A secret cable from the United States Embassy in Kingston has claimed that in early 2008 Prime Minister Bruce Golding was snubbed by the president of Spain, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who refused to meet him.

According to the cable, the Spanish president was upset over Jamaica’salleged ill-treatment of Spanish hoteliers.

The insult was recorded in a confidential diplomatic cable sent from the US Embassy to Washington captioned ‘Jamaica/Spain: Zapatero Refuses To Meet With Golding’.

A copy of the cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and accessed by The Sunday Gleaner, was apparently penned after a private conversation between a US Embassy official and a ranking Spanish offical.

“Spanish president of Government, Rodriguez Zapatero, thus far has refused to schedule a meeting with Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding during the latter’s upcoming visit to Madrid, according to (name deleted),” read a section of the confidential cable.

It added: “Speaking privately with (US Embassy official) at a reception the evening of May 13, (the Spanish official) expressed his government’s extreme frustration with Golding’s closure of RIU Group’s massive hotel construction site in Montego Bay because of its alleged breach of the law in construction (of) a fourth floor for which it had not obtained the required permit.”

Incidentally, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain scrapped a scheduled visit to Jamaica in that same year.

Their proposed visit to Jamaica from December 2-4, 2008 was reportedly postponed because it was deemed too close to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Spanish constitution, which was scheduled to be held in that country’s capital, Madrid, on December 6.

More than two months after shelving the trip, the King and Queen of Spain came to Jamaica on a two-day state visit from February 17 – 18, 2009.

Meanwhile, the secret missive also revealed that Daryl Vaz, minister with responsibility for information, moved to quell the brewing diplomatic storm.

The classified document described Vaz, who was a state minister in the Office of the Prime Minister at the time, as a “close adviser to Golding”.

The communiqué noted that Vaz “sought to assuage (the Spanish) concerns”, and he was reportedly slated to meet with RIU Group representatives on May 14, 2008, at the Spanish Embassy.

The confidential diplomatic cable also quoted the May 14, 2008 edition of The Gleaner, which reported that, “at least one Spanish investor has put on hold plans to construct a hotel, and two others have diverted attention from Jamaica, as the Spaniards take a wait-and-see attitude to the country’s investment climate”.

In the latter portion of the confidential cable, which was subtitled, “The Spanish ‘Re-Conquest’ of Jamaica”; an obvious reference to Spanish voyager Christopher Columbus’ late 15th century capture of Jamaica from the Tainos – it was noted that the Spanish RIU Group operates three large hotels on Jamaica’s north coast and has another two under construction.

Interestingly, some historians believe that during the Spanish rule of Jamaica, the land of wood and water was relatively ignored by Spain because it lacked the wealth possessed by other Spanish colonies in South and Central America.

The Americans noted that the archaic posture towards the island has changed significantly, as the confidential cable stated that, “since 2002, RIU and five other powerful Spanish groups have started construction of 20 large hotels, comprising almost 10,000 rooms, with overall Spanish investment surpassing US$1.5 billion – thus unseating the US as Jamaica’s largest source of foreign direct investment”.

“However … this massive investment has brought environmental, infrastructure, labour and regulatory difficulties in its wake.

“Over the last year, several Spanish firms have faced various allegations of unsafe and/or substandard working conditions, harsh treatment of workers, and violations of building codes,” read the final paragraph of the confidential cable.