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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 191921Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0071
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 2066
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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
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RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000591 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
WHA/EPSC FOR FAITH CORNEILLE, ED MARTINEZ 
EB/IFD 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR 
TREASURY FOR JEFFEREY LEVINE 
COMMERCE FOR SCOTT SMITH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ENRG EPET ECON POL EAID HA
SUBJECT: HAITI PLEASED WITH PETROCARIBE AND SUMMIT 
 
REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 00583 
     ¶B. 08 PORT AU PRINCE 01023 
 
PORT AU PR 00000591  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Thomas C. Tighe for 
reasons 1.4 (a, d) 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Sixth PetroCaribe Summit in St. Kitts 
on June 12 congratulated Haiti as the ''best payer'' out of 
13 countries, having paid approximately USD 220 million to 
Venezuela.  GOH sources confirm that Venezuela announced 
plans to finance and construct an oil refinery in Haiti 
projected to process 20,000 barrels per day.  GOH officials 
say Haiti's parliament will soon ratify a tripartite 
agreement with Venezuela and Cuba that will decide on Haiti's 
use of a portion of its PetroCaribe revenues for social 
programs.  Haiti's General Director of Monetization in the 
Ministry of Economy and Finance (the office responsible for 
Haiti,s PetroCaribe Fund) lauds the agreement and believes 
it should not be politicized. End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Minister of Foreign Affairs Alrich Nicholas stood in 
for President Preval at the Heads of State meeting at the 6th 
PetroCaribe Summit in St. Kitts on June 12 (Note: Per Ref. A, 
President Preval decided to remain in Haiti to continue 
minimum salary negotiations with Parliament and the private 
sector. End note) Minister of Finance Daniel Dorsainvil 
attended the Energy Ministers meeting at the summit on June 
¶11.  Director General of the Office of Monetization Michael 
Lecorps also attended the summit. 
 
¶3. (SBU) General Director Lecorps told Econ/PolOff June 16 
that the summit congratulated Haiti as the ''best payer'' out 
of 13 countries benefiting from the petroleum preference 
agreement.  With the cost of a barrel of oil now below USD 
80, Haiti currently pays 60 percent of its oil debt to 
Venezuela within 90 days of a shipment, and pays the 
remaining 40 percent under a long-term financing agreement at 
one percent interest.  Haiti, to date, has paid approximately 
USD 220 million of its debt this year to Venezuela.  As of 
April 30, Haiti's PetroCaribe account (after Haiti's 
withdrawal of USD 197 million for its emergency response to 
the 2008 hurricanes), had a balance of USD 58.5 million.  On 
May 27, the Government of Haiti (GOH) announced that its 
total fuel imports under PetroCaribe, since the first 
shipment was received in March 2008, amounts to approximately 
USD 489 million.  Haiti's long-term debt, payable over 17 to 
25 years, amounts to approximately USD 240 million. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Lecorps confirmed to Econ/PolOff June 15 press 
reports that Venezuela pledged again to construct an oil 
refinery in Haiti.  (Note:  Ref. B reported that Venezuela 
announced this project at the July 2008 PetroCaraibe Summit 
in Caracas.  End note).  Lecorps put its capacity at 20,000 
bpd and the cost at USD 400 million.  He added that the GoH's 
Office of Mines and Energy, within the Ministry of Public 
Works, needs to be more cooperative and help Venezuela 
identify three potential locations for the refinery. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Lecorps stated that Haiti is not a member of 
Venezuela's Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas platform 
(ALBA).  He did note, however, that a tripartite 
(Haiti-Venezuela-Cuba) energy cooperation agreement is 
waiting to be ratified by Parliament.  According to Lecorps, 
the agreement's purpose is to decide how ten percent of funds 
from Haiti's PetroCaribe revenue would be spent on social 
programs in Haiti.  Lecorps stated that PetroCaribe ''...is 
very good for the country.''  He noted that 
Venezuelan-financed electricity generating plants are 
operating in Port-au-Prince, Gonaives and Cap Haitien and 
have led to longer hours of power in those areas.  Haiti 
receives shipments of PetroCaribe fuel every two weeks.  The 
next is expected on June 25-26.  Lecorps asserted that Haiti 
is satisfied with the PetroCaribe agreement and that it 
should not be ''politicized.'' 
 
¶6. (C) Comment:  PetroCaribe's generous financing terms make 
it a deal the GOH cannot refuse.  The GOH continues 
discretely to express satisfaction with this program. 
 
PORT AU PR 00000591  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
However, the yet-to-be-ratified tripartite agreement would 
give Venezuela (and Cuba) a say over Haiti's use of a part of 
its PetroCaribe funds.  Last October, this arrangement would 
have tied the GOH's hands in disaster response by requiring 
agreement from Havana and Caracas on Haiti use of PetroCaribe 
funds, which the GOH used for hurricane relief under state of 
emergency legislation (Refs B and C).  In addition to three 
power plants already in operation and promises to modernize 
the airport in Cap Haitien, Venezuela's oil refinery project 
-- implementation of which we still see as questionable -- 
would expand Venezuelan and Cuban influence in Haiti.  Post 
will continue to monitor and report on developments. End 
comment. 
TIGHE 

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