This exceptional article, written in Spanish by Andrés Reynaldo and  published Friday in El Nuevo Herald, should be read by all interested on Cuba affairs. Our Chairman, general Oliva, strongly recommends that all CAMCO members take note of the author's message to the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) at the end of his article. As shown on different sections of this website, CAMCO is currently sending similar messages to the Cuban military with the hope that the men and women of the FARC understand that they, as well a their families and the Cuban people, will have a better and more happy future under a democratic system, of course, without the Castro brothers.  (Click here and read Mr. Reynaldo's very interesting article) and (Click here to learn the latest about the DIA/PENTAGON Spy)


HAVANA, October 28

     CUBA STEPS UP CRITICISM OF RUSSIA

      Stinging from Moscow's announcement that it would close its listening post here, Cuba complained Saturday that Russia was trying to become the kind of capitalist country it once abhorred. ñAn abyss separates our thinking from the opportunism, the egoism, and the lack of ethics that today prevails in the decadent field of the imperialist and capitalist system, or of those that aspire to it,'' read a front page editorial in the Communist Party daily Granma.

     Havana, which enjoyed favorable trade and aid agreements with Moscow under communism, suffered ñterrible hurt, damage and suffering'' with the disintegration of the former Soviet Union a decade ago, said Granma. Cuba wanted to develop economic ties with Moscow's new government, but they have failed because of ñthe chaos that reigns there,'' declared the libel.

     Cuba's sense of betrayal by a traditional ally stems from Moscow's Oct. 17 announcement that it would close the spy base outside Havana. Granma noted that political relations between Havana and Russian president Vladimir Putin's government have been good, but said economic relations have been ña disaster.'' ñFor those who hate truth and justice, our scorn. For those anywhere in the world who dream with our destruction, our deep conviction that no one could destroy us," concluded the editorial.


HAVANA, October 27

     CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO RIDICULED HIS FORMER COMMUNIST ALLYÍS MOTIVE FOR ITS WITHDRAWAL FROM LOURDES

     Still upset at Russia's imminent withdrawal from a spy base in Cuba, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's government ridiculed its former communist ally's motives on Friday and said the move would create a security vacuum for Moscow. President Vladimir Putin pleased Washington and infuriated Havana last week by announcing Russia would soon pull out of the Lourdes intelligence center.

     Front-page statement in the ruling Cuban Communist Party's libel Granma said the financial saving for Russia, cited as its main motive, was negligible and the security risk enormous. "From the Lourdes center, Russia was receiving 75 percent of the strategic information it needed to prevent an aggression and it has been the principal tool for controlling the fulfillment of the (nuclear) disarmament agreements with the United States," said the communiqué.

     "Now it will be without essential information for its defense for who knows how long. It will be unwarned and exposed to any contingency." The communiqué said Moscow's saving of the $200 million annual lease it paid to Cuba represented a paltry 0.05 percent of money robbed each year from the Russian economy through corruption.  "This cannot be an economic consideration. It was a decision of a political nature," Granma said, noting Russia's increasingly close relationship with the United States.  


HAVANA, October 27

     CASTRO SEES MORE "SACRIFICES" AHEAD FOR THE POOR CUBAN PEOPLE

     Some 1,500 Russian military personnel and their families live at Lourdes, built in 1964 just outside Havana. The loss of $200 million annual income has highlighted Cuba's own economic problems, especially given the slowing of tourism and family remittances from abroad -- its main sources of hard currency -- since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

     Castro gave his first public recognition of that during a speech this week, warning Cubans of tough times to come but also saying the island was well-prepared to survive. "We must be ready, some sacrifices will come, logically, but we are in better conditions than ever," the dictator said during Wednesday's speech in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 26

      IMPORTANT INTELLIGENCE REPORT BY MARCELO FERNÁNDEZ-ZAYAS (Click here and read the complete report)

      Not too much is known about the private dealings of Dr. Alvarez Cambra. However, there is abundant data of his intellectual and professional achievements. There is no question about his dedication, knowledge and prestige in the medical field. His professional success and love for his career has enabled him to invest part of his private fortune in the hospital he directs in Havana. He is a frequent traveler, and lives a quiet and intensely- dedicated professional life in Havana. This physician who often travels to the United States is the Cuban contact with Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein.

