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C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000782 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/14/2010 
TAGS: PREL KDEM HO VE BR CI
SUBJECT: CHILEAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR: ZELAYA'S VISIT "VERY 
PRODUCTIVE" 
 
Classified By: ADCM Laurie Weitzenkorn for Reasons 1.4 (b/d) 
 
¶1. (C) Bachelet Presidential Advisor Marcos Robledo told the 
Ambassador that Manuel Zelaya's August 13 visit to Santiago 
was "very productive."  According to Robledo, President 
Bachelet and several members of the Chilean Congress 
emphasized the Obama Administration's desire to play a 
constructive role in Honduras.  In particular, they made the 
point that Zelaya should not make it more difficult for the 
Unites States to have a positive impact.  They urged Zelaya 
to understand U.S. needs and underscored the difficulty 
caused by Zelaya's association with Venezuelan President Hugo 
Chavez. 
 
¶2. (C) Robledo noted that Brazil delivered a similar message 
to Zelaya, but that Chile pressed even harder. 
 
¶3. (C) Zelaya apparently listened.  After his meeting with 
President Bachelet he publicly stated that Chavez did not 
speak for him.  In his public statement, he also said that 
U.S. actions in response to the coup have been "soft and 
half-hearted" and that he hoped the United States will take 
stronger measures in the upcoming days. 
 
¶4. (C) During his meeting with President Bachelet, Zelaya 
outlined his concerns about losing valuable time.  He stated 
the need to do something soon, and said that he will try to 
see Secretary Clinton in the next two weeks. 
 
¶5. (C) Zelaya's visit was quickly arranged following his trip 
to Brazil, and Bachelet had to make last minute adjustments 
to her schedule to accommodate his brief appearance.  The 
visit came the day after Chile withdrew the diplomatic status 
of the Honduran Ambassador to Chile.  The GOC now recognizes 
Zelaya's representative in Washington, Eduardo Enrique Reina, 
as the Honduran Ambassador to Chile.  Rolando Drago, head of 
protocol at the Foreign Ministry, told the Ambassador on 
August 11 that Chile had received the request from Zelaya to 
revoke the former Ambassador's status, but at the time Chile 
had not decided how to proceed. (Comment: Since Chile acted 
on Zelaya's request on August 12, the same day Chilean 
officials learned of his visit, we suspect that the trip 
helped precipitate a decision to withdraw the ambassador's 
diplomatic status.) 
SIMONS