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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEGUCIGALPA 000096 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM HO
SUBJECT: USG DELEGATION ATTENDS PRESIDENT LOBO'S 
INAUGURATION 
 
REF: TEGUCIGALPA 0088 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens for reasons 1.4 (b/d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) for 
Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA) Arturo Valenzuela, 
accompanied by Ambassador Hugo Llorens, Assistant Secretary 
of State for Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs (EEB) 
Jose Fernandez and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
State (PDAS) for Western Hemisphere Affairs Craig Kelly, led 
the U.S. delegation to the January 27 inauguration of 
President Porfirio Lobo.  During the visit, the delegation 
met with President Lobo and his economic team, President Jose 
Manuel "Mel" Zelaya, and Colombian Vice President Francisco 
Santos.  The delegation also held a press roundtable for 
print media.  WHA A/S Valenzuela told President Lobo that the 
international community cannot accept a solution to the 
Honduran political crisis that does not restore the 
constitutional order and urged creation of a Truth Commission 
within the framework of the Organization of American States 
as a mechanism to bring closure to the crisis.  EEB A/S 
Fernandez told Lobo that the U.S. is interested in helping 
his government recover from its economic woes.  WHA A/S 
Valenzuela told President Zelaya that the U.S. has always 
been committed to the defense of Honduran democracy, but also 
wants Honduras to move forward towards a better future.  Vice 
President Santos told the U.S. delegation that his government 
wanted to demonstrate its support for Honduras and the Lobo 
government in the wake of the election process.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) WHA A/S Arturo Valenzuela led the U.S. delegation to 
the January 27 inauguration of President Porfirio Lobo.  The 
other members of the delegation were: Ambassador Hugo 
Llorens, EEB A/S Jose Fernandez, WHA PDAS Craig Kelly, 
Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Western 
Hemisphere Affairs Juan Gonzalez, and Protocol Officer Tanya 
Turner.  The delegation attended the inaugural ceremony held 
at the National Stadium and participated in a luncheon for 
foreign delegations hosted by President Lobo at the Executive 
Mansion. 
 
¶3. (C) The delegation met with president-elect Porfirio Lobo 
on January 26, the day before the inauguration.  WHA A/S 
Valenzuela told Lobo that the international community cannot 
accept a solution to the Honduran political crisis that does 
not restore the constitutional order.  A/S Valenzuela 
commended Lobo for his efforts to build national unity and 
reintegrate Honduras into the international community.  A/S 
Valenzuela told Lobo that creation of a Truth Commission 
within the framework of the Organization of American States 
(OAS) could bring closure to this chapter in Honduran 
history.  He also stated that if the OAS were to reinstate 
Honduras quickly that would facilitate resumption of donor 
assistance to Honduras.  EEB A/S Fernandez said that once the 
family fight in Honduras is over, the U.S. is very interested 
in helping the Lobo government.   Lobo thanked the U.S. for 
its efforts to solve the crisis.  He said Honduran society is 
very polarized and said he would call for compliance with the 
Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord. 
 
¶4. (C) WHA A/S Valenzuela and PDAS Kelly met with President 
Jose Manuel "Mel" Zelaya at the Brazilian Embassy on January 
26, the day before he departed Honduras with Dominican 
Republic President Leonel Fernandez.  Brazilian Charge 
d'Affaires Francisco Catunda also attended the meeting. 
Zelaya thanked the Ambassador for his efforts to attempt to 
avert the political crisis.   Zelaya said the Honduran crisis 
has complicated international relations in the Americas.  He 
also said there will be no reconciliation among Hondurans 
unless they learn to debate ideas peacefully.  A/S Valenzuela 
told Zelaya that the U.S. has always been committed to the 
defense of Honduran democracy, but that the U.S. also wants 
Honduras to move forward and have a better future.  He told 
Zelaya that Zelaya can play a role in Honduras' future. 
Zelaya promised to try to help and said the U.S. could count 
on him.  Brazilian Charge Catunda thanked the U.S. for its 
staunch support over many months for their Embassy and staff. 
 Catunda cited our effort to ensure that regime authorities 
provided water, electricity, and allowed daily shipments of 
food to those residing inside the chancery compound. 
 
¶5. (SBU) While WHA A/S Valenzuela, Ambassador Llorens and 
PDAS Kelly met with President Zelaya, EEB A/S Fernandez met 
 
TEGUCIGALP 00000096  002 OF 002 
 
 
with members of Lobo's economic team on January 26.  Among 
the participants were William Chong Wong, who was 
subsequently named Minister of Finance for the new 
government, and Maria Elena Mondragon, who will head the 
central bank.  A/S Fernandez emphasized the importance of the 
Pathways to Prosperity initiative and encouraged Honduras, 
which chairs the Pathways pillar on small and medium 
enterprises, to be prepared to play a strong role at the 
Pathways ministerial in San Jose.  The economic team 
expressed interest in learning more about Pathways. 
(Comment: Getting the new team up to speed on Pathways will 
be a high priority for the Embassy in upcoming weeks.  End 
Comment.)  A/S Fernandez said that he hoped to work with the 
economic team on areas of common interest, including 
channeling remittances into investment and developing 
public-private partnerships.  The economic team expressed 
concern about the government's balance sheet, particularly 
the large amount of short-term internal debt, and pressed for 
resumption of economic assistance, including budget support 
and technical assistance. 
 
¶6. (C) The U.S. delegation met with Colombian Vice President 
Francisco Santos, who led the Colombian delegation to the 
inauguration, on January 26.  Vice President Santos told the 
U.S. delegation that the Government of Colombia wanted to 
show its support for Honduras and the Lobo government in the 
wake of the election process.  Santos said Colombia could 
draw from its own experience in confronting narco-trafficking 
and crime to assist Honduras' new government in addressing 
these challenges.  WHA A/S Valenzuela thanked Colombia for 
its contributions to the Haiti relief effort.  Santos 
responded that Colombia's commitment to the Haitian relief 
effort underscored Colombia's solidarity with its hemispheric 
neighbors and proved that Colombia can provide valuable 
expertise and assistance.  WHA A/S Valenzuela highlighted the 
importance of bolstering electoral processes through 
strengthening institutions, which can only be viable if they 
are responsive to the people.  Vice President Santos, who 
generally described the Colombian economy in positive terms, 
expressed concern about the adverse effect on the Colombian 
economy if the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is 
not ratified.  WHA A/S Valenzuela responded that it would be 
difficult to achieve passage of an FTA in an election year, 
but that the U.S. would continue its efforts to do so. 
Santos also expressed concern that U.S. discussions with the 
Union of South American nations (UNASUR) would reopen the 
debate on Colombia's Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA); WHA 
A/S Valenzuela assured Santos that no meetings are currently 
planned and any future ones would take place at a low level 
and would not endanger the DCA. 
 
¶7. (U) WHA A/S Valenzuela, Ambassador Llorens, EEB A/S 
Fernandez, and WHA PDAS Kelly held a press roundtable by 
invitation for local and international print media on January 
27 before their departure.  A/Valenzuela stated that it was a 
historic moment for Honduras and that he was pleased to be a 
witness to this important step forward in the process of 
national reconciliation in Honduras.  A/S Valenzuela 
reiterated the U.S. commitment to work with the government of 
President Lobo.  He welcomed President Lobo's efforts to form 
a cabinet that includes all political parties and expressed 
support for President Lobo's calls that a national unity 
government be formed within the framework of the Organization 
of American States as called for in the Tegucigalpa-San Jose 
Agreement. 
LLORENS