Zelaya firmó un documento del Alba

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/14/2018

TAGS: PGOV, KDEM, SOCI, KJUS, NU, HO

SUBJECT: GOH SIGNS ALBA DOCUMENT CONGRATULATING FSLN ON
ELECTION VICTORY AND ACCUSING USG OF INTERFERENCE

REF: TEGUCIGALPA 849

Classified By: Ambassador Hugo Llorens, reasons 1.4 (b & d)

1. (C) Summary: Presidential Legal Advisor Milton Jimenez

announced on November 13 that the GOH had signed the

Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas' (ALBA) document

regarding the Nicaraguan elections. In a telephone call

initiated by the Ambassador, President Manuel 'Mel' Zelaya

explained his actions as simply an expression of solidarity

with Ortega, who had described U.S. offenses that he

considered 'beyond normal diplomatic activity.' When the

Ambassador described the systemic, widespread fraud that had

been reported by international observers and NGOs, Zelaya

feigned ignorance, and asked that the Ambassador provide the

evidence for him to review, which we have done. The

Ambassador later received a call from Jimenez, who said

Zelaya had asked him to look at the allegations that

Nicaragua's elections had been fraudulent. Jimenez did admit

that he had held the press conference because Zelaya 'told

him to.' The Ambassador noted that there had been no Embassy

intervention in the Nicaraguan elections and that most of the

concerns about the massive electoral fraud had come from

Nicaraguans themselves. The Ambassador also conveyed our

displeasure that the Honduran government had once again

chosen to take sides on an issue involving the U.S. with the

third country as was the case with during the credentialing

ceremony. He said such statements were not conducive to

productive relations. In a subsequent conversation with

Jimenez, the Ambassador delivered reftel talking points on

the Nicaraguan elections.
End Summary.

2. (U) Jimenez held a press conference on November 13 at the

Presidential Palace where he announced that the GOH had

signed the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas' (ALBA)

document regarding the Nicaraguan local elections, which

specifically condemns U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua Robert

Callahan for 'interference' and creating a 'destabilizing'

atmosphere in Nicaragua. The document congratulates the FSLN

and Daniel Ortega for their 'historic victory,' and condemns
the violence perpetrated by the 'right' in Nicaragua.

3. (C) The Ambassador called President Manuel 'Mel' Zelaya on

November 14 to get an explanation for these moves,

explaining that there was no USG involvement in the internal

affairs of Nicaragua. Zelaya explained that Ortega had

called him to ask for his solidarity on this issue, and gave

alleged examples of how the U.S. Embassy had gone beyond what

Ortega considered 'normal diplomatic practice.' For this

reason, Zelaya said he decided to support Ortega and sign the

ALBA statement. Zelaya added that he had not received any

requests for solidarity from the USG on this topic. The

Ambassador described the widespread, systemic fraud that have

been reported from multiple Nicaraguan and international

sources. He asserted that this was not a USG issue, but an

international one, adding Canada, the European Union and the

United States had all made statements regarding the massive

fraud. Zelaya answered that he was unaware of this

information and asked that the Ambassador forward it to him

for review and consideration. The Ambassador said he would

be sending it to Zelaya and would follow-up with him
subsequently to directly discuss this issue.

4. (C) Following this conversation, under instructions from

Zelaya, Presidential Advisor Milton Jimenez called the

Ambassador to review the matter. The Ambassador told Jimenez

that this was the second time Honduras had taken sides

against the Untied States in a dispute that did not concern

it. The Ambassador added that if the GOH were considering

making such a statement, they should have first called us to

consider our side of the issue. Jimenez agreed that a call
would have been prudent, but said that he was 'instructed' to

TEGUCIGALP 00001023 002 OF 002

hold the press conference. Subsequently, the Ambassador

called Milton Jimenez again and delivered reftel talking

points on the Nicaraguan elections and urged the Honduran

government to work within the OAS and SICA to seriously

address the freedom and fairness of the Nicaraguan elections.

Jimenez said he would immediately call President Zelaya who
was in El Salvador and brief him on our conversation.

5. (C) Comment: We believe that the public statements in

support of the FSLN were orchestrated to keep support alive

in the ALBA camp and continue to earn rebel laurels for

Honduras. It is the second time that Zelaya has joined his

ALBA cohorts against the United States the last being the

credentialing mini-crisis in September. It is possible

Zelaya is looking to see how far he can push the USG,

especially with a contentious and chaotic primary election on

the horizon. We plan to work the Nicaraguan elections issue

directly with Zelaya. On the bilateral side, we will focus

our energies on the primaries scheduled for November 30. The

holding of free and fair primaries will be a key step in

supporting the democratic process in Honduras and ensuring a

smooth transition beyond Zelaya. End Comment.
LLORENS