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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 211749Z NOV 07
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INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 6411
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 5130
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 7104
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C O N F I D E N T I A L BRASILIA 002159 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA, WHA/BSC, WHA/CUBA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2017 
TAGS: PHUM PREL BR CU
SUBJECT: BRAZIL: CUBAN BOXERS SAGA LIKELY TO END WITH A 
WHIMPER 
 
REF: BRASILIA 001715 
 
Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION PHIL CHICOLA FOR REASONS 1.4 B A 
ND D 
 
¶1. Summary: (C) Federal Deputies will probably 
unceremoniously drop their investigation into the departure 
of two Cuban boxers who apparently tried to defect at the Pan 
Am Games but later were repatriated to Cuba.  Unable to gain 
traction on the issue outside of Congress, and stymied by the 
Cuban Embassy's refusal to issue them Cuban visas, the 
Deputies can do little more to ascertain the true 
circumstances of the boxers' hasty departure from Brazil 
(reftel).  End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Following news reports that the Cuban Embassy had 
informed the Brazilian Government it would deny visas to 
Brazilian deputies interested in visiting the island to meet 
with the two Cuban boxers, Poloff met with Chairman of the 
Foreign Relations and National Defense Committee (CREDN) 
Carlos Eduardo Vieira da Cunha (PDT, Democratic Workers 
Party, governing coalition; of Rio Grande do Sul)  and CREDN 
member Federal Deputy Raul Jungmann (PPS, Socialist People's 
Party, opposition; of Pernambuco).  Both had pressed the Lula 
government to account for the Brazilian government's actions 
in quickly dispatching the two athletes back to Cuba after 
their supposed change of heart and had claimed they would 
continue investigating the issue.  Both expressed sympathy 
for the boxers, and indicated they believed the boxers 
probably did request to return to Cuba, although according to 
Jungmann, it is highly likely they did so under duress. 
Neither had any evidence for this, however, and in the 
absence of any corroborating information or an interview with 
the two Cuban boxers, there was little else they could do. 
 
¶3. (C) Even though visibly discouraged by the presumed denial 
of the visa, Jungmann stated he had referred the matter to 
the Chamber presidency, which approves all travel by members 
of the Chamber.  Jungmann indicated that the institution's 
honor demanded that a formal petition for a visa had to be 
made to force the Cuban government to be on record as 
actually denying the visa request.  It was not clear to 
Jungman, however, whether the Chamber leadership would 
approve the request. 
 
¶4. (C) Comment: With no new information, no public outcry, 
and little support beyond some opposition party members, 
opposition deputies have little ability to continue to push 
the investigation or to use the Cuban boxer's saga as a 
cudgel against the Lula administration.  The fact that the 
Workers Party controlled Chamber leadership in a largely 
pro-government Congress would refuse to take further action 
on the issue is not surprising, despite the fact that the 
trip was formally initiated through a favorable committee 
vote and specifically couched as intended to investigate the 
actions of the Government of Brazil.  More interesting is 
that the presumed visa denial did not provoke much 
institutional consternation in Congress or from the normally 
prickly foreign ministry. 
 
CHICOLA