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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TEGUCIGALPA 000227 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL HO
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT ZELAYA DISCUSSES REGIONAL ISSUES 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000227  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b & d). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  On March 30 the Ambassador met with 
President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya to review regional developments 
and the current state of bilateral relations.  Zelaya 
continued to attempt to blame the Costa Ricans for his 
non-attendance at the meeting with Vice President Biden in 
San Jose.  However, he stressed that he had instructed Vice 
President Aristides Mejia to be a positive and constructive 
participant in the meeting.  He described our common 
cooperation under the Merida Initiative, the Millennium 
Challenge Compact and CAFTA as positive aspects of the 
relationship.  Zelaya said he was looking forward to 
attending the Summit of the Americas and stressed the great 
interest the Central American leaders had in meeting 
separately with President Obama in Trinidad.  Zelaya said 
Honduras was fully engaged in preparations for the OAS 
General Assembly scheduled for June 1-2 in San Pedro Sula. 
He said his government was keen on hosting Secretary Clinton 
and hoped that her schedule would permit some time for a few 
bilateral events.  End summary. 
 
 
¶2.  (C) On March 30, the Ambassador had an opportunity to 
review the current state of U.S. relations, as well as 
discuss regional developments in a one-on-one lunch at the 
Residence with President Zelaya.  We will also provide a 
separate message on the discussion of the domestic political 
situation. 
 
Vice President Biden's Meeting with Central American Leaders 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Zelaya provided a read out of the Central America 
leaders meeting held in Managua on March 25.  He lamented the 
inability of the Central American leaders to achieve a 
consensus that would have convinced SICA President Daniel 
Ortega to participate in the meeting with Vice President 
Biden.  Zelaya reiterated the view that President Arias had 
failed to coordinate the meeting with the Central American 
leaders or with Ortega and that he had received the first 
notice of the meeting in a written invitation from the Costa 
Rican government to attend the meeting on March 30.  He and 
Ortega had suggested various additions to the agenda that had 
been rejected by Arias.  He added that personal differences 
and animosity between Presidents Ortega and Arias had made 
the situation worse.  Under these circumstances, Zelaya had 
made the decision not to attend the meeting in San Jose. 
Nevertheless, he welcomed the U.S. initiative and presence of 
Vice President Biden and had directed Vice President Mejia to 
participate in a positive manner.  He noted that he had also 
instructed his staff to pass on Mejia's talking points and 
statement to the U.S. government several days before the 
meeting to underscore that the Honduran participation would 
be constructive.  He said Mejia had been instructed to convey 
Honduran appreciation for U.S. development assistance, 
particularly the Millennium Challenge Compact, which he 
believed was a model of development cooperation.  He said 
Mejia had also been instructed to also raise positive 
elements such as our common work to combat international 
crime under the Merida Initiative and the promise of closer 
economic ties provided by CAFTA.  He said that immigration 
was of strategic importance and hoped that the U.S. would 
slowdown deportations of Hondurans, consider providing 
permanent resident status to TPS Hondurans and promote a 
guest worker pilot program for rural workers. 
 
¶4.  (C) The Ambassador conveyed our disappointment that 
President Zelaya had not attended the meeting with Vice 
President Biden.  The Ambassador stressed that the Vice 
President's mission to South and Central America was 
important in terms of giving new direction and focus to U.S. 
relations with the region.  He said the Vice President had 
come to listen and to hear about the region's concerns and 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000227  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
priorities and begin to develop a common agenda of work based 
on shared interests.  He said the meeting in San Jose was 
particularly important as the hemisphere's leaders prepared 
for the Summit of the Americas on April 17-19 in Trinidad. 
The Ambassador said his absence had been a missed opportunity 
for him to establish a personal relationship with the Vice 
President and to be at the table and directly convey Honduran 
views on the key issues of managing the global financial 
crisis, confronting the threat of international crime and 
dealing with immigration.  The Ambassador conveyed his 
appreciation for providing us Vice President Mejia's talking 
points. 
 
