The following is one of the Wikileaks cables from former US Ambassador to Honduras, Charles Ford, dated May 15, 2008. I've decided to reprint the entire cable here, since these things have a way of disappearing, but I obtained the original from El Pais, Spain.
This cable, unlike the previous one from US Ambassador Hugo Llorens, who had only been assigned to Honduras for less than a year on June 28, 2009, reflect Ambassador Ford's view of President Manuel (Mel) Zelaya after several years experience and innumerable personal meetings with him. The emphasis and comments in brackets [] are mine:
ID: 154125
Date: 2008-05-15 20:54:00
Origin: 08TEGUCIGALPA459
Source: Embassy Tegucigalpa
Classification: SECRET
Dunno:
Destination: VZCZCXRO5637
OO RUEHLMC
DE RUEHTG #0459/01 1362054
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 152054Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8111
INFO RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID IMMEDIATE 0513
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RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-5// IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE
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RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE 0742
RHMFISS/FBI WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUMIAAA/USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 TEGUCIGALPA 000459
SIPDIS
MADRID FOR HUGO LLORENS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PREL, KDEM, ECON, SOCI, KCRM, ENRG,
EFIN, SNAR, SMIG, MARR, MASS, MOPS, HO
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT JOSE MANUEL ZELAYA ROSALES: PERSONAL
REFLECTIONS OF AMBASSADOR FORD
REF: OFFICIAL BIOS ON FILE
Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES A. FORD FOR REASONS 1.4 (b and d)
1. (S) Summary: Honduran President Jose Manuel "Mel"
Zelaya Rosales is a throwback to an earlier Central
American era, almost a caricature of a land-owner "caudillo"
in terms of his leadership style and tone. Ever the rebellious
teenager, Zelaya's principal goal in office is to enrich
himself and his family while leaving a public legacy as
a martyr who tried to do good but was thwarted at
every turn by powerful, unnamed interests. Various
public statements over his tenure suggest he would be
quite comfortable as a martyr [See my
May 2007 article: Oh, boo hoo, everyone is against me]
who tried but failed honorably in his attempt to seek out
social justice for the poor. He is comfortable working with
the Armed Forces and until recently with the Catholic
Church, yet resents the very existence of the
Congress, the Attorney General and Supreme
Court. Over his two and a half years in
office, he has become increasingly surrounded by
those involved in organized crime activities. End
Summary.
2. (S) I have gotten to know Mel Zelaya quite well
over my tenure as Ambassador, and offer these
personal reflections on his character, his views
of the United States, and on what his presidency
means for our interest in the region with the
objective of informing future policy choices.
3. (S) Personally, I have found Zelaya to be gracious and
charming, quite willing to tell me whatever he thinks I want
to hear at that moment. For example, in the period
June-August 2007, we must have met weekly, with his
agenda focused on explaining his nomination of Jorge
Arturo Reina (who lost his U.S. visa for past terrorist
connections) as the UN Ambassador, his presence in
Managua at Sandinista celebrations and his intentions with
regard to Hugo Chavez. It was interesting to see how
his explanations differed from meeting to meeting,
almost as if he had no recollection of
our exchange just a few days before.
4. (S) In the period May-June 2006, Zelaya pressed me
hard to obtain President Bush's approval of his plan to join
PetroCaribe. When he met in early June with President
Bush who confirmed our strong opposition to his intention,
Zelaya later told me that he was surprised that this item
had been on our agenda. In short, over an almost
three year period it has become crystal clear
to me that Zelaya's views change by the day or
in some cases by the hour, depending on his mood
and who he has seen last.
5.(S) Not surprisingly, Zelaya has no real friends outside
of his family, as he ridicules publicly those closest to him.
In the days preceding his inauguration, Zelaya without prior
notification canceled a country team briefing for his new
cabinet. Over a private lunch he explained that he trusted
no one in his government and asked me the question: "Who
is the most powerful; the person with a knife behind the
door or the person outside the door who knows there is
someone behind the door with a knife?" It is clear to me
that tactically he will work with almost anyone, but
strategically he stands alone.
6. (S) Zelaya also has been quite erratic in his
behavior. Despite his often harsh public rhetoric, such
as describing U.S. immigration policy against
illegal aliens as "persecution" by "fascists", Zelaya
would meet again with President Bush in a heartbeat. At
one point he even planned to go uninvited to a bilateral
Bush-Berger meeting in Guatemala. Zelaya not only
allowed the first visit of a U.S. warship to mainland
Honduras in 22 years, but he delivered a
TEGUCIGALP 00000459 002 OF 004
ringing speech extolling bilateral relations on the ship's
deck, only briefly expressing pride in Honduras' capture and
execution of the American interventionist William Walker.