     The case of the alleged Cuban spy Ana Belen Montes continues in suspense. The terrorist attack on New York and Washington prompted her arrest and obscured also the case of A.B. Montes. This is one of the most daring and important cases of cloak and dagger in the history of the US. The Pentagon would have to answer how this woman outwitted its counterespionage service. (Click here to learn more about the DIA/PENTAGON Spy)

     NOTE: CAMCO urges all its members to read inside our Classified Pages, the excellent articles written by  Eng. Manuel Cereijo on "Cuba and Bioterrorism."


HAVANA, October 26

     THOUSANDS OF DEPOSITORS ARE CLOSING THEIR ACCOUNTS IN CUBAN BANKS

     Thousands of depositors are closing their accounts in Cuban banks and withdrawing their dollar-denominated savings. "Last week, I closed hundreds of accounts in convertible currency. There were days when the bank almost ran out of cash," said a cashier at the Banco Popular de Ahorro (Popular Savings Bank) at the corner of Calzada de Diez de Octubre and Lacret Street.

     An employee of the Cuban National Bank confirmed that in the last few days more customers are withdrawing funds than are depositing. "It's as if people had stopped trusting banks," he said. The man said the terrorist attacks of September 11 and the war against Afghanistan have had an impact on the Cuban economy, since there have been fewer tourists and less remittance money coming in. He said, "If the situation continues, the Cuban government would have to adopt drastic measures, and one such could be imposing a limitation on the amount of money that can be withdrawn from bank accounts."

     He added that another widely-expected development is for money withdrawn from savings accounts to be paid in convertible Cuban pesos instead of in dollars. The peso has gone down to 26 to the dollar in the last few weeks.


HAVANA, October 26

     THE CUBAN DICTATOR SAID ñANTHRAX IS LESS SERIOUS THAN A COLD"

    Cuban dictator Fidel Castro said Wednesday that anthrax, which has killed three people and spread panic in the United States over recent weeks, was less worrying than a common cold.  "Studied properly, anthrax is less serious than a cold," he said in a speech in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba. "There are appropriate medicines to make the bacteria disappear very quickly."

    Castro also said the current anthrax scare in the United States, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, ñwas being exaggerated. "The intentional use of any product of this sort ... is an unacceptable crime," he said. "But they (the U.S. government) shouldn't allow this to become an instrument of panic." Castro's speech, at the inauguration of a school for social workers, was carried live on state TV.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 25

     U.S. CONGRESS WILL NOT LIFT TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS TO CUBA

     The U.S. Senate yesterday overwhelmingly passed a $15.6 billion bill for foreign aid that lawmakers said will give the Bush administration a tool to help fight terrorism through diplomacy. The bill, which had stalled for several weeks in a partisan dispute over judicial nominations, cleared the Democratic-led Senate 96-2 without significant amendments.

     The bill to fund foreign aid programs this fiscal year that started on Oct. 1 is $341 million more than President George W. Bush requested and $682 million more than last year.  It was written well before the Sept. 11 attacks on Washington and New York, but language was added to bar aid to countries that harbor or help finance individuals or organizations responsible for the hijacked airline strikes that killed some 5,000 people.

     In a House-Senate conference slated for today, the House was expected to back off its call to lift travel restrictions to Cuba. Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, had worked hard to keep the measure in the final $33 billion bill to fund the Treasury Department and general government operations. But to avoid a fight with Bush in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, he relented. Despite the House's 240-186 vote in July to lift the ban on travel to the communist-led island, the House Republican leadership and Bush vehemently oppose easing any sanction on Cuba.


HAVANA, October 25

     CUBAN ECONOMIC RECOVERY HINDERED BY TERRORIST ATTACKS AFTERMATH

     Communist Cuba's gradual recovery from a devastating economic crisis in the 1990s after the Soviet collapse is being slowed by the economic aftershocks of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. With its economic motor, tourism, and other key hard currency sectors suffering, the government is believed to have scaled back its growth forecasts through 2002 following a healthy annual average of 4.7 percent growth in the last five years.

