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DE RUEHLO #0727/01 0711737
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P 111737Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7744
INFO RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ MAR 0040
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 0252
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 0243
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0360
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA PRIORITY 0035

C O N F I D E N T I A L LONDON 000727 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM EU UK CO EC BR CU VE BL
SUBJECT: UK SUPPORTIVE OF WHA PDAS KELLY'S VIEWS ON LATIN 
AMERICA 
 
REF: LONDON 650 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Maura Connelly, reason 1.4, 
 b/d. 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  FCO Director of the Americas Chris Wood was 
supportive of U.S. policy on Latin America, praising 
progress in Colombia in particular during a visit by WHA PDAS 
Craig Kelly March 7.  Wood agreed Venezuela and Bolivia  were 
worrisome and that Cuba had not changed since Fidel's 
illness.  But, he said, the EU "was as polarized as ever"  on 
Cuba.  HMG hoped the May EU-Latin America Summit would be 
made more productive by limiting its focus to climate  change 
and poverty reduction, but Wood noted working with the region 
was frustratingly slow.  End Summary. 
 
Colombia 
-------- 
 
¶2. (C) FCO Director for the Americas Chris Wood told PDAS 
Craig Kelly, during a March 7 visit to London, that the UK 
supported U.S. efforts in Colombia, and he agreed that the 
security situation there is "leagues ahead" of what it was 
five years previously.  HMG policy on Colombia is similarly 
focused, albeit smaller in scale, and despite significant 
domestic criticism, Wood believed the UK was "doing the right 
thing."  HMG had tried to counter that criticism, with some 
success, by bringing Colombian labor leaders to the UK to 
explain how much better the security situation is in their 
country, despite continuing problems.  While "nobody is above 
reproach in Colombia," Wood said, one UK NGO, Justice for 
Colombia, is beyond the pale in its criticism of the GOC. 
HMG seeks to make that point apparent to critics of HMG 
policy.  In addition, HMG has told the Colombians they need 
to do more for themselves to improve Colombia's image. 
 
¶3. (C) Kelly had just come from Paris and said that officials 
at the Quai and Elysee voiced support for President Uribe's 
overall campaign against FARC terrorism.  French officials, 
however, also acknowledged that President Sarkozy's heavy 
focus on the Ingrid Betancourt case had become the primary 
focus of the GOF.  That means that Colombian military actions 
will be viewed in terms of how they affect the situation of 
the hostages, and Betancourt in particular.  Kelly noted 
that, publicly and privately, he had underscored strong U.S. 
support for Uribe's efforts against the FARC.  In the 
meantime, ratification of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade 
Agreement remained a top priority for the administration, and 
we were going to great lengths to point out the progress that 
President Uribe has made in stopping violence against labor 
leaders and ending impunity for those who commit it. 
 
Venezuela 
--------- 
 
¶4. (C) Rupert Joy, FCO Head of the South America Team, 
posited that the referendum in Venezuela had weakened 
President Chavez, but the defeat did not signal "the 
beginning of the end," as some observers speculated.  Kelly 
agreed that the opposition still lacked unity and that Chavez 
continued his efforts to accumulate power.  It was clear that 
Chavez's continued verbal assaults on internal and external 
opponents were costing him.  Opposition to Chavez is growing 
in the region, and the United States is letting that 
opposition build up while refraining from responding to daily 
diatribes, but remaining very clear about the importance of 
democratic principles.  Our friends in the region strongly 
support that approach, Kelly added. 
 
Bolivia 
------- 
 
¶5. (C) Kelly expressed concern about Bolivia, particularly 
President Morales' handling of the constitutional reform 
process.  The USG has tried to send the signal that there are 
concrete areas where we can cooperate, especially on 
counternarcotics, but Morales has chosen to use the United 
States as a foil in his attacks on the opposition.  Kelly 
noted that the United States appreciates any European efforts 
to press Morales to refrain from using the United States as a 
tool and to govern according to the principles of the 
InterAmerican Democratic Charter.  Wood noted that Morales 
often tells HMG that there are even more radical elements 
waiting in the wings, so HMG should appreciate the domestic 
opposition Morales must accommodate.  Kelly and Wood agreed 
that Bolivia is critical to energy security in a region where 
supply and demand do not seem to link up. 
 
Cuba 
---- 
 
¶6. (C) Responding to Kelly's question, Wood said that HMG had 
objected to the European Commission giving Commissioner Louis 
Michel a "carte blanche" during his visit to Cuba (ref A). 
Rather he should have a clear EU policy to implement, but on 
Cuba, the EU was as polarized as ever.  Wood did not know how 
Michel would balance meeting the opposition as well as the 
regime.  The regime had taken a hard line of late, refusing 
to meet with officials who insist on meeting with the 
opposition.  HMG suspected Michel would have one of his staff 
meet opposition leaders, so that Michel would be able to meet 
with the regime.  Wood and Kelly agreed that little or 
nothing had changed in Cuba.  Wood said there were some in 
the EU that sought further openings with the regime despite 
the lack of change.  Joy asserted that much would depend on 
the Spanish elections.  Wood noted that the issue of Cuba 
will be avoided during the May EU-Latin America Summit, which 
gives EU members only one month to prepare for review of the 
Common Position in June. 
 
¶7. (C) Kelly reminded HMG that U.S. policy on Cuba has 
bipartisan support.  We want to see a real transition toward 
democracy and an immediate release of all political 
prisoners, Kelly told his British counterparts.  The United 
States feels strongly that the dissidents and the Cuban 
people must know there is international support behind their 
cause.  Kelly noted the InterAmerican Democratic Charter is 
useful in pressuring OAS members to support democracy in 
Cuba. 
 
EU in Latin America 
------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Wood noted that the EU's progress on a trade deal with 
the Andean countries was painfully slow.  Peru and  Colombia 
were "exasperated" by their regional neighbors.  Nevertheless 
the EU was committed to achieving a deal with  the entire 
bloc.  Kelly noted that trade competition was healthy and 
wished the EU well. 
 
¶9. (C) Wood said the EU-Latin America Summits tend to be long 
on speeches and short on achievements.  Therefore, the EU was 
trying to focus May's summit on two manageable  issues -- 
climate change and poverty reduction.  HMG hoped  limiting 
the focus would make the summit "meaty and practical," but 
Wood was not confident anything would come of it.  He added 
that Brazil was a critical voice on these topics because it 
was not a huge carbon emitter but would disproportionately 
feel the effects of climate change.  All the countries were 
keen to discuss poverty reduction.   Kelly said the Santiago 
Summit had achieved quite a lot, despite the headlines, and 
hoped the EU would succeed in focusing on concrete issues. 
 
¶10. (U) PDAS Kelly has cleared this cable. 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/london/index. cfm 
TUTTLE