Always suspicious of American intentions, he
inexplicably submitted to a psychological profile
at my Residence - twice. His erratic behavior
appears most evident when he deliberately stirs
street action in protest against his own
government policy - only to resolve the issue (teacher
complaints, transportation grievances, etc) at the last
moment. This approach to problem solving seems to be
Zelaya's way of gaining acceptance, challenging the
established political power structure, and moving his
agenda - which is not populist or ideological, but is
based on popular appeal.
7. (S) Zelaya remains very much a rebellious teenager,
anxious to show his lack of respect for authority
figures. Cardinal Andres Rodriguez has told me
that not only did he not graduate from university
but he actually did not graduate from high school.
The Cardinal should know, as he was one of
his teachers. The problem is that Mel has acted in this
juvenile, rebellious manner his entire life and succeeded in
reaching the highest office in the land. No need to change
now. He will continue to lead a chaotic, highly disorganized
private life.
8. (S) There also exists a sinister Zelaya, surrounded
by a few close advisors with ties to both Venezuela
and Cuba and organized crime. Zelaya's desperate
defense of former telecommunications chief
Marcelo Chimirri (widely believed to be a
murderer, rapist and thief) suggests that Chimirri
holds much over Zelaya himself. [See my many articles on Marcelo Chimirri here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.]
Zelaya almost assuredly takes strong medication for a
severe back problem and perhaps other
drugs as well. His vehement attacks on the press have
reportedly endangered journalists opposed to Zelaya's
policies. His style and tone in order to get his way is one
of intimidation and bullying, threatening tax inspections and
worse rather than substantive debate on issues. Zelaya's
inability to name a Vice Minister for Security lends
credibility to those who suggest that narco traffickers have
pressured him to name one of their own to this position.
Due to his close association with persons believed to be
involved with international organized crime, the motivation
behind many of his policy decisions can certainly be
questioned. I am unable to brief Zelaya on
sensitive law enforcement and counter-narcotics
actions due my concern that this would put the
lives of U.S. officials in jeopardy.
9. (S) Finally, Mel is very much a son of Olancho, aware of
his roots in the land and his family's ties to Honduras since
the 1500,s. Unlike most other Honduran leaders in recent
times, Zelaya,s view of a trip to the "big city" means
Tegucigalpa and not Miami or New Orleans. While he and his
family have been part of the Honduran landscape for 400
years, they have not until recently inter-married with the
Honduras elite in Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula. His son's
marriage in 2006 to one of the country's leading
Honduran-Arab families was very important to Zelaya yet a
complex event, signifying acceptance into the very elite
group that he so very much resents.
10. (S) I have found Zelaya's real views of the United
States hidden not too very deeply below the surface. In a
word, he is not a friend. His views are shaped not by
ideology or personal ambitions but by an old-fashioned
nationalism where he holds the United States
accountable for Honduras, current state of poverty
and dependency. Zelaya's public position against the
Contra War and against the establishment of Joint Task Force Bravo at Soto Cano Air
TEGUCIGALP 00000459 003 OF 004
Force Base are manifestations of this underlying viewpoint.
11. (S) Other behavior by the President confirms, in my
view, the depth of his feeling. While Zelaya was
open to our point of view of the selection of key
members of his Cabinet, he was absolutely closed
to listening to us on his appointment of his
Ambassador to the OAS and to his appointment
of Jorge Arturo Reina as Ambassador to the UN.
The Honduran voting record in the UN in terms of coincidence with US positions is at the lowest point in decades.
12. (S) More revealing, at public events with key officials
present, Zelaya will make clear that anyone interested in
becoming President of the country needs first to get the
blessing of the American Ambassador. Personally, in private
conversations at the Residence, Zelaya has recounted to
me, multiple times how a previous American Ambassador
had ordered the President of the Honduran Congress to
accept the Presidential candidacy of Ricardo Maduro, even
though in Zelaya,s view Maduro was Panamanian-born
and thus ineligible. Other sources have documented
Zelaya's views on this point where his anger and
resentment are more apparent than in his exchanges
with me. It is clear by the way he recounts the story that
on one level he resents very much this perceived
dependency yet accepts it exists and looks to
me to define for him the rules of the game. He becomes
frustrated at times when he believes I am not carrying out
this responsibility. [So much for the credibility of the US
claims that they don't interfere in the internal matters of Honduras.]
