| Spanish
WASHINGTON,
D.C., February 28
PRESIDENT
BUSH CONTINUES NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO CUBA
The
following notice was released today by the White House:
On
March 1, 1996, by Proclamation 6867, President Clinton declared
a national emergency to address the disturbance or threatened
disturbance of international relations caused by the February
24, 1996, destruction by the Government of Cuba of two unarmed
U.S.-registered civilian aircraft in international air-space north
of Cuba. In July 1996 and on subsequent occasions, the Government
of Cuba stated its intent to forcefully defend its sovereignty
against any U.S.-registered vessels or aircraft that might enter
Cuban territorial waters or airspace while involved in a memorial
flotilla and peaceful protest. Since these events, the Government
of Cuba has not demonstrated that it will refrain from the future
use of reckless and excessive force against U.S. vessels or aircraft
that may engage in memorial activities or peaceful protest north
of Cuba. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National
Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing the national
emergency with respect to Cuba and the emergency authority relating
to the regulation of the anchorage and movement of vessels set
out in Proclamation 6867.
This
notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted
to the Congress.
GEORGE
W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE
February
27, 2001
WASHINGTON,
D.C., February 28
U.S.
STRONGLY ATTACKS CUBAÍS HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD
The
State Department strongly attacked Cuba's human rights record
Monday, calling the country one of the world's three worst human
rights abusers along with Myanmar (previously known as Burma)
and North Korea. "Regrettably, those three -- I don't like to establish
a hit parade, but they're way up there on any list of the most
serious abusers of human rights of their populations," said
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights
and Labor Michael Parmly.
In
releasing the State Department's annual report on the global state
of human rights, Parmly pointed to a weekend incident in which
some 20 dissidents were detained as a sign of the worsening of
human rights in Cuba in the last year.
The report gave Cuba a "poor" rating, adding
that Cuba "continued to violate systematically the fundamental
civil and political rights of its citizens."
The
report described Cuba as a place where
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro "exercises control over
all aspects of life through the Communist Party and its affiliated
organizations, the government bureaucracy and the state security
apparatus." Cubans cannot change their government peacefully,
and are frequent targets of violence by police, the report said.
It cited reports of extrajudicial killing by police and beatings
and other mistreatment of prisoners. "The government (of
Cuba) infringed on citizens' privacy rights ... denied citizens
the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and association,"
the report said.
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 28
U.S.
BARS CUBAN ENVOY FROM UNIVERSITY LECTURE
The
United States government has barred Rafael
Dausá Céspedes, the No. 2 diplomat in Cuba's U.N.
mission from delivering a lecture on "Cuba after Castro"
at a Pennsylvania University, saying the speech was unrelated
to his diplomatic duties. The lecture, which had been set for
February 6 at Lehigh University, "in no way constitutes official
United Nations business or the work of the government of Cuba
at the United Nations," U.S. envoy Robert Moller said in
a letter to a U.N. committee circulated on Monday.
"Since
the request did not involve travel for official United Nations
business, the host country had no obligation to approve it,"
said Moller, the U.S. official charged with U.N. relations with
the United States. Under
State Department regulations, diplomats from communist-ruled Cuba
cannot travel more than 25 miles (40 km) from New York without
prior U.S. approval. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is 90 miles (145
km) west of New York.
HAVANA,
February 28
VENEZUELA
IS NOW CUBAÍS NUMBER ONE COMMERCIAL PARTNER
Venezuela's
two-way trade with Cuba nearly doubled last year, as the South
American country shot past Spain to become the Caribbean island's
number one commercial partner, a senior official said in an interview
published in Granma. Foreign Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez said
that the socialist-run island's most important trade partners
were currently Venezuela, Spain, Canada, China, and Russia, in
that order.
In
the most recent statistics available, however, the Cuban Central
Bank reported last year that the country's top six trading partners
in 1999 were Spain with a trade value of $882.6 million, Canada
at $553.5 million, China at $478.5 million, Venezuela at $463.3,
Russia at $427.3 million and Mexico at $344.8 million. Diplomatic
sources report Cuba's trade with Spain in 2000 remained around
the $800 million mark, meaning Venezuela's trade would have increased
by over 80 percent.
Cuban dictator
Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez cemented their
close political alliance and friendship last October when they
signed a comprehensive trade agreement in Caracas. The deal included
Venezuela supplying 53,000 barrels per day of petroleum and related
products to Havana.
WASHINGTON,
D.C., February 27
CUBAN
DIPLOMATS IN WASHINGTON (Intelligence
Reports By Marcelo Fernández-Zayas„For More Information
See: PUBLISHED
ARTICLES )
Q.
What is the job of Cuban diplomats in Washington? R.F.S. Los Angeles,
CA
A.
Their main task is to lobby Congress and do Public Relations on
behalf of Cuba. Cuba has sent to Washington a group of very able
and hardworking people, headed by Fernando Remírez de Estenoz,
who are constantly lobbying members of Congress. They provide
sympathetic congressmen with information about Cuba and arrange
their travels to the island. At the same time, the Cuban officials
maintain links with members of the press and academia. They
meet often with friendly members of the Cuban community who live
in the area.
They
also conduct open intelligence activities and arrange meetings
with other members of the diplomatic corps and the US State Department.
They supply Havana with relevant information and insight about
Washington. Very seldom do they get in trouble with US authorities.
