VZCZCXRO5176
OO RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS
DE RUEHBR #0062/01 0221222
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 221220Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0337
INFO WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0004
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
RUMIESS/SOUTHCOM IESS MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRASILIA 000062 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PREL BR
SUBJECT: Head of Brazil's Haiti Relief Efforts Reports Good 
Coordination with USG 
 
REF: STATE 4208; BRASILIA 0044 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a meeting with the Charg???? d'Affaires, a.i., Lisa 
Kubiske on January 19, Brazil's coordinator for Brazil's Haiti 
emergency relief effort, Minister Jorge Armando Felix, head of the 
Institutional Security Cabinet (GSI) at the Presidency, said he was 
pleased with bilateral coordination and relayed a request from the 
military to place a liaison officer with the U.S. unit managing the 
airport to ensure coordination on Brazilian flights.  He said that 
Brazil would turn distribution of relief supplies over to the UN, 
GOH, or USG "as soon as the organization is sufficient," and 
indicated that he expected to be supervising Brazil's relief 
efforts for some time.  Felix is planning to visit Haiti on January 
24, a day after Foreign Minister Celso Amorim visits.  In a January 
20 discussion, Foreign Ministry (MRE) Under Secretary for Political 
Affairs Vera Machado did not identify any problems either, but 
indicated that Brazil's UN Permanent Representative, Maria Luiza 
Viotti, had indicated that "more cooperation" is needed.  Both 
Felix and Machado said that media were creating problems by playing 
up small incidents.  Over the longer term, Brazil's cooperation 
agency (ABC) is interested in partnering with USAID on post-crisis 
development projects.  Post believes that USG efforts, especially 
those by SouthCom, to engage the GOB and Brazilian media have 
succeeded in reducing perceptions of a lack of coordination, but 
the Brazilian MRE in particular remains sensitive to any perception 
that its equities are not being considered.  End summary. 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Felix was pleased with the effort to coordinate our 
emergency assistance efforts; he said that, from what he knows, 
there have been very few problems, although the media was at times 
unhelpful in its portrayal of U.S. efforts and in playing up 
problems getting some Brazilian planes into the airport at Port au 
Prince.  Felix said he had been clear in speaking with the press 
that there is no question whatsoever of confrontation between our 
countries, and that in fact the coordination has been excellent. 
(Comment:  Most other GOB contacts are giving us the same message, 
and recent GOB comments to the press have generally been very 
favorable.  End comment.) 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Asked whether there were additional ways we could improve 
coordination, Felix said the Brazilian Air Force was seeking to put 
in place a "liaison officer" at the airport in Port au Prince to 
coordinate Brazil's air traffic control needs with USG controllers. 
(Note: SouthCom has since agreed to this request.  End note.) 
Felix said that congestion at the airport was "natural" and "to be 
expected."  He did not see this as a major issue. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) Felix said that GSI is coordinating Brazil's assistance 
and is the point of contact for the GOB with the GOH on their 
needs.  Brazil's Ministry of Defense is in charge of logistics, 
Health Ministry is in charge of medical supplies, National 
Integration Ministry (which oversees Brazil's civil defense 
operation) is in charge of coordinating provisions of food, water, 
and shelter; GSI is coordinating provisions that don't fit into one 
of those categories.  Felix said that Brazil is currently doing its 
own distribution in-country through Brazilian NGOs and GOB 
officials on the ground, but will turn over distribution to the UN, 
GOH, or USG "once the organization is sufficient."  Felix indicated 
that he would serve as coordinator as long as basic humanitarian 
needs are still a pressing issue for Haiti.  He said he would be 
pleased to follow up a January 15 discussion between Minister of 
Defense Jobim and CJCS Admiral Mullen by talking with USAID 
Administrator Shah about setting up a mechanism to smooth 
coordination (Note: The call is scheduled for January 22 at 1530 
EST.  End note.)  Felix plans to visit Haiti on Sunday, January 24, 
a day after FM Amorim visits.  Amorim will travel on to Montreal 
for the conference of foreign ministers on January 25.  Felix is 
not planning to attend; however, we have been informed that Defense 
Minister Jobim is considering attending the Montreal conference 
along with Amorim. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) Note: GSI is responsible a wide range of security matters, 
 
BRASILIA 00000062  002 OF 002 
 
 
including crisis prevention and management.  It has served as the 
primary coordinator of the federal government's actions during 
crises in the past.  Because GSI is also a part of the Presidency, 
it continues to be President Lula's most immediate and 
close-to-home resource for handling a crisis of a security nature 
deemed critical for Brazil.  Immediately following the earthquake 
in Haiti, Lula created a "crisis cabinet" headed by Felix to 
coordinate Brazilian assistance to Haiti.  End note. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Marco Farani, director of Brazil's cooperation agency, 
ABC, told Mission AID Director January 19 that ABC is not involved 
in the immediate emergency response.  ABC's projects in Haiti had 
been destroyed, and ABC will want to collaborate with USAID on 
post-crisis development projects.  At present he and several other 
MRE officials are attending daily meetings organized by GSI.  The 
MRE officials involved include Under Secretary for Latin America 
Amb. Antonio Simoes (political issues), Amb. Marcos Pinta Gama 
(logistics and Haiti Crisis Room), and Milton Rondo (humanitarian 
aid coordinator).  Pinta Gama told Poloff January 21 that his job 
is to coordinate within MRE and with the Brazilian military on all 
humanitarian assistance, especially arranging logistics.  He is 
also in charge of the repatriation of Brazilian citizens from Haiti 
and assistance to those remaining there.   He said his work is 
winding down, with the assistance flights operating "pretty 
smoothly now." 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) During a meeting with U/S Machado on January 20, Charge 
asked her view of coordination between our governments on Haiti. 
She said she knew of no problems.  However, she noted that 
international media coverage has been unhelpful because it is 
suggesting there is a lack of law and order and that "no one is in 
charge" when in fact there is no general problem with order and 
MINUSTAH is doing its job.  The Charge noted that we have heard 
from Washington there might be concerns in Brazil's UN Mission; 
Machado said that Brazilian Perm Rep Viotti had in fact "stressed a 
need for further cooperation" in conversations with her. 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: Efforts by senior USG officials to engage the 
GOB, as well as increased efforts to inform Brazilian media in the 
United States, Haiti, and Brazil, have succeeded in reducing GOB 
perceptions of a lack of coordination.  Efforts by SouthCom to 
accommodate Brazlian requests and reach out to media have been 
particularly effective and helpful in this regard.  As head of 
MINUSTAH and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the 
Brazilian MRE in particular remains sensitive to any perception 
that Brazil's and MINUSTAH's equities are not being considered. 
KUBISKE