13. (S) Most noticeable to me has been his avoidance of
public meetings with visiting US officials. Whether Cabinet
officials or CODELs, Zelaya always is a gracious host, but
never comes out of the meeting to have his picture taken
publicly with our visitors, as he is so anxious to do with
other visitors from Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Almost
all of our meetings take place at my Residence rather than
at the more public setting of the Presidential Palace. He
made no attempt to disseminate his may photo ops with
President Bush after the June 2006 meeting in Washington.
The fact is that the President of the country prefers to
meet quite often in the privacy of my Residence but not
to be seen in public with American visitors.
14. (S) Finally, Zelaya recently is fond of saying that we
need to improve our communication, which I interpret to
mean that we need to agree with him more often. A similar
fate has befallen Cardinal Rodriguez who used to meet, as I
do, regularly with the President. As the Cardinal in recent
months has found himself in disagreement with Zelaya and
is not participating publicly in his projects, Zelaya is
working increasingly with pastors in the evangelical
community. The Cardinal recently told me that he and the
President hardly speak now as the President is unhappy
that he doesn't agree with the direction Zelaya is taking
the country. For Zelaya, communicating means agreeing unquestionably with his point of view.
15. (S) GOING FORWARD: The last year and a half of the
Zelaya Administration will be, in my view,
extraordinarily difficult for our bilateral relationship.
His pursuit of immunity from the numerous activities of organized crime carried out in his Administration will cause him to threaten the rule of law and institutional stability.
Honduran institutions and friendly governments will need to
be prepared to act privately and in public to help move
Honduras forward.
16. (S) We will need, in my view, to continue to engage
Zelaya whenever we can in order to minimize damage and to
TEGUCIGALP 00000459 004 OF 004
protect our core interests. As a rebellious teenager, he
will need a significant space to move, in but we must be
very direct in our conversations with him as to our core
interests. Despite his feelings towards us, he does respect
the role the U.S. Embassy is still perceived to play in
Honduran society and will expect us in private to be direct
and clear in our views. Using an analogy from American
football, we will need to continue to carry out an
aggressive bend but not break defensive game plan in
the run up to the next elections in November 2009. In this
way, I believe we can engage Zelaya intensely in the hope
of so as to minimizing damage to Honduran democracy and
the economy.
Ford
See also:
Wikileaks article on the cable
This cable, unlike the previous one from US Ambassador Hugo Llorens, who had only been assigned to Honduras for less than a year on June 28, 2009, reflect Ambassador Ford's view of President Manuel (Mel) Zelaya after several years experience and innumerable personal meetings with him. The emphasis and comments in brackets [] are mine:
ID: 154125
Date: 2008-05-15 20:54:00
Origin: 08TEGUCIGALPA459
Source: Embassy Tegucigalpa
Classification: SECRET
Dunno:
Destination: VZCZCXRO5637
OO RUEHLMC
DE RUEHTG #0459/01 1362054
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 152054Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8111
INFO RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID IMMEDIATE 0513
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL//CINC/POLAD// IMMEDIATE
RUEAHND/CDRJTFB SOTO CANO HO IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC//DHO-5// IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/DIRJIATF SOUTH IMMEDIATE
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J5 MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE 0742
RHMFISS/FBI WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUMIAAA/USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 TEGUCIGALPA 000459
SIPDIS
MADRID FOR HUGO LLORENS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PREL, KDEM, ECON, SOCI, KCRM, ENRG,
EFIN, SNAR, SMIG, MARR, MASS, MOPS, HO
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT JOSE MANUEL ZELAYA ROSALES: PERSONAL
REFLECTIONS OF AMBASSADOR FORD
REF: OFFICIAL BIOS ON FILE
Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHARLES A. FORD FOR REASONS 1.4 (b and d)
1. (S) Summary: Honduran President Jose Manuel "Mel"
Zelaya Rosales is a throwback to an earlier Central
American era, almost a caricature of a land-owner "caudillo"
in terms of his leadership style and tone. Ever the rebellious
teenager, Zelaya's principal goal in office is to enrich
himself and his family while leaving a public legacy as
a martyr who tried to do good but was thwarted at
every turn by powerful, unnamed interests. Various
public statements over his tenure suggest he would be
quite comfortable as a martyr [See my
May 2007 article: Oh, boo hoo, everyone is against me]
who tried but failed honorably in his attempt to seek out
social justice for the poor. He is comfortable working with
the Armed Forces and until recently with the Catholic
Church, yet resents the very existence of the
Congress, the Attorney General and Supreme
Court. Over his two and a half years in
office, he has become increasingly surrounded by
those involved in organized crime activities. End
Summary.
