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FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1363
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 002211 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN FEELEY AND LERSTEN 
DEPT ALSO FOR WHA/FO AND CA/OCS 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID/W, USAID/DCHA AND USAID/OFDA 
USAID/W FOR A/AID HFORE 
USAID/OFDA FOR KLUU, AFERRERA, ACONVERY, RTHAYER, AND 
SBISWAS 
USAID/DCHA FOR MHESS AND GGOTTLIEB 
NSC FOR ALVARADO AND TSHORTLEY 
SAN JOSE FOR OFDA SENIOR REGIONAL ADVISOR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/24/2017 
TAGS: EAID PGOV MOPS AEMR KPAO CASC NU
SUBJECT: ATLANTIC COAST - THE LONG (WINDING) ROAD BACK 
 
REF: A. MANAGUA 2148 
     ¶B. MANAGUA 2117 
     ¶C. MANAGUA 2102 
     ¶D. MANAGUA 2070 
     ¶E. MANAGUA 2059 
     ¶F. MANAGUA 2044 
     ¶G. MANAGUA 2032 
     ¶H. MANAGUA 2026 (NOTAL) 
     ¶I. MANAGUA 2025 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Paul Trivelli for reasons 1.4(b,d) 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY:  The indigenous Miskito indians of 
Nicaragua's North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN) believe 
the Nicaraguan government (GON) failed to adequately warn 
them of Hurricane Felix's September 4 arrival and has not 
done enough to help them.  Miskito leaders believe the true 
death toll is more than 500, but claim the government is 
pressuring the Miskitos to keep the official numbers lower. 
Looking past the initial crisis, community leaders see the 
following priorities over the short term: reducing forest 
fire risk, opening roadways, providing seeds and farm 
implements, restoring religious/community centers, caring for 
orphans and widows, and providing materials for school 
children.  Democratic-leaning civil society groups believe 
reconstruction efforts can help unify them, but fear their 
lack of experience working with donors will preclude them 
from participating.  They believe the national and regional 
governments will use reconstruction as a political tool to 
buy votes for the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) 
and its YATAMA allies in the 2008 regional elections.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Having emerged from the initial shock of Hurricane 
Felix, there is growing resentment and anger in the 
indigenous Miskito community towards the national, regional, 
and local governments for their poor performance before and 
after Felix.  The Miskitos claim that the Nicaraguan 
government failed to provide sufficient warning about Felix 
and did not provide a means of evacuating residents -- 
especially the hundreds of people living in the Miskito Cays, 
a few miles off the coast.  While assistance streamed-in from 
all quarters immediately following the hurricane, locals 
credit the USG, other governments, and international NGOs for 
coordinating and delivering much needed supplies.  Catholic 
priest Rodolfo French, a normally careful and measured 
speaker, categorized as "totally disorganized" the national 
(through the GON disaster relief agency SINAPRED), regional, 
and local responses and indicated that the regional council 
and local government were unable to cooperate. 
 
¶3.  (C) Miskito anger has been targeted at the most visible 
leaders in the RAAN:  Umberto Campbell - the National 
Assembly deputy regarded as President Daniel Ortega's 
right-hand on the Atlantic Coast; Brooklyn Rivera - the 
president of the indigenous YATAMA political party, who sided 
with the FSLN in the April 2006 regional elections; and, 
Elizabeth Henriquez - the YATAMA mayor of Puerto Cabezas 
whose sister is a well-known drug smuggler in the RAAN.  Over 
the past two weeks, contacts report protests denouncing the 
government's failure.  Rivera has made efforts to calm the 
Miskitos, but with little apparent success. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Although nearly destroyed in the hurricane, Radio 
Miskut - the indigenous radio station operating out the 
wrecked shell of a home - has been highlighting the situation 
by featuring a stream of interviews with local Miskito women 
-- mostly from the Cays -- who lost families and livelihoods. 
 As a result of these interviews, a group of Miskito women 
recently appeared on national television with the Nicaraguan 
Permanent Commission for Human Rights (CPDH) and a foreign 
missionary who sponsored their travel to draw attention to 
their plight. 
 
¶5.  (C) Fishermen in the RAAN have reported to local Miskito 
leaders that government authorities have instructed 
fisherman not to report additional hurricane-related deaths 
on grounds that the USG will "initiate international action" 
to prohibit fishermen from returning to the Cay if the death 
count goes "too high."  Leaders believe the regional and 
local governments are trying to save face and believe the 
real death toll is at least 500.  (NOTE:  The daily newspaper 
"El Nuevo Diario" ran a front-page article on September 24 
indicating that Ortega acknowledged the death count from 
Felix could surpass 300 despite official SINAPRED reports of 
only 102 deaths.  This is the first time the government has 
publicly mentioned numbers above the official death count. 
END NOTE) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Smaller fishermen and lobster trappers have alleged 
that the government is not allowing them to return to their 
livelihood.  They report that only larger commercial vessels 
are back in operation.  (COMMENT:  If true, this delay is 
especially painful for lobstermen whose economic situation 
was already precarious due to a three-month ban on lobster 
harvesting that only ended at the end of July.  END COMMENT.) 
 In addition, leaders are hearing claims from inland 
communities that the government is not permitting any 
harvesting of trees downed in the hurricane.  It is unclear 
if this includes any harvesting of wood or only harvesting 
for commercial purposes, a likely step until the government 
develops a more comprehensive plan. 
 