The only two known incidents in the past were when a group of
Cuban diplomats beat up a group of university students demonstrating
outside of the chancery during the Elián González
case. The other incident was the expulsion of a diplomat
for being in contact with US immigration officer Mariano
Faget, who was convicted for spying for Cuba.
MIAMI, February 26
CUBAN EXILE LEADERS AIR
CONCERNS WITH GOV. BUSH
Over cups of
café cubano, Gov. Jeb Bush met with dozens of Cuban exile
leaders on Saturday in Little Havana, listening to their concerns
about the embargo, human rights and U.S. policy toward the island
nation.
"First, I am
here to give thanks; many people here worked hard for my brother,''
he said, referring to the strong Cuban-American support George
W. Bush received in the presidential election. After frequent
policy disagreements with the Clinton administration, the exile
leaders said they are looking forward to working with the Bush
presidency.
A Cuban leader
asked that the U.S. government fund opposition groups in Cuba.
ñIn the struggle for freedom, people want a proactive, not reactive,
policy. I do, too,'' Bush said. The gathering seemed to assuage
some concerns that the Cuban exile agenda might get lost in the
maze of other interest groups.
HAVANA,
February 25
CUBA
ARRESTS DISSIDENTS TO STOP SHOOT
DOWN PROTESTS
Cuba's government
arrested at least two dozen dissidents in the past two days, mainly
to prevent protests around the anniversary of the 1996 shoot down
of Cuban exile pilots, dissidents said Saturday.
The detentions
apparently were to be temporary in keeping with Cuban state security's
recent preferred tactic to keep in check a small internal dissident
movement seeking changes to Cuban
dictator Fidel Castro's
one-party communist system.
According
to preliminary figures confirmed with relatives, at least 20 dissidents
were detained Friday and another eight early Saturday, with about
18 of those still being held by midday Saturday. One dissident
group in the port of Puerto Padre on the Caribbean island's eastern
side said at least 20 activists had been detained there relating
to an attempt to throw flowers into the sea in honor of the slain
exile pilots. No dissidents arrived at a scheduled flower ceremony
on Havana's waterfront.
HAVANA, February 22
A CUBAN DISSIDENT ACCUSED
OF SENDING THREAT MESSAGES TO THE MEXICAN AMBASSADOR
The Cuban government
has accused a Miami exile paramilitary group of making payments
to a dissident who was arrested for allegedly threatening Mexican
diplomats and news organizations on the island. Cuba's Interior
Ministry announced Wednesday the arrest of Elizardo San Pedro
Marín, who allegedly worked for Alpha 66.
A rare statement
from Cuba's Interior Ministry said San Pedro had confessed to
sending messages that hinted at actions against Mexico's new envoy
to Cuba, Ricardo Pascoe, viewed as sympathetic to President Fidel
Castro's communist government. Pascoe announced in January that
he would close his doors to Cuban dissidents.
San
Pedro allegedly confessed to working for Alpha 66 under the code
name ñAdrian'' and taking $1,200 from group for his role ñterrorizing''
those favoring ties with the Cuban government, the Communist Party
daily Granma said. Nazario Sargén leader of ñAlpha 66"
denied working with San Pedro, but admitted sending a telegram.
The Interior Ministry said San Pedro sent it to the Mexican embassy.
Nazario said he sent it to Pascoe and Mexican Foreign Minister
Jorge Castañeda because Mexico seemed to be softening its
stance toward Castro. ñBut it was not a threat,'' Nazario insisted.
ñWe weren't going to do them any harm. We even told them not to
be scared. It was just to call their attention to the matter.''
HAVANA, February 21
CUBA
ACCUSES ELIZARDO SAMPEDRO OF BEING AN AGENT OF ñALPHA 66"
Havana
said on Wednesday it had arrested a Cuban who allegedly worked
for the exile group Alpha 66 and sent threats to the Mexican embassy
and various news organizations on the island. A rare statement
from Cuba's Interior Ministry said that Elizardo San Pedro Marin
had confessed to sending the vaguely worded messages, "which
caused consternation among Havana's diplomatic community earlier
this month."
The
messages hinted at actions being planned against Mexico's new
envoy to Cuba, Ricardo Pascoe of the center-left Party of the
Democratic Revolution, viewed by some as possibly sympathetic
to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's communist government.
Elizardo
Sanchez, head of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National
Reconciliation, a human rights group, said it was very "strange"
a Cuban linked to the dissident movement should have access to
Cuban state fax and courier services. "It makes you think.
It's all very odd," he said, hinting the whole affair might
be a set-up by state security to discredit Castro's foreign enemies
and give an impression of efficient police vigilance at home.
The
Interior Ministry said San Pedro's activities in Cuba also included
sending documents and information abroad "intended to distort
the reality of the nation", and writing a letter to U.S.
Senator Jesse Helms supporting a toughening of the U.S. embargo.
Andrés Nazario Sargén, the leader of ñAlpha 66"
said in Miami that Elizardo Sampedro Marín is not a member
of his organization.
KUALA-LUMPUR, February
21
CUBAN
FOREIGN MINISTER PESSIMISTIC ABOUT RELATIONS WITH U.S.
Cuban
Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said on Tuesday he
was not hopeful relations between Havana and Washington would
improve soon. ñI do not feel optimistic. I don't think that the
Bush administration is going to encourage any changes in their
projection towards Cuba," he said.