2. (S) I have gotten to know Mel Zelaya quite well
over my tenure as Ambassador, and offer these
personal reflections on his character, his views
of the United States, and on what his presidency
means for our interest in the region with the
objective of informing future policy choices.
3. (S) Personally, I have found Zelaya to be gracious and
charming, quite willing to tell me whatever he thinks I want
to hear at that moment. For example, in the period
June-August 2007, we must have met weekly, with his
agenda focused on explaining his nomination of Jorge
Arturo Reina (who lost his U.S. visa for past terrorist
connections) as the UN Ambassador, his presence in
Managua at Sandinista celebrations and his intentions with
regard to Hugo Chavez. It was interesting to see how
his explanations differed from meeting to meeting,
almost as if he had no recollection of
our exchange just a few days before.
4. (S) In the period May-June 2006, Zelaya pressed me
hard to obtain President Bush's approval of his plan to join
PetroCaribe. When he met in early June with President
Bush who confirmed our strong opposition to his intention,
Zelaya later told me that he was surprised that this item
had been on our agenda. In short, over an almost
three year period it has become crystal clear
to me that Zelaya's views change by the day or
in some cases by the hour, depending on his mood
and who he has seen last.
5.(S) Not surprisingly, Zelaya has no real friends outside
of his family, as he ridicules publicly those closest to him.
In the days preceding his inauguration, Zelaya without prior
notification canceled a country team briefing for his new
cabinet. Over a private lunch he explained that he trusted
no one in his government and asked me the question: "Who
is the most powerful; the person with a knife behind the
door or the person outside the door who knows there is
someone behind the door with a knife?" It is clear to me
that tactically he will work with almost anyone, but
strategically he stands alone.
6. (S) Zelaya also has been quite erratic in his
behavior. Despite his often harsh public rhetoric, such
as describing U.S. immigration policy against
illegal aliens as "persecution" by "fascists", Zelaya
would meet again with President Bush in a heartbeat. At
one point he even planned to go uninvited to a bilateral
Bush-Berger meeting in Guatemala. Zelaya not only
allowed the first visit of a U.S. warship to mainland
Honduras in 22 years, but he delivered a
TEGUCIGALP 00000459 002 OF 004
ringing speech extolling bilateral relations on the ship's
deck, only briefly expressing pride in Honduras' capture and
execution of the American interventionist William Walker.
Always suspicious of American intentions, he
inexplicably submitted to a psychological profile
at my Residence - twice. His erratic behavior
appears most evident when he deliberately stirs
street action in protest against his own
government policy - only to resolve the issue (teacher
complaints, transportation grievances, etc) at the last
moment. This approach to problem solving seems to be
Zelaya's way of gaining acceptance, challenging the
established political power structure, and moving his
agenda - which is not populist or ideological, but is
based on popular appeal.
7. (S) Zelaya remains very much a rebellious teenager,
anxious to show his lack of respect for authority
figures. Cardinal Andres Rodriguez has told me
that not only did he not graduate from university
but he actually did not graduate from high school.
The Cardinal should know, as he was one of
his teachers. The problem is that Mel has acted in this
juvenile, rebellious manner his entire life and succeeded in
reaching the highest office in the land. No need to change
now. He will continue to lead a chaotic, highly disorganized
private life.
8. (S) There also exists a sinister Zelaya, surrounded
by a few close advisors with ties to both Venezuela
and Cuba and organized crime. Zelaya's desperate
defense of former telecommunications chief
Marcelo Chimirri (widely believed to be a
murderer, rapist and thief) suggests that Chimirri
holds much over Zelaya himself. [See my many articles on Marcelo Chimirri here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.]
Zelaya almost assuredly takes strong medication for a
severe back problem and perhaps other
drugs as well. His vehement attacks on the press have
reportedly endangered journalists opposed to Zelaya's
policies. His style and tone in order to get his way is one
of intimidation and bullying, threatening tax inspections and
worse rather than substantive debate on issues. Zelaya's
inability to name a Vice Minister for Security lends
credibility to those who suggest that narco traffickers have
pressured him to name one of their own to this position.
Due to his close association with persons believed to be
involved with international organized crime, the motivation
behind many of his policy decisions can certainly be
questioned. I am unable to brief Zelaya on
sensitive law enforcement and counter-narcotics
actions due my concern that this would put the
lives of U.S. officials in jeopardy.
