
garbage trucks had arrived. 
 
QUESTION C 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Venezuela kicked off its relationship with 
President Rene Preval on the eve of his inauguration by 
sending one shipment (100,000 barrels) of petroleum in May, 
¶2006. This was a grant and not part of the Petrocaribe 
agreement.  The Haitian government struggled to sell the 
petroleum and finally convinced the local oil company, whose 
president Edouard Baussan is very close to Preval, to buy the 
fuel from the GoH (Ref B).  There is no schedule for the 
second shipment, although GoH officials have said they hope 
to have the first official Petrocaribe shipment by June or 
July.  (Note: This is highly likely according to contacts in 
the oil industry.  End note.) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) According to Public Works Minister Frantz Verela, 
Venezuela sent one shipment (10,000 barrels) of asphalt to 
Haiti in June/July, 2006.  The GoH had the same problems with 
the asphalt that it had with the petroleum: it did not have 
the means to transport it or storage capacity (Ref C).  Post 
later learned that the GoH shipped and sold the asphalt to 
the Dominican Republic. 
 
QUESTION D 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7.  (SBU) President of the National Assembly Joseph Lambert 
told Emboffs that of Venezuela's promised millions, Haiti has 
received only USD two million in humanitarian assistance. 
Post has not come across any evidence to confirm this 
statement. 
 
QUESTION G 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶8.  (C) Various GoH officials have complained to post that 
Venezuela has not delivered on its promised aid and 
assistance.  President Preval and his advisors privately told 
Ambassador Sanderson on numerous occasions that they no 
 
PORT AU PR 00000944  002 OF 002 
 
 
longer count on Chavez' extravagant promises.  President 
Preval continues to hold out some hope and has taken 
advantage of his last two encounters with Chavez to press him 
to carry out the agreements between Venezuela and Haiti. 
However, he appears to be losing patience: Lambert told 
Emboffs that Preval took an anti-ALBA stance during private 
meetings with Chavez at the ALBA summit in April, telling 
Chavez he can keep his aid if ALBA membership is a condition 
(Ref D). 
 
QUESTION I 
- - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Michael Lecorps is the head of the GoH's bureau of 
monetization (informally known as the Petrocaribe office) and 
is charged with carrying out the Petrocaribe agreement.  In 
addition to shipments of gasoline, diesel and asphalt, the 
agreement includes assistance to the electricity sector (an 
additional 60 MW countrywide, 40 MW following the repair of a 
Port-au-Prince power plant, and 60 MW saved by using 
lower-energy light bulbs -- Ref E). 
 
¶10.  (C) Comment:  Even if the GoH has some hope that the 
Venezuelan aid will materialize, the general population 
appears to give little heed to Chavez' claims.  At first his 
promises generated some attention, but recently, his 
guarantees receive little, if any, press.  The GoH appears to 
be well on its way to realizing what the populace already 
knows: seeing is believing when it comes to promises from 
Venezuela, and Chavez' words are empty until he arrives with 
cash in hand. 
SANDERSON 

=======================CABLE ENDS============================