Pérez
Roque is in Malaysia on a five-nation Asia tour due also to take
in Singapore, Vietnam, China and Japan. His statement clearly
contradicts last weekendÍs U.S. foreign policy experts in Havana.
At the end of the visit, one member of the group said they were
encouraged by Havana's private response to their proposals.
The report prepared by the ñexperts" proposed steps to
help prepare for a "peaceful, democratic transition"
after Cuban dictator Fidel Castro leaves office.
However,
last month, U.S. Vice President Richard Cheney said Washington's
sanctions against Cuba would stay in place as long as Castro remained
in power. "I don't think that there is any prospect certainly
for lifting those sanctions as long as Fidel Castro is there,"
Cheney said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
HAVANA, February 21
STUDENTS
ATTEND CLASSES IN CRUMBLING BUILDING (Carmelo
Díaz Fernández, APSIC)
- (CAMCOÍs
Department of Engineers)
Students
at the "Alvaro Morales Hernández" primary school
attend classes in a crumbling building in which the walls are
soft and the roof has gaping holes. In the rainy season, parents
have had to carry their children on their shoulders to clear the
standing water on the floors. Privately, the parents admit they
are worried about the safety of the building.
The
schoolÍs principal, Juan Carlos Suárez, has tried repeatedly
to have the building repaired or refurbished, but the Popular
Power (local government) says that no building materials have
been assigned to the task. Parents, meantime, point out that in
spite of official pronouncements that children are a priority
of the government, they live in fear that their children could
be hurt by a building collapse.
HAVANA,
February 20
U.S.
POLICY EXPERTS ENCOURAGE BY TALKS IN CUBA
American
foreign policy experts who produced a report recommending closer
U.S.-Cuban ties said on Sunday they were encouraged by the Cuban
government's private response to the proposals despite an initial
public rejection. The report drawn up by a task force sponsored
by the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations was originally released
in late November and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's government
was quick to criticize it heavily in public. In December, Cuban
state television commentators and journalists paid by the government
extensively attacked the report in successive television broadcasts
as "perfidious, hypocritical and arrogant."
The
document proposed steps to promote improved U.S.-Cuban relations,
including freer travel by Americans to the communist-ruled island,
military contacts and limited U.S. trade activity.
Members of the delegation led by former liberal banker
David Rockefeller held a 5-1/2-hour meeting on Saturday night
with Castro and other Cuban leaders at the end of a four-day visit
to the Caribbean island.
They
told a news conference in Havana on Sunday they discussed the
task force report and the public Cuban criticism of it.
Asked if the private official Cuban response to the report's
suggestions was encouraging, one of its authors, former U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Bill Rogers, replied
emphatically, "Oh, I think so."
But he declined to give specific details.
WASHINGTON,
D.C., February 20
STUDY MEDICINE IN CUBA (Intelligence
Reports By Marcelo Fernández-Zayas„For More Information
See: PUBLISHED
ARTICLES )
Perhaps something worth including
in your next report, R. C. Austin, TX. US representative from
Texas, Ciro D. Rodríguez (D-T) has announced on his web
site a program offered by the Cuban government to study medicine
in Cuba. His office will provide application forms to interested
parties.
This invitation is a well orchestrated piece
of political propaganda. To study at a Cuban university or college,
applicants are required to show a detailed list of revolutionary
activities from birth. This includes information on "volunteer"
work in factories and agricultural fields, attendance at political
indoctrination schools, participation in demonstrations against
the US government and its policies and a disclaimer about being
part of any religious organization. Students in Cuba are also
required to list membership in communist youth organizations.
If you don't comply with these requirements you are not allowed
to study in any college, regardless of your academic credentials.
Congressman Ciro Rodríguez is a member
of the House Armed Services Committee. He aspires to lead this
committee some day.
HAVANA,
February 18
GARBAGE
COLLECTOR IS A JOB TO HAVE IN HAVANA (CAMCOÍs
Department of Engineers)
In
a country where the average workerÍs salary is 230 pesos a month,
street sweepers in tourist-sensitive areas of Havana can earn
900 pesos, and garbage truck drivers in the same areas, as much
as 1,200 pesos a month. Needless to say, the job is sought after.
Julio
César, who wouldnÍt give his last name, is a street sweeper
in an area frequented by foreign tourists. "I have a friend
who is an engineer who works as a street sweeper. He wants the
money that he canÍt earn with his degree, but he is ashamed of
being seen picking up garbage, so he wears dark glasses and a
hat down to his ears," he said. In addition to
more pay, these workers get cleaning supplies, which their less-fortunate
colleagues may not always have. This has resulted in some under-the-table
traffic in trashcans and brooms. "Some garbage-men in the
10 de Octubre municipality have had to find their own trash cans.
The broom I use can be sold for 60 pesos," said Julio César.
Ironically,
the capitalist incentives seem to be working; the areas maintained
by the higher-paid garbage-men do look cleaner. Some areas in
the heavily populated Central Havana district show piles of garbage
when days go by without a pick-up. The favored districts, those
that tourists are likely to visit, such as Old Havana, the beaches
in Habana del Este and Playa, and the municipality of Plaza, get
regular service and simply look cleaner.