9. (S) Finally, Mel is very much a son of Olancho, aware of
his roots in the land and his family's ties to Honduras since
the 1500,s. Unlike most other Honduran leaders in recent
times, Zelaya,s view of a trip to the "big city" means
Tegucigalpa and not Miami or New Orleans. While he and his
family have been part of the Honduran landscape for 400
years, they have not until recently inter-married with the
Honduras elite in Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula. His son's
marriage in 2006 to one of the country's leading
Honduran-Arab families was very important to Zelaya yet a
complex event, signifying acceptance into the very elite
group that he so very much resents.
10. (S) I have found Zelaya's real views of the United
States hidden not too very deeply below the surface. In a
word, he is not a friend. His views are shaped not by
ideology or personal ambitions but by an old-fashioned
nationalism where he holds the United States
accountable for Honduras, current state of poverty
and dependency. Zelaya's public position against the
Contra War and against the establishment of Joint Task Force Bravo at Soto Cano Air
TEGUCIGALP 00000459 003 OF 004
Force Base are manifestations of this underlying viewpoint.
11. (S) Other behavior by the President confirms, in my
view, the depth of his feeling. While Zelaya was
open to our point of view of the selection of key
members of his Cabinet, he was absolutely closed
to listening to us on his appointment of his
Ambassador to the OAS and to his appointment
of Jorge Arturo Reina as Ambassador to the UN.
The Honduran voting record in the UN in terms of coincidence with US positions is at the lowest point in decades.
12. (S) More revealing, at public events with key officials
present, Zelaya will make clear that anyone interested in
becoming President of the country needs first to get the
blessing of the American Ambassador. Personally, in private
conversations at the Residence, Zelaya has recounted to
me, multiple times how a previous American Ambassador
had ordered the President of the Honduran Congress to
accept the Presidential candidacy of Ricardo Maduro, even
though in Zelaya,s view Maduro was Panamanian-born
and thus ineligible. Other sources have documented
Zelaya's views on this point where his anger and
resentment are more apparent than in his exchanges
with me. It is clear by the way he recounts the story that
on one level he resents very much this perceived
dependency yet accepts it exists and looks to
me to define for him the rules of the game. He becomes
frustrated at times when he believes I am not carrying out
this responsibility. [So much for the credibility of the US
claims that they don't interfere in the internal matters of Honduras.]
13. (S) Most noticeable to me has been his avoidance of
public meetings with visiting US officials. Whether Cabinet
officials or CODELs, Zelaya always is a gracious host, but
never comes out of the meeting to have his picture taken
publicly with our visitors, as he is so anxious to do with
other visitors from Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Almost
all of our meetings take place at my Residence rather than
at the more public setting of the Presidential Palace. He
made no attempt to disseminate his may photo ops with
President Bush after the June 2006 meeting in Washington.
The fact is that the President of the country prefers to
meet quite often in the privacy of my Residence but not
to be seen in public with American visitors.
14. (S) Finally, Zelaya recently is fond of saying that we
need to improve our communication, which I interpret to
mean that we need to agree with him more often. A similar
fate has befallen Cardinal Rodriguez who used to meet, as I
do, regularly with the President. As the Cardinal in recent
months has found himself in disagreement with Zelaya and
is not participating publicly in his projects, Zelaya is
working increasingly with pastors in the evangelical
community. The Cardinal recently told me that he and the
President hardly speak now as the President is unhappy
that he doesn't agree with the direction Zelaya is taking
the country. For Zelaya, communicating means agreeing unquestionably with his point of view.
15. (S) GOING FORWARD: The last year and a half of the
Zelaya Administration will be, in my view,
extraordinarily difficult for our bilateral relationship.
His pursuit of immunity from the numerous activities of organized crime carried out in his Administration will cause him to threaten the rule of law and institutional stability.
Honduran institutions and friendly governments will need to
be prepared to act privately and in public to help move
Honduras forward.
16. (S) We will need, in my view, to continue to engage
Zelaya whenever we can in order to minimize damage and to
TEGUCIGALP 00000459 004 OF 004
protect our core interests. As a rebellious teenager, he
will need a significant space to move, in but we must be
very direct in our conversations with him as to our core
interests. Despite his feelings towards us, he does respect
the role the U.S. Embassy is still perceived to play in
Honduran society and will expect us in private to be direct
and clear in our views. Using an analogy from American
football, we will need to continue to carry out an
aggressive bend but not break defensive game plan in
the run up to the next elections in November 2009. In this
way, I believe we can engage Zelaya intensely in the hope
of so as to minimizing damage to Honduran democracy and
the economy.
Ford
See also:
Wikileaks article on the cable
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