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O 082146Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0742
WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS IMMEDIATE
CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN JOSE 000297 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2019 
TAGS: ECON PINR PREL XK OVIP BIDEN JOSEPH PGOV
SUBJECT: VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN'S MARCH 30 MULTILATERAL 
MEETING WITH CENTRAL AMERICAN LEADERS 
 
Classified By: DCM Peter M. Brennan for reason 1.4 (d) 
 
¶1. (U) March 30, 2009; 1045 am; San Jose, Costa Rica. 
 
 
¶2. (U) Participants: 
USG: 
The Vice President 
Ambassador Peter Cianchette 
Anthony Blinken, NSA to the Vice President 
Brian McKeon, Deputy NSA to the Vice President 
Dan Restrepo, Senior Director, Western Hemisphere Affairs, NSC 
Craig Kelly, PDAS WHA 
Tim Lattimer (notetaker), Regional Environmental Officer, 
Embassy San Jose 
 
OTHER GOVERNMENTS: 
Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Belize 
President Oscar Arias, Costa Rica 
President Antony Saca, El Salvador 
President-elect Mauricio Funes, El Salvador 
President Alvaro Colom, Guatemala 
Vice President Aristides Mejia, Honduras 
Vice ForMin Manuel Coronel, Nicaragua 
President Martin Torrijos, Panama 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met March 
30 with Central American leaders at a pre-Summit of the 
Americas gathering hosted by Costa Rican President Oscar 
Arias.  The Vice President stressed the Obama 
Administration's commitment to building a &new U.S. 
relationship8 with Latin America based on a renewed 
partnership to meet common challenges, mutual respect, and 
genuine consultation.  He emphasized the USG's desire to 
seize the opportunities presented by the international 
economic crisis and to lay the foundations for short-term 
recovery and long-term sustained economic growth.  Central 
American leaders welcomed the Obama Administration's show of 
positive interest in the region and embraced Vice President 
Biden's call for partnership and close coordination in 
meeting the full scope of challenges, ranging from the 
economic crisis to poverty reduction, law 
enforcement/security, immigration, international financial 
institutions, and energy and climate change.  END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
BIDEN: "NEW U.S.-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP" 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Following a brief introduction by President Arias, 
Vice President Biden echoed Arias, suggestion that the 
gathered leaders "look ahead" rather than behind in 
considering how best to work together in addressing the host 
of challenges the U.S. and the region face.  He noted that 
President Obama asked him to visit with leaders in the region 
to listen to their concerns and to begin to develop a 
coordinated approach.  The Vice President stressed that he 
did not come "with a plan for the hemisphere," but instead 
came to begin working toward "a plan with the hemisphere." 
Noting the "checkered U.S. history" in the region, he urged 
Central American leaders to put aside their skepticism of 
U.S. intentions and to engage in an honest dialogue about how 
best to renew the U.S. partnership with the region. 
 
¶3. (C) The Vice President recapped the Obama Administration's 
"bold action" during its first 65 days to revive the U.S. 
economy, including a USD 787 billion economic stimulus 
package, USD 1 trillion for the troubled U.S. financial 
sector, and a USD 3.8 trillion dollar budget proposal aimed 
at re-setting the conditions for long-term growth, 
particularly through investments in education, energy, and 
health care.  He also said the USG hopes to use a series of 
upcoming international meetings (e.g., G20, Summit of the 
Americas, and the G8) to secure coordinated approaches 
internationally to key challenges, particularly in 
kick-starting the flow of credit again in the financial 
markets.  The Vice President added that the U.S. will "lead 
by the power of its example rather than the example of its 
power" in addressing other issues, such as climate change, 
food security, education, and immigration. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
EL SALVADOR (SACA): A "VERY DIFFERENT" CENTRAL AMERICA 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Noting that the Vice President is visiting a "very 
different Central America," outgoing El Salvadoran President 
Antonio Saca touted his country's "free and transparent" 
elections in March.  He pointed to his administration's 
efforts to ensure a smooth transition to the opposition 
FMLN's winning candidate, President-elect Mauricio Funes, as 
an example of El Salvador's maturing democracy.  Saca said 
that the presence of Central American leaders at this meeting 
with Vice President Biden reflects their good will to work 
with the Obama Administration toward a more hopeful future. 
 
¶5. (C) Saca noted that, as Central America's principal trade 
partner, the U.S. slowdown has already hit the region hard. 
El Salvador saw remittances from the U.S. drop by 8-10 
percent during the first two months of the year, along with 
declines in key sectors such as tourism and construction. 
Saca urged the U.S. to see the region's strategic importance 
and to work toward legalizing the status of El Salvador's 
more than 500,000 illegal residents in the U.S. 
 