(See
Cuban People's Misery under the Communist Regime)
HAVANA, February 18
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS IN HAVANA (CAMCOÍs
Department of Engineers)
A
group of environmentalist in this community
concluded a technical and practical seminar of 6 month,
sponsored by independent
environmentalist NATURPAZ.
This environmentalist made a request last week to the Minister
of Science, Technology
and Environmental Control respect the urgency
required to reverse the polluted waters of the Rio Almendares.
The
Almendares River is the most important river in the Capital of
La Habana. Several
industries presently a Bear and a Paper Mill dump their contaminated
waist in to the river bed.
The
Director of the Forestal Institute of the City of La Habana said
that there is no funds available to depollute the river. The environmental
groups defenders of the air and water qualities of the environment
calls for the authorities to comply with the minimum environmental
control.
WASHINGTON,
February 17
CUBAN SEEN AS TINY MARKET WITHOUT U.S. EMBARGO
The
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), in a report requested
by the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee, analyzed
the prospects for American sales to the communist-ruled island
of about 11 million people.
"U.S.
exports to Cuba in the absence of the sanctions, based on average
1996-98 trade data, would have been approximately $652 million
to $990 million annually," or about a quarter of all Cuban
imports, the report said. "U.S. sanctions with respect to
Cuba had a minimal overall historical impact on the U.S. economy,"
it added.
Cuban
sales to U.S. buyers would have been $84 million to $167 million,
excluding sugar, a major Cuban crop, in the same period, or about
8 to 17 percent of total exports. The United States limits sugar
imports from all countries. "Despite the close geographic
proximity that would appear to make the United States and Cuba
natural trading partners, bilateral economic relations in the
absence of sanctions could be limited ƒ" the ITC report said.
Proponents of lifting the U.S. embargo, commonly portray
Cuba as a potential bonanza for U.S. exporters, while defenders
of the sanctions say Cuba is too poor to pay cash for U.S. goods.
GERMANY,
February 17
CUBA
WITHDRAWS INVITATION TO GERMAN MINISTER
Deputy
German Foreign Minister Ludger Volmer said Friday Cuba had withdrawn
an invitation for him to visit the country after comments construed
as critical of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's government.
Volmer was reported to have said this week he would be
frank in raising human rights issues with Cuba and that he would
have canceled the trip had Havana not earlier this month released
two prominent Czechs jailed for meeting anti-Castro dissidents.
"The
Cuban government has asked me to refrain from my visit to Cuba
scheduled for Feb. 19-22 at Cuba's invitation," Volmer said
in a statement.
He
said he disputed Cuba's interpretation that his remarks were intended
as criticism. "But it demonstrates that the necessary level
of readiness for thorough political dialogue is apparently not
there on the Cuban side," he added.
HAVANA,
February 16
ALARCON FEROCIOUSLY ATTACKS U.S. FROZEN CASH PAYOUT TO PILOTSÍ
RELATIVES
Ricardo
Alarcón, head of Cuba's
National Assembly, on Thursday condemned as arbitrary and aggressive
the U.S. government's transfer of about $90 million in frozen
Cuban funds as compensation to the families of three Miami pilots
downed in international waters by a Cuban MiG in 1996.
In the communist government's first public response to
this week's payment, Alarcón said that Cuba would "respond"
in due course to the measure.
"Cuba is not obliged to announce each
time what it is going to do, but rest assured that we will give
a response," Alarcón said. He added that the payment,
which followed a legal battle in the U.S. courts, an "aggression"
and "a very grave measure." Havana has already cut direct
phone lines with the United States over the frozen funds' issue,
saying it would maintain that measure until American communications
firms paid $161 million in arrears to Cuba that have been frozen
by the U.S. government.
Alarcón said that the payment to the relatives "closes
any possibility, including hypothetical, of negotiations between
both countries ƒ The measure denies totally any possibility of
Cuban commercial transaction in that country given that the means
of payments can be subject to freezing and later redirection."
MEXICO CITY,
February 16
CUBAN
DIPLOMAT SHOT DEATH IN MEXICO CITY
A Cuban diplomat was
shot to death in Mexico City. The victim - identified as Boris
Valdez López, 36. The diplomat was shot to death shortly
after leaving the Cuban Embassy in the Polanco neighborhood at
about 1 a.m. He left the embassy in a car driven by Sachie Hernández
Machín.
Three men approached the car, and one of them stood
in front of it, Hernandez Machín said. She slowed down,
and then heard a shot that hit Valdez Lopez in the back. He was
taken to the Hospital Español where he underwent surgery
but died at about 3 a.m. The attackers fled. The driver was unhurt.
The
diplomat arrived in Mexico Feb. 10 ñto carry out some internal
work in the diplomatic mission.''
HAVANA, February 14
GENERAL WILHELM, FORMER SOUTHCOM
CHIEF, FOLLOWS GENERAL SHEEHANÍS FAILED STEPS
When
Marine Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm ran Pentagon operations for Latin
America as chief of the Southern Command, he was prohibited from
contact with the Cuban military. Today,
citizen Wilhelm, 58, was in Havana on a tour sponsored by the
Washington, D.C., Center for Defense Information, a private, not-for-profit
think-tank.
ñThey're going
down to talk to Cuban military. This is similar to trips that
we have made before, albeit without someone of Gen. Wilhelm's
stature,'' said retired Army Col. Dan Smith, a director of research
at the center. A State Department statement said ñRetired Gen.
