Wikileaks Cables: U.S. Worked To Scuttle Haiti Gas Development Deal On Behalf Of Big Oil

[dipsydoodle]

Now, the two papers have released their first article about the cables. In “The PetroCaribe Files,” Dan Coughlin and Kim Ives review an ordeal discovered within the cables involving an oil and development deal Haiti was negotiating with Venezuela and Cuba between 2006-2007.

As a part of the deal struck that year, Haiti would join the Venezuelan-led oil alliance known as PetroCaribe and it would purchase oil “only 60 percent up front with the remainder payable over twenty-five years at 1 percent interest” — a remarkably good deal for the Western hemisphere’s poorest country.

The U.S. embassy at the time noted that Haiti would save a hundred million U.S. dollars a year under the terms of the PetroCaribe deal; the saved dollars would then be earmarked for development in schools, health care, and infrastructure. Yet, under the charge of ambassador Janet Sanderson, the embassy immediately set out to sabotage the deal.

In a classified cable, Sanderson noted that the embassy started to “pressure” Haitian leader Rene Preval from joining PetroCaribe, saying that it would “cause problems with ” Major oil companies — such as ExxonMobil and Chevron — began threatening to cut off ties with Haiti, and Sanderson repeatedly met with the energy firms to assure them that she would pressure Haiti at the “highest levels of government.” The U.S. embassy also continually warned Preval against traveling to Venezuela and collaborate with other left-wing governments in the region.

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2011/06/04/236440/wikileaks-haiti-oil/

Credit to Hissyspit for this. Was posted in LBN but was then migrated to GD.

[Peace Patriot]

1. Judi Lynn also posted it. See my comment (#4) at her post...

here...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=405x52673#52711

This is the best analysis I've seen of any Wikileaks cables, and it lays out in full detail--and with great understanding of both President Preval's actions and the U.S. (Exxon Mobil/Chevron) agenda--what exactly took place. It solves the mystery of Preval's break with the U.S. Obama/Clinton subsequently rigged an election (blatant rigging) to eliminate Preval's successor from the race, and give it to a mafioso and "Baby Doc" connected asshole (Martelly), to run Haiti in the interest of U.S. corporations. 75% of Haitians refused to vote in that election because the majority party (Lavalas--Artistide's party) was excluded from the ballot. The U.S. contrived an "election monitoring" group, comprised of 6 members from Haiti's traditional oppressors (the U.S., France and Canada) and one Jamaican--falsely calling it an "OAS" election monitoring group--to throw Preval's party out of the runoff. Preval isn't exactly a "good guy"--he has been a U.S. toady--but he finally got fed up with the U.S. and was trying to act in Haiti's best interest, in the oil deal with Venezuela. He subsequently, at long last, gave Aristide a passport to return to Haiti with the U.S. then arranging for "Baby Doc" Duvalier to return to Haiti, as well, as a threat to Haitians of what will happen to them (murder and mayhem) if they dare to insist on democracy and independence.

This tale of the oil contracts is such a miserable example of U.S. policy no matter who is in charge--Democrats or Pukes--that is almost makes you weep. The real parties in charge of U.S. policy are Exxon Mobil and Chevron, and the rest is just trickery and delusion. We don't really have a democracy any more and our true masters--these and other transglobal corporations and war profiteers--are not going to allow anyone else to have democracy either, if they have something that our masters want--oil, oil contracts, and other resources including slave labor.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Missed that - sorry

The US actually needs to be kicked out of the OAS to remove such banditary.