VZCZCXRO9273
RR RUEHLMC
DE RUEHMU #0507/01 1401640
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 201640Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4152
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0062

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000507 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S/CT, WHA/CEN, AND INR/IAA 
STATE PASS USOAS AND USAID 
SAN SALVADOR FOR DHS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2029 
TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL ECON CU NU
SUBJECT: LIBERTAD ACT: NICARAGUAN RELATIONS WITH CUBA 
 
REF: SECSTATE 48487 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Robert J. Callahan for reasons 1.4b and d. 
 
Summary 
------- 
¶1. (C) Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's association with 
the Cuban regime spans several decades.  Since Ortega 
returned to power in January 2007, Nicaragua has 
re-established close relations with Cuba, especially through 
common membership in the Bolivarian Alternative for the 
Americas (ALBA).  Ortega frequently lauds the Cuban socialist 
model in his public speeches.  He has called for an end of 
the U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba.  While trade 
between the two countries is limited, Cuba sponsors important 
training and exchange programs in health and education.  End 
summary. 
 
Cuba, Nicaragua, and the Revolutionary Brotherhood 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶2. (C) Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's association with 
the Cuban regime spans several decades.  Upon release from 
prison, Ortega spent several months in exile in Cuba during 
the 1970s.  When the FSLN rose to power, Ortega looked to 
Cuban-style socialism for direction.  Throughout the 1980s, 
the two countries enjoyed close economic, political, and 
military cooperation.  After losing the 1990 elections, 
Ortega would travel to Cuba frequently and he has maintained 
close relationships with senior Cuban officials, including 
Fidel Castro. 
 
¶3. (C) Reflecting ideological and historical affinities with 
the Cuban regime, Ortega moved immediately after taking 
office in January 2007 to join Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia 
as the fourth member of the Bolivarian Alternative for the 
Americas (ALBA).  In a televised speech on September 20, 
2008, in Managua, Nicaragua, Ortega favorably remarked that 
"Cuba is without question an extraordinary example of a 
socialist project in the Latin American and Caribbean 
context."  In protest over the exclusion of Cuba from the 
April 17-19 Summit of the Americas, Ortega joined other ALBA 
members Bolivia and Venezuela in refusing to sign the draft 
declaration. 
 
¶4. (C) Through ALBA, President Ortega maintains regular 
contact with high-level Cuban officials.  According to open 
source reporting, Ortega met with a number of senior Cuban 
officials during the last several months: 
 
--On April 21, 2009, in Havana, Cuba, Ortega met with Fidel 
Castro.  Ortega also participated in a series of media events 
and received medical treatment while there. 
 
--On April 16, 2009, at an ALBA summit in Cumana, Venezuela, 
Ortega met with Raul Castro.  There, Ortega called U.S. 
sanctions against Cuba "a true genocide against the people of 
Cuba," and he called for their removal. 
 
--On April 1, 2009, in Havana, Cuba, Ortega and First Lady 
Rosario Murillo met with First Vice President of the Cuban 
Council of State Jose Ramon Machado Ventura and Minister of 
Foreign Relations Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. 
 
--On November 26, 2008, in Caracas, Venezuela, Ortega 
participated in an ALBA summit with Ricardo Cabrisas, Vice 
President of the Cuban Council of Ministers.  There, he 
likened Nicaragua's battles against European and "Yankee" 
interventionism to Cuba's struggle against the U.S. trade 
embargo and international isolation since its revolution. 
 
¶5. (C) Nicaraguan Ambassador to Cuba Luis Cabrera, Argentine 
by birth but a close confidant of President Ortega, 
coordinates the bilateral relationship at a working level. 
Cabrera is the point of contact for President Ortega with the 
FARC, according to documents seized by Colombian Armed Forces 
from the FARC in 2008, published by the media. 
 
Trade and Investment 
-------------------- 
¶6. (U) Nicaraguan-Cuban bilateral trade declined steadily 
 
MANAGUA 00000507  002 OF 002 
 
 
from 1991 to 2005 but has increased since 2007.  Nicaraguan 
exports to Cuba in 2008 totaled $2.1 million, up from 
$700,000 in 2007.  Nicaraguan imports from Cuba were $1.6 
million in 2008, down from $6.3 million in 2007 that included 
the importation of a large quantity of energy-efficient light 
bulbs.  Nonetheless, two-way trade remains insignificant, 
representing 0.1% percent of Nicaragua's total trade 
worldwide.  Nicaragua's investment promotion agency, 
ProNicaragua, reports no significant Cuban investment in 
Nicaragua. 
 
Training and Scholarships 
------------------------- 
¶7. (C) As a legacy of FSLN rule during the 1980s, Cuba and 
Nicaragua have historically collaborated on health and 
education programs.  Since Ortega took office in January 
2007, this collaboration has intensified: 
 
--Nicaraguan Minister of Health Guillermo Gonzalez reported 
that as of July 2008 there were 250 Cuban medical personnel 
working throughout Nicaragua -- up from 140 just six months 
before -- with the largest concentration along the Atlantic 
coast.  More recent estimates of the number of Cuban medical 
personnel in Nicaragua are unavailable. 
 
--Through "Operation Miracle," Nicaraguan Government 
officials claimed in May 2009 that Cuban doctors, with 
Venezuelan funding, have performed cataract surgery for more 
than 50,000 Nicaraguans since January 2007. 
 
--Under a long-standing agreement, any member of the 
Nicaraguan military can receive free medical treatment in 
Havana, though in practice most are served by local military 
hospitals and seek specialized care in the United States. 
 
--According to Embassy contacts, Cuba is supporting 
Nicaraguan intelligence gathering, with training and 
personnel, against Nicaraguan and U.S.-based democracy 
activists. 
 
--For years, Cuba has offered full scholarships to Nicaraguan 
students to attend Cuban universities.  According to May 2009 
press reports, as many as 900 Nicaraguan students are 
currently studying in Cuba, 700 of them medicine. 
 
--Cuban teachers participate in a Cuban-designed rural 
literacy program in Nicaragua called "Yes, I Can." 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶8. (C) While President Ortega's ideological and historical 
affinity with the Cuban regime make the two natural allies, 
it is ALBA that provides the framework for the relationship 
and Venezuelan funding that facilitates programs at the 
operational level. 
CALLAHAN