VZCZCXYZ0016
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSJ #0484/01 1581927
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061927Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9817
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 1126

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN JOSE 000484 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN, WHA/AND, AND INR 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2018 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR OFDP VZ CS
SUBJECT: COSTA RICA AND VENEZUELA TO EXCHANGE NEW 
AMBASSADORS 
 
Classified By: DCM Peter M. Brennan, Reason 1.4(d). 
 
¶1. (U) On June 4, the Costa Rican Cabinet approved leftist 
former presidential candidate Vladimir de la Cruz as the 
GOCR's new Ambassador-designate to Venezuela. On June 5, 
Alejandro Solano, MFA Deputy Director of Foreign Policy, told 
us that he expected De la Cruz to arrive in Caracas "in a 
couple of weeks." A brief bio of De la Cruz appears below. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Solano added that the COGR had no problems with the 
new Venezuelan Ambassador-designate to Costa Rica, who had 
not been named publicly for protocol reasons, and that the 
MFA hoped to formally accept his appointment as early as June 
¶5. The  Venezuelan Ambassador-designate replaced Jose Huerta 
Castillo, whose appointment languished for months and was 
ultimately not accepted by the GOCR due to a scandal 
involving Huerta in Paraguay. Solano confirmed the BRV's 
designate to be "a representative to an international 
organization headquartered in the U.S." 
 
¶3. (U) Begin biography of Vladimir de la Cruz: 
 
Manuel Vladimir de la Cruz de Lemos 
Costa Rican Ambassador to Venezuela 
 
Age: 61 years 
DOB: July 17, 1946 
 
Background: 
 
 -- Dean of Social Science and Professor, Universidad 
Nacional (leftist-leaning). 
 -- Three-time presidential candidate of Fuerza Democratica 
Party (socialist) in 1998, 2002 and 2006. 
 -- Candidate for National Assembly, 2002 and 2006. 
 -- Advisor, National Assembly, 1998-2002. 
 -- Political affiliations: Frente de Accion Universitaria 
(1967-1972); Partido Socialista (1973-1980); Fuerza 
Democratica (since 1996). 
 -- Historian, academic and researcher, Universidad Nacional 
and Universidad de Costa Rica. 
 -- Director of the "Work Studies Institute" (IESTRA, Spanish 
acronym), Universidad Nacional. 
 
Education: 
 
 -- Bachelor's in Law, graduate degree in History, 
Universidad de Costa Rica. 
 
Additional: 
 
 -- De la Cruz describes himself as "progressive, democrat 
and leftist." 
 
Personal: 
 
 -- Married to Anabelle Picado. 
 -- Four children:  Yalena (commentator for La Nacion 
newspaper), Lautaro, Presbere and Tupac Amaru. 
 
End Bio. 
 
¶4. (C) COMMENT:  De la Cruz's appointment is somewhat 
puzzling. By background and inclination, he may be 
sympathetic to the BRV's outlook and initiatives. On the 
other hand, the Arias administration has kept its distance 
from Chavez, with President Arias himself publicly 
criticizing the Venezuelan leader on more than one occasion. 
So why appoint De La Cruz? We speculate that Arias may be 
looking to improve Costa Rican-Venezuelan relations (or at 
least reduce frictions) in order to position himself at some 
point to moderate Venezuelan tensions with the region. Arias 
has periodically "offered his services" in this regard in 
conversations with visiting USG officials. Entering the last 
half of his administration, the Nobel Prize winner may also 
be looking to play a larger role in regional and global 
politics, his well-known and long-time passion. Domestically, 
Arias has also been accused of abandoning his "socialist" 
roots, and appointing De la Cruz may be one way the president 
can burnish his leftist intellectuals, now that the bruising 
domestic political debate over CAFTA-DR is almost over. 
 
In his younger days, De la Cruz was a firebrand leftist who 
advocated revolutionary causes, but he appears to have 
mellowed over time. In a June 6 interview with "La Republica" 
newspaper, De la Cruz said that while he still considers 
himself a socialist, "I've matured and (now) understand that 
the development of a revolution in Costa Rica can only be 
done through democratic means, using the mechanisms that the 
 
Constitution provides." It remains to be seen what impact De 
la Cruz can and will actually have, however. When asked by a 
radio interviewer what he hopes to achieve during his term as 
Ambassador, De la Cruz replied, "I don't know." 
CIANCHETTE