¶7.  (U) Looking beyond the initial crisis, community leaders 
highlighted several short-term priorities to help "stabilize" 
life in the RAAN.  A summary of these priorities follows: 
 
-- Reducing risk of forest fires:  Rice planting begins in 
January.  To prepare the ground, farmers burn the organic 
waste from their corn and bean crops.  With so many downed 
trees and other organic waste from the hurricane expected 
still on the ground, there is grave concern about fires 
getting out of control and "devastating what remains." 
Community leaders and agricultural cooperatives stressed the 
importance of outreach efforts to warn farmers of this danger 
and of finding alternative crops with short production cycles 
that will not require pre-burning.  Aikuki Wal, an indigenous 
agricultural cooperative operating in 62 RAAN communities, is 
preparing a proposal for USG consideration to address these 
issues. 
 
-- Opening roadways:  Following the hurricane, initial 
efforts focused on opening main roadways to deliver disaster 
relief supplies.  However, the vast majority of the roads and 
tracks remain blocked by fallen trees.  Leaders from inland 
communities were emphatic about re-opening these roads to 
enable farmers to access their outlying farmland to start the 
re-planting process.  Quick action would assure that most 
farmers could get something in the ground over the next month 
to help alleviate a medium-term food shortage. 
 
-- Providing seeds and tools:  Along with road clearance, 
farmers urgently need seeds -- corn and beans -- and farm 
implements, particularly axes, machetes, and hoes.  Farming 
in the RAAN is largely a non-industrialized subsistence 
activity and the vast majority of farmers' rudimentary tools 
were lost or destroyed in the hurricane. 
 
-- Restoring religious / community centers:  Much of 
community life in the RAAN revolves around the Moravian and 
Catholic churches.  In addition to addressing the spiritual 
needs of the communities, they often run schools, clinics, 
community centers, and care for the most disadvantaged. 
Hurricane Felix destroyed or seriously damaged churches in 
nearly every affected community.  According to Moravian 
authorities, 44 of 56 churches were destroyed and another 11 
severely damaged.  While the Catholic Church did not provide 
specific figures, Father French indicated that damage was 
extensive in parishes throughout the RAAN. 
 
-- Assisting orphans and widows: Following its initial 
efforts to distribute food in coordination with Catholic 
Relief Services (CRS), Father French indicated that the 
church is shifting its focus to care for orphans and widows 
created by Felix.  In addition, Father French stressed -- as 
he did in his first meeting with the Ambassador -- the need 
for scholarships which he said were more important than ever, 
given even fewer local alternatives. 
 
-- School repairs and supplies:  Community leaders and NGO 
CEDECHA stressed the importance of reopening schools to 
normalize children's routines while reducing their exposure 
to post-hurricane dangers such as open latrines, uncovered 
and polluted wells, wild animals, etc.  Given that school 
repair and reconstruction will take time, CEDECHA urged U.S. 
support to provide school supplies and materials, enabling 
students to re-start their studies, even if in temporary 
structures. 
 
Reconstruction as a Political Tool? 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶8.  (C) While the GON, at all levels, should assume 
responsibility for rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts, 
there is growing concern among Miskito civil society leaders 
that the government will use the reconstruction process (as 
leaders allege the regional government has done with 
emergency aid) as a political tool - favoring pro-Sandinistas 
or buying support through reconstruction for non-Sandinistas 
in the lead up to the 2008 elections.  Similarly, leaders of 
democratically-oriented civil society groups believe the 
reconstruction process can help them unify if they can 
participate in the rehabilitation process.  However, these 
groups are at a severe disadvantage for two reasons.  First, 
they have historically been scattered and disorganized and 
efforts to unify them over the past year have yielded few 
tangible results.  Second, most have never worked with 
international donors and lack the internal systems required 
to qualify for and administer programs.  Thus, in the wake of 
Hurricane Felix, the underlying fear of democractic-leaning 
civil society is that the GON, with the unwitting aid of 
international donors, will silence any voice of opposition 
during the rebuilding phase. 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
¶10.  (C) Seeing the hurricane as an opportunity to overcome 
the RAAN's historical resistance to the Sandinistas since the 
conflict in the 1980s, we believe that the regional 
Sandinista-leaning YATAMA  government -- with backing from 
the national government -- will push hard to directly control 
post-hurricane reconstruction efforts (the regional 
government has officially taken over control from SINAPRED) 
or use its network of NGOs.  Therefore, we will remain 
vigilent about how our assistance to the region is used to 
ensure that we do not aid the Sandinistas in their effort to 
use reconstruction assitance to further their own political 
agenda in the RAAN. 
TRIVELLI