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PP RUEHAG RUEHROV RUEHSL RUEHSR
DE RUEHCV #1090/01 2311856
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 191856Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3579
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS PRIORITY
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0080
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0015
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 001090 
 
SIPDIS 
 
HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO AID/OTI (RPORTER) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/18/2029 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM VE
SUBJECT: CANADIAN-VENEZUELAN RELATIONS AT A LOW POINT 
 
CARACAS 00001090  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Darnall Steuart, 
for reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary: In a meeting with Ambassador Duddy August 
18, Canadian Ambassador to Venezuela Perry Calderwood said 
that Canada's bilateral relations with Venezuela were as bad 
as they had ever been.  In addition to disrupting Canada's 
Diplomatic pouches, not issuing license plates, and making it 
more difficult to receive timely visas, Venezuela blackballed 
Canada's petition to join the Inter-American Tropical Tuna 
Commission because of Canada's position on Cuba in the 
Organization of American States.  Calderwood also discussed 
Canadian representation of Israel in Venezuela, which began 
shortly after President Chavez expelled the Israeli 
Ambassador and broke relations in January 2009.  Calderwood 
sees President Chavez's recent legislation and measures as an 
effort to consolidate power before his popularity collapses 
under serious governance problems.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
VENEZUELA BLOCKS CANADIAN IATTC MEMBERSHIP 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (C) Calderwood said that Canada had hoped to join the 
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) in June. 
Letters of no objection are required from all 16 members 
before a new member can join the IATTC.  Calderwood said the 
Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (GBRV) 
refused to send its letter for several months; all other 
members sent in letters.  During the June meeting, which 
Canada attended in the hope the Venezuelan letter would 
arrive, the GBRV called a second secretary at the Canadian 
Embassy in Venezuela to say that the GBRV would not allow 
Canada to join the IATTC because of Canada's position on Cuba 
in the Organization of American States. 
 
¶3.  (C) While this kind of political retaliation was 
unexpected, Calderwood said, the bilateral relationship has 
been difficult for some time.  There has not been a 
Venezuelan Ambassador to Canada for three years.  Calderwood 
has little access to the GBRV, and the Canadian Embassy has 
had its Diplomatic pouch delivery disrupted on two occasions. 
 The Embassy has been unable to acquire Diplomatic license 
plates, and a new policy, of which they were informed by 
phone, stipulates that Diplomatic carnets must be returned 
before a new Diplomatic visa for the replacement officer will 
be issued.  That policy, Calderwood said, has been 
implemented unevenly.  The Canadian Minister of State for the 
Americas would like to visit Caracas in September if he can 
expect to meet Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro; this visit 
would be the first for a senior Canadian official in ten 
years. 
 
------------------- 
REPRESENTING ISRAEL 
------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C) According to Calderwood, days after Chavez expelled 
the Israeli Ambassador and broke relations in January 2009, 
the Israeli government asked the Canadian government at very 
senior levels to represent Israeli interests in Venezuela, as 
it does in Cuba.  Since then, the two countries have worked 
out a Memorandum of Understanding to allow Canada to accept 
Israeli visa and passport applications in Caracas, which will 
then be sent to the Israeli Embassy in Ottawa for processing. 
 Canada also provides assistance to Israeli citizens in 
Venezuela, and relays official messages between the two 
countries.  To date these messages have dealt exclusively 
with the need for each countries' former representatives to 
return their respective Diplomatic carnets.  Calderwood 
understands that Spain has been asked to represent Venezuelan 
interests in Israel.  Canada has expanded its relationship 
with the Jewish community in Venezuela, and Calderwood notes 
that overt anti-Semitism from the GBRV seems to have subsided 
in the wake of the strong international response following 
the attacks on the synagogues earlier this year. 
 
--------------------------- 
RACING TO CONSOLIDATE POWER 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (C) Calderwood thinks that the recent flurry of 
legislation and the closure of 34 media outlets is part of a 
GBRV effort to consolidate power in the executive before 
Chavez's popularity declines.  He said the problems of 
governance, such as crime and inflation, are beyond Chavez's 
capabilities to solve.  Chavez knows his popularity will run 
out, Calderwood said, so he's doing everything he can now to 
ensure that he will stay in power. 
 
¶6.  (C) Comment: Canadian representatives in Venezuela have 
been active in promoting human rights and discretely 
providing venues for groups opposing GBRV policies to speak 
with other Diplomats.  Some of the diplomatic difficulties 
mentioned by Calderwood could be a result of inefficiency 
rather than deliberate harassment, and are shared by many 
foreign missions.  Overall their experience mirrors that of 
the U.S. Embassy.  It is unclear if the blocking of Canada's 
membership in the IATTC is a short-term delay, or an 
indication of how Venezuela will deal with Canada on future 
issues.  President Chavez appears sensitive to international 
opinion, but apparently a good relationship with Canada is 
not a priority. 
 
DUDDY