The Summit of the Americas 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) President Zelaya said he was looking forward to the 
Summit of the Americas in Trinidad.  He said that he planned 
to participate in a meeting of Bolivian Alternative for the 
Americas ALBA members just prior to the Summit.  He assumed 
that the other ALBA countries would attend but emphasized 
that even if Presidents Chavez, Morales, Correa and Ortega 
chose not to go to Trinidad, he was committed to 
participating.  He said that the Central American leaders had 
requested a meeting with President Obama.  Such a meeting was 
critically important to the Central Americans as underscoring 
U.S. interest and support for Central America and its process 
of integration.  If this meeting did not happen it would send 
a negative signal to the region of U.S. disinterest.  Zelaya 
said he believed that U.S. Presidents had met with Central 
American counterparts in every other Summit, including 
President Bush's meeting during the Mar del Plata Summit in 
¶2005.  Zelaya said it was positive that President Obama had 
already met with Presidents Calderon, Lula and Prime Minister 
Harper.  Zelaya also suggested that more be done to try to 
minimize friction with Chavez on the even of the Summit.  He 
understood that a U.S. President was unlikely to seek a 
bilateral meeting with Chavez, but he believed that a phone 
call prior to the Summit would be helpful in easing tensions 
and making for a more positive Summit. 
 
¶6.  (C) The Ambassador responded that President Obama was 
also looking forward to the Trinidad Summit as a great 
opportunity to forge a common agenda with the hemisphere's 
leaders.  The G-20 Summit on April 2 was also an opportunity 
to improve coordination by the major economies of the world 
in dealing with the global financial crisis.  The 
participation of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil and 
Argentina in London would allow for a substantive exchange of 
views on the economic crisis in Trinidad and a chance to 
begin developing common actions and solutions.  The 
Ambassador stressed the importance of ensuring that the 
multilateral banks were particularly responsive and 
supportive of poor countries in the region.  He said that any 
creative initiatives or mechanisms, some of which would be 
discussed with Vice President Biden in San Jose, could be 
developed in Trinidad. 
 
OAS General Assembly 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (C) Zelaya said that he was confident that the OAS 
General Assembly scheduled for June 1-2 in San Pedro Sula 
would go well.  He said much work was being done on the 
logistical side to ensure that the event went smoothly.  On 
the policy side, Honduras wanted to avoid any diplomatic 
confrontation.  He said dealing in a constructive way on the 
issue of Cuba would be important.  Honduras understood that 
President Obama had limitations on how far he could go on 
Cuba.  However, the more flexibility the U.S. could show on 
Cuba the better it would be received by Latin Americans. 
(Note:  The Honduran government is seeking to include 
language in the declaration that would abrogate the 
resolution of 1963 that expelled or excluded Cuba from OAS 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000227  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
deliberations.  The Hondurans claim that this will not/not 
result in the reincorporating Cuba back into the OAS, and 
that the Cuban government has also made clear they have no 
interest in becoming a member.).  Zelaya said that the 
Honduran government and people were eager and enthusiastic 
about welcoming Secretary Clinton to Honduras.  He said he 
was very interested in scheduling a bilateral portion to her 
visit.  In addition to his bilateral meeting with the 
Secretary, Zelaya suggested a visit to a Merida Initiative 
crime prevention project that involved U.S. and Hondurans 
working together to promote community policing and assistance 
to at-risk youth. 
 
¶8.  (C) The Ambassador said that the Obama Administration was 
seeking to reach out to Cuba and strengthen contact between 
the U.S. and the island.  He said travel restrictions and 
financial flows were being eased, and that we were looking at 
ways to improve two-way contact and communication.  However, 
the embargo was unlikely to be lifted any time soon.  The 
Ambassador cited recent statements by Vice President Biden in 
this regard.  He said that it was not a one-way street and 
that Cuba needed to demonstrate to its people and the 
international community that it was willing to open up.  The 
Ambassador noted that the U.S. objective of supporting 
democracy and human rights in Cuba would remain an important 
element of U.S. policy in the region.  The Ambassador agreed 
to pass on to the Department his request that there be a 
bilateral segment of visit to Honduras, noting that the 
Secretary's schedule would be very tight. 
LLORENS