VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMN #0275 1301637
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091637Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8194
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0553
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000275 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON AR VE UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAYAN AMBASSADOR TO VENEZUELA IS UNUSUALLY 
CRITICAL OF CHAVEZ IN REMARKS TO VISITING LEGISLATORS 
 
¶1. (U) On May 8, reputed Uruguayan business weekly 
"Busqueda" reported on remarks, unusually critical of 
President Chavez, made by Uruguay's Ambassador to 
Venezuela Geronimo Cardozo to a group of visiting 
Uruguayan legislators during a gathering at his residence. 
The group, in Caracas for a session of the Latin American 
Parliament (Parlatino), was composed of three legislators 
from the ruling Frente Amplio (FA), generally friendly to 
Chavez, and three from the opposition Blanco Party, 
generally critical of the Venezuelan President. 
 
¶2. (U) According to the legislators named and quoted by 
Busqueda, Cardozo stated that Chavez's economic policy was 
a disaster, and that Venezuela is "enduring a critical 
situation" which "no one knows how it will all end". 
Cardozo complained about difficulties in implementing the 
business deals struck between Caracas and Montevideo, due 
to the "brutal corruption" in the Government of Venezuela 
(GOV).  He complained that GOV officials had misled him in 
a recent deal for the sale of Uruguayan software, where 
the GOV had favored Argentine providers at the last 
minute. 
 
¶3. (U) Cardozo also stated that Telesur, the television 
channel consortium championed by Chavez, of which Uruguay 
is a member, is an "enemy of Uruguay."  He noted that 
Telesur had broadcast Chavez's anti-U.S. rally in Buenos 
Aires during President Bush's visit to Uruguay last year, 
and had referred to Uruguayan President Vazquez on this 
occasion as a traitor ("vende patria" in Spanish).  He 
suggested that the GOU should just pull out of Telesur 
altogether.  Cardozo's wife was also quoted as complaining 
about the extensive food shortages in Caracas. 
 
¶4. (U) While the Blanco legislators who attended the 
gathering were obviously pleased with Cardozo's open and 
candid remarks, FA legislators were shocked.  Still, a 
legislator from the MPP, the largest faction within the 
FA, told Busqueda that Cardozo's depiction of Chavez did 
not surprise him, although he personally had not attended 
the gathering in Caracas.  This MPP legislator remarked 
that "some FA comrades thought that Chavez had the same 
skills and talents as Fidel (Castro).  But Chavez is 
nothing more than an oil hose (una manguera de petroleo)." 
 
¶5.  (U) Cardozo tried to walk his comments back in a 
subsequent article published May 9 in the leftist daily, 
"La Republica."  Cardozo said his comments were taken out 
of context from a private meeting with the legislators. 
He insisted that he maintains the confidence of the 
Venezuelan President and the "Busqueda" article was 
"simply trash and lacked ethics."  A second article in 
Ultimas Noticias reported that legislators involved had 
confirmed the statements but characterized the meeting as 
private briefing by an Ambassador which should not have 
been made public. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: Cardozo's comments are surprising, 
coming from someone who was thought of as having a good 
relationship with Chavez.  There have been persistent 
rumors over the past couple of years that Cardozo was 
involved in shady business deals with the GOV.  It is 
quite possible that one of these deals went sour (Cardozo 
was rumored to stand to make a significant personal gain 
out of the software deal), and he decided to "spill the 
beans" in retaliation. 
 
BAXTER