Charles Wilhelm is a private American citizen on a private trip
to Cuba. Period.''
Showing
a clear lack of knowledge of the Cuba situation, the
colonel said, ñWe're
in favor of lifting the embargo and the restrictions that have
been placed on Cuba,'' because ñCuba is not a threat to the United
States or anybody else.'' CAMCO leadership
strongly disagree with SmithÍs
statement. Cuba is and will be a threat to the United States as
long as Cuban dictator Fidel Castro remains in power. In 1998,
with the approval and encouragement of the Clinton administration,
retired Marine Gen. Jack Sheehan, former commander in chief of
the Atlantic Command, failed in a similar adventure despite his
friendly chat
and "delicious" banquets with
both Fidel and Raúl Castro.
(See
"The
Threat that Cuban Intelligence Represents for the USA."
CAMCOÍs
Chairman, Major General (Retired) Erneido A. Oliva has repeatedly
said, he prefers any contact with active Cuban military personnel
be conducted in third countries: ñIn a foreign country, they would
be able to listen and freely express their opinions and personal
feelings to their American counterparts." Obviously, inside
Cuba, the military must repeat the communist party political line
and profess "eternal loyalty" to the dictatorship; to
do otherwise, will mean prison or forced retirement. If general
Wilhelm and his associates are really embarked in a fact-finding
tour in Cuba, they should meet with retired and former FAR members,
many of them presently in prison for their open opposition to
the tyranny."
MIAMI,
February 14
CUBA
FALSIFIED AMERICANS IDENTITIES FOR SPIESÍ USE IN U.S.
The
Cuban government stole the identities of two South Florida men
and used them to provide false documents for two Cubans now on
trial as spies, according to court testimony.
Osvaldo
Reyna, a truck driver from Broward, and Daniel Cabrera, a valet
from West Palm Beach, told jurors their U.S. passports and driver
licenses were duplicated and copies assigned to defendants Fernando
González and Gerardo Hernández. The duplication,
Reyna and Cabrera testified, occurred after they submitter their
documents to the Cuban government to obtain visas to visit Cuba.
The
falsified documents looked like the originals except that the
pictures of Reyna and Cabrera had been replaced by those of González
and Hernández. Hernández is considered the lead
defendant in the trial. He has been charged with conspiring to
help ñbring about the murders" of four people who died Feb. 24,
1996, when Cuban Migs shot down two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft
in international waters. Government prosecutors have said the
accused spies had fake documents to harm U.S. national security.
MIAMI, February 13
MARTYRS' RELATIVES GETTING CUBA'S MILLIONS
The U.S. government
on Monday authorized the historic transfer of $93 million in frozen
Cuban assets to compensate three Miami families who won a wrongful-death
lawsuit against Cuba for the shoot-down of two exile planes in
1996. The relatives of Brothers fliers Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre
and Mario de la Peña agreed to offer $3 million to the
family of Pablo Morales, who was killed in the shoot-down. His
family could not sue Cuba because he was not a U.S. citizen.
The bank transfer
of the funds, held by the United States since the Cuban trade
embargo in the early 1960s, is scheduled for Friday. It will include
$58 million in compensatory damages for the relatives of the three
Brothers to the Rescue pilots shot down over international waters
on Feb. 24, 1996, and an additional $35 million in court-imposed
sanctions against Fidel Castro's government.
The
unlocking of the Cuban accounts brings to an end the lengthy legal
wrangling between the Clinton administration and the families'
lawyers over collection of a 1997 federal court judgment in Miami.
The money, held in the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, comes
from long-distance telephone revenue paid by AT&T and other
U.S. companies to the Cuban government.
HAVANA,
February 12
A SUSPICIOUS FIRE DESTROYS U.S. NEWS AGENCY BUREAU IN HAVANA
A
suspicious fire destroyed the Havana bureau of the U.S. news agency
The Associated Press (AP) on Sunday.
"It's completely burned out," said an observer
from the City, adding that no one was hurt because the office
was unoccupied at the time.
The
blaze broke out in the AP bureau on the sixth floor of the Lonja
de Comercio, a 90-year-old historic commercial building in Old
Havana that reopened in 1996 as a modern complex for foreign companies.
The
adjoining office occupied by the Havana bureau of Spanish state
television suffered smoke damage. But the rest of the six-story
building was undamaged. AP returned to Havana in 1999 after a
30-year absence. Cuba's communist government had forced it to
close its offices in 1969 after expelling its last permanent correspondent
in 1966.
WASHINGTON,
D.C., January 12
THE
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CUBA (Intelligence
Reports By Marcelo Fernández-Zayas„For More Information
See: PUBLISHED
ARTICLES )
The
Cuban Catholic Church is deeply divided, in spite of its efforts
to appear united, according to experienced Vatican watchers in
this City.
The
Church is split into two camps. The young and ñardent" Catholics
see as their model the Bishop of Santiago de Cuba, Pedro C. Meurice
Estio. The nominal and compromised Catholics follow Cardinal Jaime
Ortega Alamino. Cardenal Ortega ñis not providing the dynamic
guidance required by times" commented a Vatican source. He is
diplomatic, traditional and a good man, but lacks leadership ability."
