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O 082154Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0746
WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS IMMEDIATE
CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN JOSE 000298 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2019 
TAGS: CS EDU OVIP BIDEN JOSEPH PGOV PINR PREL SNAR
SUBJECT: VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN'S MARCH 30 BILATERAL MEETING 
WITH COSTA RICAN PRESIDENT OSCAR ARIAS 
 
Classified By: DCM Peter M. Brennan for reasons 1.4(d) 
 
CORRECTED TEXT. 
 
¶1. (U) March 30, 2009; 0955 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, WHA PDAS 
David E. Henifin (notetaker), Pol/Econ Counselor, Embassy San 
Jose 
 
COSTA RICA: 
President Oscar Arias 
Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias 
Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno 
Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz 
Ambassador to the U.S. Tomas Duenas 
Ambassador-designate to the U.S. Luis Diego Escalante 
 
¶3. (C) SUMMARY: In a wide-ranging, 45-minute discussion, 
President Oscar Arias stressed Costa Rican-U.S. friendship, 
and the need for additional USG assistance for education, 
counter-narcotics (including helicopters), as well as access 
to the Millennium Challenge Account (MCC) or similar 
programs.  He also called for a new, U.S.-led embargo against 
high-tech weapons transfers to the hemisphere and described 
the real enemies in the region as "poverty, disease and 
illiteracy."  Vice President Joseph Biden stressed the U.S. 
administration's desire to craft a policy with the region and 
not for it, and he underscored USG willingness to listen to 
and learn from its friends and neighbors.  However, before 
the USG could help the region, it had to help itself; the 
best way to do so was to re-energize the U.S. economy.  On 
security assistance, the Vice President expressed hope that 
the regional Merida Initiative be continued and perhaps 
expanded.  On education, he invited Arias to work with him to 
develop a regional policy for Central America.  The Vice 
President said the USG was willing to re-examine the MCC 
program, but foreign direct investment would help Costa 
Rica's economy more in the short term.  Arias gave the Vice 
President a letter to POTUS seeking education assistance, and 
a detailed proposal to increase assistance for and 
cooperation with Costa Rica. END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------- 
OPENING REMARKS 
--------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The Vice President stressed the importance of the 
upcoming meeting with Central American leaders, and thanked 
President Arias for hosting it.  Arias noted that Presidents 
Daniel Ortega and Manual Zelaya did not attend )- reportedly 
pressured by President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela -- and were 
missing an important opportunity. 
 
¶5. (C) The Vice President said that he understood, and had 
traveled to Chile and Costa Rica "with eyes open."  A change 
in attitude, in relations with the hemisphere, was needed. 
Thus, the primary purpose of his trip was to gain a sense of 
what regional leaders were thinking as the hemisphere charted 
its course through the economic crisis.  VP Biden underscored 
that the crisis was also an opportunity to make positive 
changes.  He told Arias that his meetings with other leaders 
in Vina del Mar had been very good, with open discussion 
exceeding his expectations. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
ARIAS: WE ARE YOUR OLDEST FRIEND, AND WE NEED HELP 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶6. (C) Arias then launched into a lengthy presentation, 
focusing mostly on his international agenda and Costa Rica's 
needs for assistance.  He noted that Costa Rica was the 
"oldest" and "most consolidated" democracy in the hemisphere, 
and a long-time friend and ally of the United States.  Costa 
Ricans liked the United States, and Costa Rica depended on 
the U.S. economically, especially for trade, tourism and 
high-tech investment which utilized Costa Rica's 
well-educated labor force. 
 
¶7. (C) However, despite these advantages, Costa Rica still 
needed help.  This is why Arias was pushing the Costa Rica 
Consensus around the world, which seeks to direct more 
foreign assistance to "successful" countries which focus on 
"education, health care and environmental protection" instead 
of armaments.  Arias said it was "unfair" that Costa Rica 
"was not poor enough" to qualify for programs like the 
Millennium Challenge Account (MCC) while MCC recipients in 
Africa, for example, spent considerable amounts on their 
militaries. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
THE REGION NEEDS MORE BOOKS, NOT BOMBS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Arias explained that he was thus also pursuing an 
international conventional arms trade treaty, so that 
countries -- including some USG aid recipients -- would stop 
buying weapons and instead channel additional resources to 
education and health.  He asked why any country would "sell 
arms to human rights violators or dictators." 
 
¶9. (C) Arias saw no need for significant arms purchases in 
the hemisphere, and suggested that the Obama administration 
consider re-imposing an embargo against high-tech arms 
transfers to the WHA region, similar to what was in place 
1977-1997.  Arias recalled how he and former president Carter 
had unsuccessfully lobbied then-president Clinton not to end 
the embargo.  The result, which permitted the USG to supply 
F-16s to Chile, ignited a South American arms race, 
eventually including Venezuela, according to Arias. 
President Obama's leadership might influence the EU to stop 
selling arms to the hemisphere, he added. 
 
¶10.  (C) The real enemies in the region, Arias continued, 
were "poverty, disease and illiteracy."  These could not be 
confronted by spending more on arms, but on education, as 
Costa Rica had been able to do since abolishing its military. 
 A seven-year average pupil retention rate was the most 
serious threat to the region's security, in Arias, opinion. 
Arias handed the Vice President a letter to POTUS requesting 
additional USG assistance with education, in the form of 
additional Peace Corps or Peace Corps-like volunteers to 
teach English as part of Costa Rica's "Costa Rica Bilingue" 
national project (which is being run out of the President's 
office and which seeks to make the nation essentially 
bilingual in English and Spanish by 2017).  Education is a 
priority for Costa Rica, as "it should be for the region," he 
emphasized. 
 
