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P 202058Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000355 
 
SIPDIS 
 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2029 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR OVIP AMGT VE
SUBJECT: CODEL DELAHUNT MEETINGS WITH CHAVEZ AND FOREIGN 
MINISTRY - MARCH 19 
 
CARACAS 00000355  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: A/POLITICAL COUNSELOR DANIEL LAWTON, 
FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  After a briefing by the Charge', 
Congressman Delahunt discussed bilateral relations alone with 
Foreign Ministry (MFA) officials and ALBA Bank President and 
former Ambassador to the United States Bernie Alvarez on 
March 19.  He also met alone with President Chavez and 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nicholas Maduro during the night 
of March 19.  Delahunt told the Charge afterward that he 
encouraged Chavez to push the "reset" button on bilateral 
relations.  Chavez told Delahunt he would mention this idea 
during his March 22 "Alo, Presidente" broadcast and would 
like an "appropriate" USG response.  Chavez and MFA officials 
reportedly expressed interest in renewing counternarcotics 
cooperation, but did not specify a way forward.  Chavez is 
interested in restarting informal inter-parliamentary 
dialogue (the "Boston Group"), to which Delahunt responded 
that members of Venezuela's opposition need to be included. 
Delahunt said he also urged that the Venezuelan government 
cease harassing U.S. Embassy operations and fire the 
problematic MFA Protocol Director.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
MFA EXPLORES IMPROVING BILATERAL RELATIONS 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C)  Congressman William Delahunt (D-Mass) visited 
Caracas on March 19.  After a briefing by Charge, Delahunt 
met alone with MFA Chief of Staff Temir Porras, ALBA Bank 
President and former Ambassador to the United States Bernie 
Alvarez, and Venezuela's CDA in Washington Angelo Rivero for 
a three-hour lunch.  Delahunt told Charge later that this 
meeting focused on the group's interest in "normalizing" the 
bilateral relationship.  They spent some time discussing 
Delahunt's meeting with President Chavez later the same night 
and offered points for the Congressman to raise.  Delahunt 
said he told the MFA officials that ongoing harassment of 
U.S. Embassy operations is an obstacle to improving 
relations, and they responded by acknowledging their 
responsibility.  Porras blamed Chief of Protocol Ramon 
Gordils for provoking many of the problems, and Delahunt 
suggested Gordils be fired.  Porras suggested that the 
Congressman should raise the point directly with Chavez. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Delahunt reported that the MFA officials responded 
positively to Delahunt's call for greater counternarcotics 
cooperation, but did not offer any details on moving forward 
on the issue.  Delahunt also met later that evening with 
Foreign Minister Nicholas Maduro in his office for nearly two 
hours, where Delahunt said they covered the lunchtime topics. 
 In addition, Maduro discussed reestablishing relations with 
the U.S. at the ambassadorial level.  Delahunt said Maduro 
wanted to find a way to do this in tandem with Bolivia. 
Maduro and his aides also probed Delahunt extensively on the 
details of the U.S. ambassadorial confirmation process. 
 
-------------------------- 
CHAVEZ AGREES TO A "RESET" 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  Foreign Minister Maduro, ALBA Bank President 
Alvarez, Maduro Chief of Staff Porras and Venezuelan CDA in 
Washington Rivero accompanied Delahunt to the Miraflores 
Presidential Palace.  Only Foreign Minister Maduro joined the 
Congressman's two-and-one-half hour meeting with Chavez. 
According to Delahunt, Chavez expressed an interest in 
improving bilateral relations, including exchanging 
ambassadors.  Nevertheless, he complained about what he 
perceived as the Obama administration's criticism of him.  To 
make his point, Chavez read quotations from President Obama's 
interview with Spanish-language Univision TV, the Venezuela 
section of the 2009 Human Rights Report, the International 
Counternarcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), and 
statements from the Secretary.  Delahunt reminded Chavez that 
he had been highly critical of President Obama and the United 
States.  Delahunt also told us he raised the issue of GBRV 
harassment of US Embassy operations as an impediment to 
normalizing relations.  Delahunt noted that such petty 
gestures were not in the interest of either country, a point 
he said that Chavez conceded. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Delahunt said he suggested that relations need to be 
"reset."  Chavez seized on this idea and said that he would 
discuss the idea of hitting a "reset" button on bilateral 
relations and his hope for an "appropriate" U.S. response  
during his weekly Sunday "Alo, Presidente" television and 
radio broadcast slated for March 22.  Delahunt told Chavez 
that the United States wants to maintain a dialogue with all 
countries, and reiterated the point in the brief press 
conference that followed his meeting with the Venezuelan 
president.  According to Delahunt, Chavez had received a 
readout of President Obama's meeting with Brazilian President 
Lula from the Brazilians.  Statements from Porras and Maduro 
indicate that GBRV officials believe Obama raised the delays 
in US diplomatic visa issuance.  Chavez reportedly seemed 
disgruntled that, of all Venezuelan issues, this was the one 
that the Presidents ended up discussing. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Chavez suggested that the United States Congress and 
the National Assembly (AN) should revive the "Boston Group" 
-- an informal group of interested U.S. Congressman and AN 
deputies who fostered inter-parliamentary dialogue.  Delahunt 
said he was receptive to the idea but told Chavez that in 
order for the program to be acceptable, it would have to also 
include opposition AN members.  (Note:  Maduro, while serving 
in the AN, participated in the "Boston Group."  The group has 
been inactive since 2005 when the Venezuelan opposition 
boycotted parliamentary elections.  Five members of the 
National Assembly subsequently constituted a U.S.-Venezuelan 
Parliamentary "Friendship Group" to promote 
inter-parliamentary dialogue.  The four PSUV members started 
excluding a Podemos deputy from the group's infrequent 
activities after Podemos broke with the government in late 
¶2007.  End Note.) 
 
--------------- 
CN COOPERATION? 
--------------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  Delahunt said he discussed with Chavez the dangers 
of narcotrafficking to Venezuela's national stability, 
specifically underscoring the threat posed by 
narcotrafficking groups and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of 
Colombia (FARC).  Chavez accepted this and expressed interest 
in improving counternarcotics cooperation with the United 
States, but did not provide specifics.  The Venezuelan 
president said that he is considering proposing a South 
American "drug council" to build inter-American cooperation 
to combat drugs.  Chavez said he also wants to improve 
relations with Colombia, which he sees as an important 
economic partner.  Chavez asserted that he recognized after 
the fact that his involvement in last year's FARC hostage 
negotiations was a mistake, and claimed he had admitted as 
much to President Uribe. 
 
¶8.  (U)  Representative Delahunt did not have the opportunity 
to review this report. 
 
CAULFIELD