Trabas de Venezuela a las aerol¨ªneas
Cable sobre la actitud de Venezuela ante las peticiones de EE UU en aviaci¨®n
En marzo de 2009, la Embajada estadounidense en Caracas informa de que el Gobierno de Ch¨¢vez se niega a aceptar la apertura de pagos que pide Washington
| ID: | 194978 |
| Date: | 2009-03-03 15:45:00 |
| Origin: | 09CARACAS269 |
| Source: | Embassy Caracas |
| Classification: | CONFIDENTIAL |
| Dunno: | 08CARACAS647 |
| Destination: | VZCZCXRO8319 PP RUEHAO RUEHCD RUEHGA RUEHGD RUEHHA RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHMT RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHQU RUEHRD RUEHRG RUEHRS RUEHTM RUEHVC DE RUEHCV #0269/01 0621545 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 031545Z MAR 09 FM AMEMBASSY CARACAS TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2674 INFO RUEHWH/WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS RUEAHLC/DHS WASHDC RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION RUEABND/DEA HQ WASHINGTON DC RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL |
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CARACAS 000269 SIPDIS HQ SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD TREASURY FOR MMALLOY COMMERCE FOR 4431/MAC/WH/JLAO E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/28/2019 TAGS: ECON, PGOV, PREL, ETRD, EINV, EAIR, VE SUBJECT: VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT IGNORES USG OVERTURES ON AVIATION REF: 2008 CARACAS 647 CARACAS 00000269 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Economic Counselor Darnall Steuart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 1. (C) SUMMARY: A Venezuelan private sector organization advocated strongly for the Venezuelan civil aviation authority (INAC) to support the issuance of visas for FAA inspectors and to meet with the Embassy to discuss visa matters. The Venezuelan government (GBRV) has not acceded to either request. While five international airlines recently received a disbursement of dollars from Venezuelan exchange control agency (CADIVI), no US carriers were included. Charge Caulfield's request to meet with CADIVI to discuss US company requests for dollars has also gone unanswered. END SUMMARY. --------------------------------------------- ---- LOCAL SUPPORT FOR THE USG HAS NOT BUDGED THE GBRV --------------------------------------------- ---- 2. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXXX , the president of the association for domestic airlines (CEVETA), told Econoffs in January that INAC wanted a solution to its US visa issues with an emphasis on obtaining visas for Venezuelan military pilots. On February 11, the A/DCM called INAC and offered to discuss visa matters with INAC President Jose Martinez. Although Bracho met with Martinez and encouraged him to meet with the A/DCM, INAC has yet to respond to the Embassy's offer. 3. (C) Bracho's association was also a strong proponent of an FAA visit. Two of Venezuela's three FAA-certified aircraft maintenance facilities have lost their certifications as FAA inspectors have been unable to obtain visas. The third facility will lose its certification in June 2009. Bracho explained that this situation is extremely detrimental for Venezuelan businesses in the aviation sector, but that he and his association members have been unsuccessful in convincing the Venezuelan government to issue FAA visas. (Note: After failing in their second attempt to obtain visas, FAA inspectors withdrew their passports from the Venezuelan Embassy in early February.) --------------------- FOREIGN EXCHANGE PAIN --------------------- 4. (C) On February 10, the Charge requested a meeting with CADIVI to discuss the outstanding dollar requests by US businesses in all sectors. CADIVI has not responded to the Charge's request to date. All three US carriers with operations in Venezuela strongly support a meeting between the Embassy and CADIVI and would be willing to provide whatever documentation Post might need for their sector. (Note: CADIVI is the agency that administers the GBRV's currency controls. To receive US dollars at the official exchange rate for transactions such as dividend repatriation and operating costs, a company must obtain CADIVI approval. There are no reliable figures for how much money US companies as a whole have requested from CADIVI, but most believe the number is in the billions. See reftel for more information on CADIVI.) 5. (C) On February 17, Econoffs met with Venezuela Country Manager of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) xxxxxxxxxxxxx, and xxxxxxxxxxxxx , President of the association representing both foreign and domestic air carriers (ALAV). Both said they would encourage CADIVI President Manuel Barroso to respond to the Embassy's request. However, neither was optimistic. XXXXXXXXXXXX pointed out that the Vice President of IATA had come to Venezuela twice for appointments with CADIVI but Barroso "stood him up" both times. 6. (C) Three months ago when it became clear that Venezuela's supply of dollars would dwindle,xxxxxxxxxxxx said Barroso started approving all dollar authorizations personally. The approvals are "completely arbitrary" according to xxxxxxxxxxxxx who argued that Barroso is a military man and a "mini Chavez" who CARACAS 00000269 002.2 OF 002 "wants all the power in his own hands." Figueroa said Barroso recently asked Chavez for another year as the head of CADIVI and Chavez agreed as Barroso used to be a member of Chavez' personal security detachment and remains his "good friend." Nevertheless,xxxxxxxxxxxx argued that CADIVI was not discriminating against US airlines when it recently disbursed dollars to five non-US carriers. He explained that there are simply not enough dollars to go around. American Airlines, the largest operator in the Venezuelan market, is awaiting the most substantial dollar disbursement of any airline. ------- COMMENT ------- 7. (C) While there is strong private sector support for increased bilateral cooperation on aviation issues, the GBRV chooses not to respond to USG overtures. Sources in the sector report that some in INAC want to accept the Embassy's repeated offers to begin a dialogue on technical issues. However, INAC officials currently answer directly to the Venezuelan Vice President who does not seem disposed to increasing cooperation with the USG. (A more detailed discussion of internal INAC operations will follow septel.) US airlines, and indeed the international business community, are increasingly concerned with the difficulty in obtaining dollars from CADIVI in part due to the rumored possibility that the GBRV may devalue in the near future. The GBRV unfortunately seems uninterested in their concerns. GENNATIEMPO |
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