------------------------- 
COSTA RICA IS "DIFFERENT" 
------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (C) The countries in the hemisphere all differ, Arias 
continued, but they faced common problems: poor educational 
systems, low tax collection (which means fewer domestic 
resources for government) and increasingly strapped social 
safety nets.  It was thus important for Vice President Biden 
to visit Costa Rica, which was "different" from the other 
Central American nations (i.e., more successful facing some 
of its problems).  Costa Rica, for example, dedicated six 
percent of its GDP to education, and another eight percent to 
health care. 
 
-------------------------------- 
HELICOPTERS TO FIGHT TRAFFICKING 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶12.  (C) Despite the fact that Costa Rica does not have an 
army, and its air unit includes "25-year old Cessnas," Arias 
pointed to the GOCR's "region-leading" performance in drug 
seizures.  Facing an increasing threat from regional 
narcotics trafficking, he said the GOCR needed helicopters to 
supplement its airborne counternarcotics assets.   Five 
Blackhawks went to Mexico as part of the Merida Initiative, 
he noted; "all we need is one". Arias commended the 
Secretary's "courageous" acknowledgment in Mexico of U.S. 
co-responsibility in fueling the illicit drug and arms trade 
in the region. 
 
------------------------------------ 
VP BIDEN: MUST FIX THE ECONOMY FIRST 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶13. (C) In response, the Vice President noted that some 
countries viewed the United States as "part of the problem," 
while others saw the United States as "the only solution" to 
some problems.  However, before the USG could help the 
region, it had to help itself; the best way to do so was to 
re-energize the U.S. economy.  "When we stall, you all 
suffer," he said.  The administration was thus tackling the 
urgent economic problems as methodically as possible. 
 
¶14. (C) The Vice President explained that during the election 
campaign, he and President Obama had established the goal of 
truly helping the U.S. middle class, and not just improving 
macroeconomic indicators.  The same held true for Latin 
America: the Obama administration wants the middle class to 
be better off when it completes its first term.  "We do not 
want the hemisphere left behind," he said.  In addition, the 
U.S. administration realized it was time for new "rules of 
the road" governing the international financial and banking 
system. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
BUT ALSO TACKLE REGIONAL SECURITY PROBLEMS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶15. (C) At the same time, The Vice President acknowledged 
that "restarting the economy" alone was not enough; the USG 
recognized that the region faced a number of other shared 
problems that required shared solutions, chief among them 
drug trafficking and crime.  Drug source or transit countries 
that had once been reluctant to confront the drug trade, 
since it was "not their problem," now faced serious domestic 
consumption problems. 
 
¶16. (C) Vice President Biden assured Arias that the USG well 
understood that counternarcotics success in Mexico and 
Colombia might press more trafficking and traffickers into 
Central America.  This was another reason the Merida 
Initiative was so important.  Depending on the future 
domestic economic situation, the USG would like to see Merida 
continued and perhaps expanded, he explained.  However, the 
Vice President reminded President Arias of the difficult 
economic situation inherited by the Obama administration, 
including a USD 1.3 trillion deficit.  Additional USG 
assistance may not come easily.  The Administration first had 
to stimulate the U.S. economy in order to stimulate the 
global economy. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
FRESH LOOK AT FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND EDUCATION 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶17. (C) In response to Arias, suggestions, the Vice 
President said the USG might re-examine the MCC program, in 
order to focus it more on needy sectors of society, even in 
countries that were doing fairly well, rather than solely on 
individual countries in need.  Overall, the attitude in the 
United States towards foreign assistance was evolving, he 
added.  The best thing Costa Rica could do in the short run, 
however, was to continue to attract foreign direct 
investment; this provided the best added value to the 
economy. 
 
¶18. (SBU) On education, which was another major topic of the 
U.S. election campaign and very important to the Obama 
administration, the Vice President invited Arias to work with 
him personally to develop a regional approach for Central 
America.  The Vice President cited this project as a 
potentially good example of the USG's intent to develop 
policy with the region and not for it. He added that the 
administration also hoped to give the Peace Corps a 
significant boost in Western Hemisphere countries and around 
the world.  This would help "capture the energy" of young 
Americans eager to serve. 
 
------------------------------------- 
CLOSING COMMENTS AND THE &BIDEN8 PLAN 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶19. (C) Drawing the meeting to a close, the Vice President 
lauded Arias as "an exception" and Costa Rica as a country 
which "stands apart." This was a principal reason why the USG 
had asked Costa Rica to host the Central American leaders. 
"Now is the time for honesty and not diplomacy," the Vice 
President added.  The administration thus invited 
"constructive criticism" from its friends and allies.  The 
Vice President reiterated that the administration had to 
"first focus at home," but looked forward to working with 
regional partners on regional problems. 
 
¶20. (SBU) As the meeting broke up, Arias handed the Vice 
President the GOCR's new, detailed, so-called BIDEN 
(Bilateral Investment Development and Emergency Needs Plan), 
which seeks additional USG assistance and cooperation for 
development, drug interdiction/law enforcement, debt 
restructuring, balance of payment stabilization, 
competitiveness, investment, renewable energy development and 
English language teaching.  (The GOCR released highlights of 
the plan to the media after the meeting.) 
 
¶21. (U) The Office of the Vice President cleared this 
message. 
 
 
WILSON