The
Church in Cuba needs a more energetic and confrontational leader,
who will lead the Church from submission to positive action" commented
this well placed observer. The Vatican is reviewing the role of
its religious leaders in Cuba, Colombia and Venezuela.
PRAGUE, February 10
CZECH
REPUBLIC VOWS TO CONTINUE PRESSURE ON CUBA
The Czech Republic
announced Friday that it would once again this year sponsor a
resolution condemning Cuba's human rights record at the annual
meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Commission in April.
For the past
two years, the Czech Republic, along with Poland, has sponsored
the anti-Cuba resolution at the meeting in Geneva, but diplomatic
negotiations leading to the release last week of two prominent
Czech citizens jailed in Cuba prompted reports that the Prague
government had quietly agreed to alter its anti-Cuba stance.
A
spokesman for the Czech Foreign Ministry announced that the Czech
Republic will sponsor the draft of the resolution again.
HAVANA, February 10
CUBA
BLAMES ARGENTINA FOR ñBOOT-LICKING" DISPUTE
Cuba
blamed Argentina on Friday for this week's escalation of a diplomatic
dispute over comments by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro that the
Argentines were "licking the boot of the Yankees" in
return for economic aid.
Argentina
last weekend recalled its ambassador to Cuba, Oscar Torres Avalos,
in a sign of official outrage at Castro's stinging criticism of
Argentinean President Fernando de la Rua. Castro's remarks have
caused the biggest rift in Cuban-Argentine relations in three
decades. The dispute deepened when Argentina canceled a trade
mission to Cuba, and Foreign Minister Adalberto Rodríguez
Giavarini, visiting Washington, strongly criticized Castro earlier
this week for "almost a fit of irrationality."
Cuban
Foreign Minister said at Friday's news conference that Argentina
government is responsible for the dispute, ñnot only because last
year it instructed its diplomatic representation in Geneva to
join the U.S. maneuver against Cuba, but because this year evidently
it is preparing conditions to repeat the Argentine vote against
Cuba."
PRAGUE, February 10
CUBAÍS
TERRIBLE FEAR OF FOREIGNERS WHO BRING INFORMATION ON EASTERN EUROPEAN
COUNTRIESÍ PEACEFUL TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY
Former Finance Minister Ivan Pilip said
in a press conference in Prague that ñall questions during the
interrogations were aimed at the role of the United States in
our trip."
It
seems Cuba is terribly afraid of any foreign visitor who could
bring information on the peaceful transition to democracy of its
former communist allies in Eastern Europe. Pilip and former student
leader Jan Bubenik were arrested Jan. 12 after meeting with two
dissidents in the central Cuban town of Ciego de Avila.
They were released on Feb. 5 after both signed a forced
confession in which they apologized for having unwittingly violated
the Cuban laws and returned to Prague the following day.
Originally,
Pilip and Bubenik were charged with acting against Cuban security
and inciting a rebellion. Later that was changed to ñcooperation
with Americans.''
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
February 8
NEW
BATTLE OVER SANCTIONS AGAINST CUBA
A bill that
seeks to reverse key provisions of current legislation governing
the U.S. export of agricultural and medical products to Cuba.
The proposal, introduced
in the Senate by Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Chuck Hagel,
R-Neb.,
includes
the following:
1.- Provide
access to normal export financing in the U.S. private sector for
American exports to Cuba. Present law bars U.S. banks from financing
the sales authorized by last year's legislation.
2.-
Permit American vessels carrying agricultural products or medical
devices to export directly from a U.S. port to a Cuban port. That
is not now allowed.
3.-
Reverse travel restrictions that were incorporated in last year's
legislation, which stripped the president of his power to expand
travel to Cuba by U.S. citizens.
The move drew
fierce opposition Wednesday from Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart,
R-Miami. ñI think this is not only an affront to the United States,
its also an embarrassment to those senators,'' Díaz-Balart
said. He also said President Bush has promised to help defeat
the bill. ñTo ask for taxpayer subsidies for that state is ultimately
unfortunate and contrary to the U.S. national interest,'' the
Cuban-American congressman said. ñPresident Bush has a very clear
stand on sanctions. He will not accept easing sanctions against
the Cuban regime,'' Díaz-Balart added.
PRAGUE,
February 8
CZECH
PRESIDENT WELCOMED PILIP AND BUBENIK
Former
Finance Minister Ivan Pilip and ex-student leader Jan Bubenik,
jailed for a month in Havana for speaking to Cuban dissidents,
Wednesday celebrated their return home by meeting another prominent
former dissident -- President Vaclav Havel.
Two
days ago, the pair confessed that at the behest of a U.S. organization
they had unwittingly broken Cuban law by meeting dissidents opposed
to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's one-party communist system.
They arrived back in Prague Tuesday
to a hero's welcome that Havel told a news conference was well-deserved.
"Mr. Pilip and Mr. Bubenik deserve our admiration
and acknowledgment, not so much for the time they suffered in
prison, but rather for wanting to do whatever was in their power
to express solidarity with these people," Havel said. (Read
on these pages previous CAMCOÍs reports on the incidente).
WASHINGTON,
D.C., February 8
CIA
DIRECTOR PRAISES CUBAN DICTATORÍS ñGENETIC POOL"
Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) director George Tenet told U.S. senators
that he anticipated the Cuban dictator would live for many years
to come. The director praised the CastroÍs strong gene pool.