¶6. (C) He also urged U.S. support for boosting the resources 
of international financial institutions (IFIs) such as the 
World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to help 
the region better cope with the "perfect storm" brought about 
by the global financial crisis, energy challenges, and food 
security.  Noting the growing importance of free trade for 
creating jobs and alleviating poverty in the region, Saca 
encouraged U.S. ratification of the pending Colombian and 
Panamanian trade deals. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
PANAMA: "NEW ERA" IN REGIONAL RELATIONS WITH THE US 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) President Martin Torrijos hailed a "new era in Central 
American relations with the U.S." and suggested that the 
current financial crisis offered an opportunity for stimulus 
packages that could better enable the region to deal with 
unemployment, poverty, food security, and energy problems. 
He urged the U.S. to support re-capitalization of the Central 
American Development Bank and the Central American Bank for 
Economic Integration (BCIE) and to support greater 
"flexibility" in the rules for IFIs so that they might help 
the region better manage its various challenges (e.g., by 
allowing more resources for government budget support). 
 
¶8. (C) Citing progress in Panama, Colombia, and elsewhere in 
the region on public security and narco-trafficking, Torrijos 
stressed the importance of U.S. cooperation with the region 
to find shared solutions.  He expressed Panama's concern 
about the global climate change issue and praised President 
Obama,s decision to convene an April meeting of "major 
economies" in Washington to address climate change. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
GUATEMALA: LET'S AVOID A BROADER CRISIS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) President Alvaro Colom warned against allowing the 
economic/energy/climate crisis to roll together into a 
broader socio-political crisis.  He said that Guatemala had 
great hopes for the Obama Administration, particularly on 
immigration issues and on law enforcement/security 
cooperation.  Colom stressed that USG support has been vital 
to the GOG's recent successes in combating narco-traffickers 
(e.g., last year's seizure of three times more illegal drugs 
than the previous year) and in strengthening the judicial 
sector (e.g., the recent arrest of four generals accused of 
corruption).  He highlighted the growing importance of free 
trade to the region and called for U.S. ratification of the 
pending Colombia and Panama trade pacts. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
BELIZE: A NEW U.S. "SINCERITY" TOWARD THE REGION 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (C) Prime Minister Dean Barrow said that VP Biden's 
message offered "welcome reassurance" to the region and that 
his "deft touch" reflected a "new U.S. sincerity" toward the 
region.  He urged U.S. support for recapitalizing the IDB so 
that the region could better "help ourselves deal with this 
crisis."  Barrow said that Belize was particularly concerned 
that the proposed "Levin Bill" would target Belize as a "tax 
haven" despite the country's lack of bank secrecy laws and 
its classification by the OECD as a "cooperating country." 
He worried about Treasury Secretary Geithner's signals of 
Administration support for the Levin Bill and the potential 
for such legislation to "wreak havoc" on small economies, 
such as Belize, that have developed their financial services 
sectors to reduce their dependence on commodity exports. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
EL SALVADOR (FUNES): FINANCIAL CRISIS IS MOST URGENT 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶11. (C) President-elect Mauricio Funes said that the 
international financial crisis was the most urgent matter 
affecting the region.  He said that it could cascade into 
declines in exports, remittances, tourism, and foreign direct 
investment, thereby driving down individual incomes and 
potentially reversing the region's hard-won gains in reducing 
poverty.  Funes called for regional cooperation and 
"international solidarity," especially from the U.S., to 
support the efforts of individual countries to cope with 
these challenges.  He said that the crisis offers a "unique 
opportunity" for the U.S. and Central America to redefine 
their relationship. 
 
¶12. (C) Funes suggested that a new strategic agenda between 
the U.S. and the region should include the following: 
-- Regional security ("we will maintain continuity with the 
region and the U.S."); 
-- immigration (an "integral solution" is needed); 
-- bilateral cooperation to deal with the financial crisis, 
not just multilateral cooperation; and, 
-- social cohesion (e.g., more USG support for strengthening 
institutions and financial sector oversight). 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
HONDURAS: RAISED HOPES, BUT RESTRAINED RHETORIC 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶13. (C) Vice President Aristides Mejia said that President 
Obama,s election raised the hopes and expectations of the 
region, not just in the U.S.  He hoped for Obama,s success 
with his domestic agenda and in his engagement with the G20 
and others to address the global financial crisis.  Mejia 
recalled that President Zelaya's December 2008 letter to then 
President-elect Obama emphasized the importance of 
"strengthening our diplomatic channels," mutual respect, and 
"non-interference" in internal matters. 
 