     "It seems we could be entering a 'Special Period' within the 'Special Period'," a Latin American ambassador said, referring to Cuba's euphemism for the emergency measures still in place since the worst of the crisis in the early 1990s. The government of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has publicly limited itself to a few vague pronouncements of hard times to come, but the sources said some new measures have already been adopted. They said the government has frozen many investments, cut imports, and ordered budget cuts to save dollars.

     Already the government has slashed its original 2001 forecast of a 5 percent increase in the gross domestic product, one government source said. The scenario for 2002 is worse. Many state-run companies and local governments have been ordered to freeze investments and cut their 2002 dollar budgets by 10 percent to 20 percent." Adding to the cash crunch are a decline in international sugar and nickel prices, Cuba's most important exports, and Russia's decision to close the Lourdes intelligence-gathering post on the island, for which it paid $200 million per year.


HAVANA, October 25

     PESO AGAIN DOWN AGAINST THE DOLLAR

     Government-operated changing houses announced today a new exchange rate of 26 pesos to the dollar. This is the fourth time in little over a month that the peso loses value. There have been reports of quotes of up to 30 pesos to the dollar from the island's interior provinces.

     Residents cite decreases in tourism and remittances from Cubans abroad and the more recent announcement of the Russian withdrawal from the electronic listening base in Lourdes, south of Havana, as causes for the peso's decline.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 24

     "THE INTELLIGENCE WAR" (Very important article written by George Friedman, founder and chairman of STRATFOR (Strategic Forecasting)  

     Summary: ñAttention is turning to the need for an intense, covert war in which the American intelligence community will play a leading role. At the same time, there is a crisis of confidence concerning the ability of the intelligence community to wage that war. The most important and frequently neglected part of intelligence analysis thus far has received scant attention. Without increased resources and freedom directed toward the intelligence analyst, a quantum increase in operational effectiveness will not be possible.

    Analysis: ñThroughout the day Sept. 16, the tenor of the Bush administration's public discussions shifted subtly away from conventional military options toward waging a covert war against terrorists. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld referred to a long "shadow war" that would have to be waged against those suspected of involvement in the Sept. 11 strikes at the Pentagon and World Trade Center and against other organizations that might be planning future attacks. Secretary of State Colin Powell referred to a war that would last as long as anyone might imagine. Discussions intensified over lifting the ban on political assassinations and ending restrictive controls on those whom the intelligence community might recruit as spies.

     ñAt the same time, congressional voices led by Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the ranking republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, blasted the CIA and its director, George Tenet. Shelby said: "This was on his watch. If we didn't have a clue, then something's wrong. If we had a clue and didn't act, then something's worse.'' We know Shelby has had a long, running feud with Tenet, and there is personal animosity involved. But the fact that the administration is turning to the intelligence community to lead this fight while the leading Republican Senate committee member is calling for the CIA director's head, points to serious trouble -- and we do not mean normal Washington political troubleƒ" (Click here and read the complete report)

     Please, take a minute and think about the  "THE DICTATOR'S THREATS TO AMERICA" mentioned above.



BELFAST, October 23

     IRA ADMITS ONE OF THE MEN ARRESTED IN COLOMBIA WAS ITS REPRESENTATIVE IN CUBA

     The political party associated with the Irish Republican Army (IRA) admitted Monday that one of the men arrested in Colombia was its representative in Cuba, reversing repeated earlier denials. The Sinn Fein representative in the island, Niall Connolly, was one of three people arrested in Colombia in August on suspicion of training rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The Cuban government had identified Connolly as a Sinn Fein official, but the party had strongly denied it.

     Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, has acknowledged that one of the other men, James Monaghan, used to sit on Sinn Fein's executive committee. British and Irish police say Monaghan is the IRA's ñdirector of education'' responsible for developing new weapons and training IRA members in their use.  Adams did not say what Connolly was doing in Colombia.


HAVANA, October  23

     THE TALIBAN TERRORISTS AND COMMUNIST CUBA ACCUSE THE U.S. OF GENOCIDE

     The Cuban media is giving front page play to events in Afghanistan. And all it tries to demonstrate is that the United States is committing genocide against the Afghan people. Headlines like "Indiscriminate bombardment victimizes civilians" and photographs of wounded or hungry children play every day, every hour in the Cuban government-controlled media.