"He's
got a great gene pool. He's going to be around for a while,"
Tenet told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on security
threats facing the United States.
Castro,
74, continually faces questions about his health and has endured
false reports of his death in the past. In 1999 he joked that
his "enemies kill me off from time to time."
PRAGUE,
February 7
NIGHTMARE IN CUBA A CLEAR SIGNAL FOR BUSH, THE CZECHS SAY
Ivan
Pilip and Jan Bubenik, the two Czechs who spent more than three
weeks in prison arrived home here Tuesday warning that their nightmare
in Cuba was a clear message from the Cuban dictator pointedly
aimed at the new Bush administration in Washington.
The
two Czechs won their release from a Cuban jail after being forced
to confess they had violated CubaÍs subversion laws by meeting
with two dissidents in Ciego de Avila. During their brief stop
in Madrid, Bubenik said their detention ñwas a signal directed
at Washington to tell President Bush how far they can go," and
set against the backdrop of the new administration ñwhen a political
stiffening was expected."
Pilip also warned
that with their arrest, ñthe communist government of Cuba sent
a clear warning to human rights defenders around the world that
in Cuba they shouldnÍt become involved with the dissidents."
HAVANA,
February 6
OBVIOUSLY
UNDER DURESS, THE CZECHS SIGNED CONFESSION AND LEFT CUBA
Czech
lawmaker Ivan Pilip and Jan Bubenik, jailed for more than three
weeks in communist Cuba, were homeward bound after they admitted
to breaking the law in a case that strained relations between
two former Cold War-era allies.
ñThey understand they have offended the Cuban people but
that was not their intention,'' said Anders Johnson, secretary-general
of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which helped mediate the men's
Monday night release. Johnson was accompanying the men and their
relatives back to Europe on an Iberia Airlines flight bound for
Madrid.
Pilip
and Bubenik "were
alone"
in a cell on Sunday when they drafted the admission that led to
their release, Johnson said. The men signed it Monday afternoon
in front of diplomats called together by Cuban Foreign Minister
Felipe Perez Roque to witness the show.
In
their confessions (obviously attained by their jailers under duress
to satisfy the Cuban dictatorÍs demand for an apology) the Czechs
said ñthat they violated national law and if that violation had
offended the Cuban people, then they ask for forgiveness,'' a
Cuban spokesman said. Prague condemned their arrest from the outset
as a human rights' abuse. Before their forced confession, the
two Czechs had insisted they had no idea that what they
were doing in Cuba was a crime.
BUENOS
AIRES, February 6
GREAT
INDIGNATION IN ARGENTINA FOR CUBAN DICTATORÍS INSULTS
Argentina
government said on Monday it had recalled its ambassador from
Cuba for consultations and canceled a trade mission to Havana
after Cuban dictator Fidel Castro accused Argentina of "licking
the boot of the Yankee. Castro also threatened the Argentine government
when he said: ñIf that government dares to vote against us, it
will encounter great discontent in the masses because we have
many friends thereƒNo other Latin American country will dare to
vote against Cuba."
The
Minister of Foreign Relations Adalberto Rodríguez Giavarini
said Argentina was taking a close look at its relations with the
Communist-run island, which include plans to swap some $500 million
in debt owed by Cuba to Argentina. "The people of Argentina
are very hurt, and the government too, given that Castro comments
are almost a fit of irrationality and frankly offensive, and a
direct interference in Argentina's internal affairs," the
minister said at a news conference.
In
a six-hour speech to an economists' forum on Saturday,
Castro sharply attacked the Argentine government for voting with
the United States against Cuba in the U.N. Human Rights Commission
in Geneva last year.
Argentina will chair the commission when it meets next
in April and the South American country is expected to vote against
Cuba once again in condemning its repression.
HAVANA,
February 5, 2001
THE
CUBAN DICTATOR CALLS THE CZECH EMBASSY IN HAVANA ñA CAVE OF SPIES,"
WHICH HAD ñSPENT 10 YEARS SPYING."
Czech Senate President Petr Pithart failed
to win the release of two prominent compatriots arrested in Cuba
and was heading home on Saturday night after lengthy talks with
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. ñWe are leaving tonight for London
but without Messrs Pilip and Bubenik," said Pithart.
Pithart
had been in communist-ruled Cuba since Monday on a mission to
seek the release of former Czech Finance Minister Ivan Pilip and
ex-student leader Jan Bubenik who were arrested on Jan. 12 accused
of holding "subversive contacts" with Cuban opposition
activists. The tension of recent weeks, however, persisted, with
Castro calling the Czech embassy in Havana ``a cave of spies,''
which had ñspent
10 years spying.''
Pithart
meeting with Castro took place hours after the Cuban dictator
insisted that Cuba demanded a Czech apology over the incident
which has soured already strained ties between the erstwhile Socialist-era
allies. Castro said during the meeting that the two CzechsÍ actions
constituted "serious violations of our laws," He also
said. "Let the reality be admitted with our proofs, and let
there be an apology made to our country," Castro added. They could face up to 20 years in prison.
