VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #0065/01 0361556
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 051556Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0315
INFO RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUMIESS/SOUTHCOM IESS MIAMI FL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000065 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/05 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON ES
SUBJECT: FUNES WORKING WITH LIKEMINDED LEADERS TO RECOGNIZE PRESIDENT 
LOBO 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Robert I. Blau, Charge d'Affaires, Department of 
State; REASON: 1.4(D) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY. President Funes told visiting EEB Assistant 
Secretary Jose Fernandez that he, President Colom of Guatemala, and 
President Fernandez of the Dominican Republic are working on 
building consensus among Central American leaders to publically 
recognize the Government of Honduras.  Assistant Secretary 
Fernandez stressed the importance of the upcoming Pathways to 
Prosperity ministerial and suggested that El Salvador should 
maintain its productive role and be prepared to give a 
presentation.  Funes expressed concern about the divisions in 
Salvadoran society over worsening violence and appealed to the USG 
to convince the private sector to support GOES efforts to combat 
gangs and organized crime.  Funes concluded by asserting that his 
pro-U.S. posture has been justified by consistent and reliable 
cooperation with the USG since his inauguration.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
----------- 
 
HONDURAS 
 
----------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (C) During a February 4 meeting, President Funes told Assistant 
Secretary Fernandez that he has been diligently working behind the 
scenes with Guatemalan President Colom and Dominican President 
Fernandez to build support among Central American leaders to 
recognize the government of Honduran President Lobo.  Funes said El 
Salvador will be appointing a new Ambassador to Honduras in the 
near future and emphasized that the previous Salvadoran Ambassador 
was removed in December due to his allegiance to former-President 
Saca, not out of protest.  Funes said the governments of Costa Rica 
and Panama have already publicly indicated their support and the 
sole remaining obstacle for consensus is Nicaraguan President 
Ortega.  He stated that deposed President Zelaya's former Foreign 
Minister, Patricia Rodas, with the assistance of the ALBA block, is 
still working hard to generate discord and block consensus 
recognition. 
 
 
 
 
 
¶3. (C) Funes stated that both he and Colom agree that normalizing 
relations with Honduras is a necessity due to the strong commercial 
ties that bind Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.  He added that 
border closures with Honduras organized by Central American 
countries after Zelaya was removed from office resulted in millions 
of dollars of losses for Salvadoran businesses, an experience they 
are not keen on repeating.  Funes believes that if he and Colom are 
successful in their efforts to build consensus, the next steps will 
be to welcome back Honduras into the OAS and reestablish its 
relationship with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). 
 
 
 
---------------------- 
 
PATHWAYS TO PROSPERITY 
 
---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶4. (C) Assistant Secretary Fernandez emphasized to President Funes 
the importance of maintaining a productive role in the upcoming 
Pathways to Prosperity ministerial in Costa Rica and urged him to 
have his government give a presentation.  Funes stated that El 
Salvador is considering presenting their conditional cash transfer 
(CCT) project called "Comunidades Solidarias" at the ministerial. 
Assistant Secretary Fernandez suggested inviting Mexico and Brazil 
to join them to share their experiences with CCT programs. 
 
 
 
------------------ 
 
COMBATING CRIME 
 
------------------ 
 
 
¶5. (C) Funes told the Assistant Secretary that he is concerned 
about the divisions in Salvadoran society created by his 
government's ongoing battle against gang violence and crime.  He 
said although GOES efforts to use the military in conjunction with 
the police have yielded results, recent incidents, including 
grenade attacks, have unnerved the public and prompted the business 
community to urge tougher GOES measures.  Funes mentioned that he 
is worried that if the divisions deepen, the business community 
will lose confidence in his government.  Funes said he plans on 
holding meetings with the business community, universities, church 
representatives, and local mayors to build support for his fight 
against crime.  Funes told Assistant Secretary Fernandez that the 
USG can be of help by talking to the private sector and convincing 
them to provide more revenue to the GOES, specifically to bankroll 
a proposed $25 million expansion of the National Police. 
 
 
 
----------------------- 
 
FUNES VS. HARDLINE FMLN 
 
----------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6. (C) Funes told Assistant Secretary Fernandez that the hard-left 
of the FMLN is constantly working against him and unsanctioned 
comments made by Vice President Sanchez Ceren have generated deep 
distrust of his government in the private sector.  Funes explained 
that he was elected because he represented a moderate-left voice, 
but now he feels that despite having 80-percent public approval 
ratings, both the right and left are opposed to his administration. 
He reiterated to Assistant Secretary Fernandez that his 
government's relationship with the U.S. is a top priority and mused 
about the FMLN's suggestion to inscribe in Chavez's 21st Century 
Socialism movement, saying "what do I get from Venezuela?" 
 
 
 
------- 
 
COMMENT 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶7. (C) Assistant Secretary Fernandez' visit provided more high 
level reinforcement that the USG is a reliable partner and Funes 
can continue to depend on our support.  Although Funes' decision to 
recognize President Lobo's government is inevitable, the decision 
will be hugely unpopular with the hard-left of the FMLN who are 
heavily influenced by ALBA.  While Funes is working hard to craft 
responsible policy and build trust with the private sector, his 
efforts are consistently undermined by the hard-left of the FMLN. 
USG engagement with the private sector and continued public signals 
of support for President Funes has been and will continue to be 
necessary. 
 
 
 
¶8. AS Fernandez cleared this message. 
BLAU