Cablegate: Tfus01: President Palacio Offers Hurricane

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS QUITO 002064

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR TASK FORCE 1

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AEMR EAID PREL EC
SUBJECT: TFUS01: PRESIDENT PALACIO OFFERS HURRICANE
KATRINA RELIEF

REF: SECSTATE 163429

1. President Alfredo Palacio spoke with the Ambassador on
September 2 to express GOE condolences and reiterated the
GOE's willingness to send a boatload of bananas to the U.S.
to aid victims. He named Agriculture Minister Pablo Rizzo as
the GOE point person for Hurricane Katrina relief.

2. The Ambassador thanked the president for the generous GOE
offer, accepted it in principle, informed Palacio that U.S.
disaster experts are still evaluating our critical needs, and
pledged to inform the GOE after U.S. experts make a
determination of how we can use the assistance offered.

3. Minister Rizzo told PolChief on September 5 that the GOE
was prepared to donate 100-120,000 cases of bananas,
currently in various locations in the U.S. Rizzo named Vice
Minister Jose Hernan Chiriboga to work out the logistical
details of the donation with the Embassy and U.S. disaster
experts. Chiriboga (who speaks English) can be reached at
011-593-2-252-3043. To help prevent misunderstandings, the
Embassy prefers to facilitate communication with the
Agriculture ministry.

4. Embassy POC is PolChief Erik Hall. Office phone:
011-593-2-256-2890, ext. 4409; cell: 011-94-135-122.

5. Material assistance offered: 100-120,000 boxes of
bananas, weighing 18.5 lbs each. In varying states of
ripeness. Currently warehoused in Miami and Los Angeles,
possibly other locations in the U.S.
JEWELL

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