¶14. (C) Mejia ticked off the GOH's key concerns, as follows: 
-- integral U.S. immigration reform; 
-- free trade (it has helped create jobs and spur economic 
activity); 
-- Millennium Challenge Account (has greatly benefited 
Honduras); 
-- stronger regional integration; 
-- cooperation on regional development banks (more money and 
more favorable lending terms); 
-- regional security (modify the Merida Initiative to fit the 
needs of each country); and, 
-- other issues such as UN reform, dialog with Venezuela and 
Bolivia, and ending the U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
NICARAGUA: "NEW DAY" (BUT OLD WORDS) FOR THE AMERICAS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶15. (C) Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel Coronel, who 
spoke last as the lowest-ranking visitor in protocol order, 
commended VP Biden's intent to "listen" and said that this 
meeting signaled a "new day for the Americas."  However, 
Coronel said that Nicaragua wanted to convey the following 
"common Central American points" as President Pro Tempore of 
the Central American Integration System (SICA, in Spanish): 
 
-- end interventionist tactics; 
-- give more priority to spending on social needs, not just 
commercial and mercantilist interests; 
-- reform U.S. immigration; 
-- meet the "Millennium Development Goal" of channeling 0.7 
percent of GDP into official development assistance; and, 
-- support recapitalization of the BCIE and the Central 
American Development Bank. 
 
¶16. (C) Coronel said that the region enjoyed good USG 
cooperation on law enforcement issues.  He urged U.S. support 
for a three-year law enforcement and security plan put forth 
by the Central American Commission on Security.  Coronel also 
suggested that firms exporting to the U.S. under CAFTA-DR are 
among the "first and hardest hit" by the U.S. economic 
slowdown.  He hoped that the U.S. might support the creation 
of mechanisms to help such firms better cope with the crisis. 
------------------------------------------- 
BIDEN RESPONDS: WE HEAR YOU, BUT BE PATIENT 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶17. (C) VP Biden responded by commending the absence of 
recriminations and acrimony in the statements offered by 
Central American leaders.  While sympathizing with the 
genuine concerns offered by the Central Americans, he urged 
them to be patient with the U.S., which, he said, faces 
significant domestic challenges that limit the USG's ability 
to respond.  For example, he noted how politically difficult 
it would be for the Obama Administration to put an end to 
deportations or press for legalizing the status of illegal 
immigrants at a time when Americans face rising unemployment, 
falling incomes, and the loss of their homes. 
 
¶18. (C) VP Biden said that the Treasury Department is looking 
closely at calls to recapitalize the IDB and other IFIs.  He 
noted the IDB should use existing resources to lend to 
countries hardest hit by the crisis.  He noted that the IFIs 
are high on the G20 agenda and reiterated the challenges 
posed by a "very hostile domestic environment."  The Vice 
President added that the USG must also take a hard look at 
how well IFIs have previously managed their funds. 
 
¶19. (C) VP Biden offered to help Belize make its case to the 
Treasury Department as to why it should not be rolled up into 
U.S. or international efforts aimed at tax havens.  Turning 
to Panama, the Vice President offered encouragement that "we 
can finish" the TPA, but urged the Panamanians to remain 
patient as the Administration deals with the issue in the 
U.S. Congress. 
 
¶20. (C) On the Cuba issue, Vice President Biden said that 
President Obama had offered a campaign promise of some 
changes in U.S. policy toward Cuba, short of lifting the 
embargo.  Noting that democracy is our overall goal, he urged 
the region to work with the U.S. to ensure that the Cuban 
people can decide their own future when Cuba enters into its 
"inevitable transition." 
 
¶21. (C) Calling himself a "hard-eyed realist" who is 
"genuinely optimistic" about the future, the Vice President 
stressed the importance of the leaders being &honest with 
each other8 about priorities.  He noted that there were no 
significant conflicts around the table; there were, of 
course, disagreements, but they were not significant and 
should be put in perspective.  He cautioned against making 
every issue (e.g., Cuba) a priority and stressed that 
although the Obama Administration may not have "all the 
answers," it has an "open mind" and a readiness to work with 
the region on "our most urgent challenges."  Vice President 
Biden suggested that the measure of success in the region 
will be not so much whether GDP growth increases, but whether 
living standards rise for those in the middle and lower 
economic classes. 
 
------------------------------- 
COSTA RICA: AID IS STILL NEEDED 
------------------------------- 
 
¶22. (C) In closing the meeting, President Arias urged the 
U.S. to recalibrate its "trade, not aid" posture to one that 
sees foreign aid as something that advances U.S. interests in 
the region.  He suggested that the upcoming meeting of G20 
leaders should focus not only on multilateral assistance 
through the IFIs, but also give greater attention to 
bilateral assistance.  Reprising one of his themes from the 
bilateral meeting with the Vice President, Arias maintained 
that a world that spends 13 times more per year on military 
budgets than it does on official development assistance is 
unable to adequately address poverty, disease, education, 
environment (especially climate change), and the threats of 
terrorism. 
 
¶23. (U) The Office of the Vice President cleared this message. 
 
 
WILSON