VZCZCXYZ0003
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSP #0423/01 3271934
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 231934Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0034
INFO EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT OF SPAIN 000423 
 
SIPDIS 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR WHA/CCA: JDHILLSMAN 
AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/23 
TAGS: ETRD ETTC PREL CU TD
SUBJECT: Libertad Act Review: Trinidad and Tobago 
 
REF: STATE 115416 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Len Kusnitz,, De Affairs Charge; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (U)  This message responds to reftel questions. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (C)  QUESTION: Has the host country, in Post's opinion, worked 
to promote the advancement of democracy and human rights in Cuba? 
 
 
 
ANSWER: Post is not aware of any GOTT initiatives promoting 
democracy and human rights in Cuba. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (C)  QUESTION: Has the host country made public statements or 
undertaken other governmental actions, such as resolutions in the 
national assemblies condemning human rights abuses in Cuba; or 
actions in support of civil society in Cuba through host country's 
diplomatic missions or other fora? 
 
 
 
ANSWER: The GOTT has made no public statements or undertaken any 
governmental action to condemn human rights abuses in Cuba or 
support civil society in Cuba. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (C)  QUESTION: Have there been any high-level diplomatic 
visits, between Cuba and the host country in the past six months? 
 
 
 
ANSWER:  Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who has received ongoing 
medical treatment in Cuba for over a decade, met with Cuban 
vice-president Esteban Lazo Hernandez on July 7, 2009 after 
Manning's most recent medical check-up in Cuba.  Press reports 
after the one-hour meeting indicated that Manning and Lazo 
discussed the political situation in Honduras as well as bilateral 
trade and diplomatic relations, and that they discussed a possible 
visit to T&T by Cuban president Raul Castro.  The T&T-Cuba Joint 
Commission, which meets at the Foreign Minister level, is scheduled 
to take place in early December in Havana. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (C)  QUESTION: What is the nature of investments that host 
country businesses have in Cuba? 
 
 
 
ANSWER:  Post is aware of no T&T private companies or individuals 
with significant presence or investments in Cuba; T&T's exports to 
Cuba consist primarily of bulk commodities (chemicals, iron and 
steel, fertilizer) which do not require producers to establish a 
presence in Cuba. In May, the Minister of Finance publicly 
suggested a trade mission to Cuba as a follow up to the Nov 2008 
Havana Trade Fair, but no such mission has taken place thus far. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (C)  QUESTION: Are there any bilateral trade agreements or 
other cooperative agreements between host country and Cuba? 
 
 
 
ANSWER: T&T does not have a bilateral trade agreement with Cuba, 
but as a member of CARICOM, T&T has ratified the trade agreement 
between CARICOM and Cuba.  Cuba is assisting in an agricultural 
project (the "Tucker Valley Farm Project") in Trinidad. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (C)  QUESTION:  Are there any exchange programs between host 
country and Cuba, including but not limited to: scholarships for 
host country nationals to study in Cuba; Cuban-paid medical travel 
for host country nationals; and Cuban doctors working in the host 
country? 
 
 
 
ANSWER:  Cuba provides medical personnel to work in T&T.  Currently 
there are 17 doctors and 28 nurses from Cuba working here. 
 
¶8.  (C) Post believes it is in the U.S. national interest to 
suspend Title III of the Libertad Act as related to Trinidad and 
Tobago, based on the limited nature of its economic and political 
interests in Cuba and its contribution to U.S. energy security as a 
reliable supplier of oil and gas and its importance as an economic, 
political, and security leader in the Eastern Caribbean. 
KUSNITZ