Washington,
D.C., February 4
BUSH
AND THE CUBAN CARD (Intelligence
Reports By Marcelo Fernández-Zayas„For More Information
See: PUBLISHED
ARTICLES )
How
will the new administration play the Cuban card? Will President
Bush wait for nature to take its course or might he move quickly
to a more active role? President Bush is being advised that there
are many ways to please the Cuban-American community without being
seen as a bully in the Cuban drama. Fidel Castro, who will turn
75 this year, is asking for a temporary break in tensions, notwithstanding
his public bravado.
Castro
has told Western politicians that he hopes to end his (life) term
in a more "accommodating" relationship with Washington.
The Bush administration will work with Cuban-American politicians
to facilitate a smooth transition after Castro's departure. One
element of this policy may be to ensure a strong supply of dollars
to the Cuban economy in a period of tension. This is better than
to follow a policy of hostility and confrontation.
Cuban-Americans in Florida do not want an US
policy that might lead to diplomatic relations with the dictator.
Castro seems to be approaching take off time at a fast pace, and
Bush feels comfortable with the idea of visiting a "Cuba
libre" some time in the future.
Washington, D.C., February 2
THE CUBAN
DICTATOR SAYS HE DOES NOT WANT ñLITTLE WARS" WITH THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION
Cuban dictator
Fidel Castro, saying he didn't want any ñlittle wars'' with the
Bush administration, predicted that Secretary of State Colin Powell
would in time learn the art of diplomacy - despite some ñlittle
darts'' already fired at Havana. ñWe don't want little private
wars with Gen. Powell,'' Castro said in a six-hour speech before
international economists.
Castro's comments
were an apparent response to Powell's recent statement that the
Cuban dictator is ñan aging starlet who will not change in this
lifetime.'' Commenting last week on the long-standing U.S. trade
embargo, Powell added: ñIt is President Bush's intention to keep
the sanctions in place.''
In his speech
that began Friday night and ended in the wee hours of Saturday,
the dictator said that he and the nation's citizens are prepared
for any new measure Washington takes against Havana.
ñWe have millions of arms and millions of well trained
men and women,'' he said. ``It will be impossible to make Cuba
surrender.''
HAVANA,
February 4
CUBAN
DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO INSISTS THE CZECHS BROKE CUBAN LAWS
Cuba
can prove two prominent Czechs arrested after meeting dissidents
in Ciego de Avila, broke Cuban laws, and it demands an apology,
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro said.
The
dictator said the Czech Republic, which he accuses of siding with
the United States against Cuba, must apologize for the actions
of former Finance Minister Ivan Pilip and ex-student
leader Jan Bubenik,
arrested on Jan 12 after meeting with two Cuban dissidents named
Antonio Femenías Echemendía and Roberto Valdivia
Hernández. See
the dissidentsÍ signed declarations in Spanish..
Cuban authorities claimed the two were acting on behalf of U.S.
interests. However, U.S. officials branded the accusations as
ñludicrous.''
"There
has to be an apology," Castro went on, reinforcing an earlier
Cuban call for a "honorable solution" to the diplomatic
deadlock in a case that has drawn stern protests from Prague,
Washington, and the European Union.
Czech President Vaclav Havel -- himself a former anti-
communist dissident -- and other Czech leaders have so far ruled
out an apology and have condemned the arrests as a human rights
abuse.
SANTIAGO DE CUBA, February 3
GARBAGE
HASNÍT BEEN PICKED UP IN TWO WEEKS IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA (CAMCOÍs
Department of Engineers)
Garbage
hasnÍt been picked-up in two weeks in Santiago de Cuba, the islandÍs
second largest city, because the municipal entity in charge of
the service doesnÍt have the trucks to do the job. An official
of the Municipal Services Enterprise said that the trucks they
had been using to pick up garbage had been borrowed from the Sugar
Ministry, but that once the sugar harvest started, the ministry
took them back.
The
man explained that the only truck in good repair the department
has it is used to pick up in the central areas of the city that
tourists tend to visit. Residents in other areas have been reduced
to piling garbage in corners for later burning. Those who can,
pay anyone with a horse- or ox-drawn cart to dump it in the outskirts
of the city.
In
the José Martí district, a residential area of government-built
six-story buildings, residents have piled the garbage so high
that it can be seen from a distance.
WASHINGTON,
D.C., February 1st
U.S.
WILL MAINTAIN ITS SANCTIONS AGAINST CUBA UNTIL CUBAN DICTATOR
FIDEL CASTRO IS GONE
In
a press conference at the State Department, Secretary Colin Powell
said that he plans a review of all current U.S. sanctions to other
countries to determine whether they should be removed.
He also declared
that in preparing for his new role, he was astonished to find
the number of countries subject to sanctions. It's a situation,
he said, that makes it ña little difficult for the administration
to conduct foreign policy as effectively as we might.'' A 1997
report by the President's Export Council found 73 countries targeted
by unilateral sanctions.
Powell
believes that two countries should remain under sanctions: Iraq,
which has been under U.N. Security Council sanctions for more
than 10 years, and Cuba, target of unilateral U.S. sanctions.
As for Cuba, Powell said Fidel Castro is ñan aging starlet, who
will not change in this lifetime. ... It is President Bush's intention
to keep the sanctions in place."
Yesterday,
the Secretary of State said to reporters:
ñWe will continue to pursue our relations with Cuba in
a way that lets Mr. Castro know that we disapprove of his regime.
We will maintain our sanctions, and will participate only in those
activities that benefit the Cuban people and not its government."
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