     A few days ago, there was a report that 20 Taliban had been killed. Up to then, there was only mention of "hundreds of innocent victims."


MIAMI, October 23

     THOUSANDS OF CUBANS BOO CASTRO; CALLED HIM "THE FIRST TERRORIST OF AMERICA"

     Tens of thousands of rain-soaked men, women and children came out Saturday afternoon for a ñGod Bless America Solidarity March'' in Little Havana to show support for the war against terrorists -- including one they called "The First Terrorist of America", Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. The march, sponsored by the major Cuban exile organizations, stretched more than a mile down Calle Ocho, beginning at the Bay of Pigs Monument to the Martyrs on 13th Avenue and finishing at Fourth Avenue.

    Above a sea of oversized umbrellas the crowd proudly elevated Cuban and American flags, crucifixes and anti-terrorism placards. The boos were still the loudest for the Cuban tyrant. Many of the soggy placards declared that a war against terrorism was by its very nature also a battle against Castro. One read: ñAmerica! Cuba is a safe haven for terrorists!''

    Speaking to the crowd was Armando Pérez-Roura, general director of Radio Mambi, from a podium thanked the crowd.  He then emphasized in Spanish: ñWe, Latin Americans all, have made the United States our second and loving home ƒ  And we, particularly exiled Cubans, left our country not because of personal decisions but when confronted by the dark carriage of oppression and terror ƒ That is why we are here today ƒ Yes, ïGod Bless America!Í But we also ask God to bless an affronted Cuba, a bloody Colombia and an uncertain Venezuela". ñIt was marvelous, ... There must have been a half-million people,'' a participant said.  Crowd estimates ranged wildly, the most common guesses were up to 150,000. ñThere's a lot of people,'' said Miami Police Chief Raul Martinez, shying away from an estimate.


HAVANA, October 22

      CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO: ñRUSSIA PULLOUT REPRESENTS GRAVE RISK TO CUBAÍS SECURITY"

      Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, who still regards the Soviet Union collapse bitterly as a "betrayal," argues that the damages this caused the island's Socialist bloc-oriented economy were equal to the $20 billion debt claimed by Russia. President Vladimir PutinÍs decision to leave Lourdes seals a change of strategy by Moscow, which no longer regards spying on the United States as a priority, would rather save the $200 million annual rent to Havana, and clearly does not mind risking offending the dictator.

      But even as Putin warms up to the United States, so Cuba's Cold War enmity with "the northern enemy" continues to increase. The Cuban dictator, who took Cuba into a close relationship with the Soviet Union after his 1959 revolution, reacted with indignation to Putin's Lourdes decision, saying he was not in agreement, and closure of the base would represent a "grave risk" to his countryÍs security. (Click here and Read CubaÍs Official Note).

      Putin's visit to Cuba last December, which some had cast as an attempt to revitalize relations, failed to achieve anything concrete and now it looks more like a farewell trip. Just after Putin, went to Cuba Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who signed numerous economic accords with the Cuban government to push along an apparently blossoming relationship. "Before, we had the Russians. Now the Chinese are arriving," said a young Cuban. In the wake of the Russian announcement over Lourdes, some analysts even speculated that the Chinese could help Cuba maintain the base, which lies just 90 miles off U.S. soil, if Havana wants to keep it operating.


HAVANA, October 22

     CUBAÍS TOURISM INDUSTRY CRISIS

     At Cuba's beach resorts, empty tourist hotels are closing down and hundreds of workers are being sent home. Visits to Cuba by Canadians--the biggest travelers to the island--are expected to fall 30 percent through March.

     Analysts estimate that Cuba, like Mexico and other Caribbean tourist destinations, has seen a decline of at least 25 percent in tourist arrivals and income since the terrorist attacks of September 11, as travelers in the United States, Canada, Europe and even Latin America avoid air travel, cancel vacations and keep their wallets closed. And 15 percent of the exhibitors scheduled to attend the 19th annual Havana International Trade Fair at the end of October have canceled or are considering doing so. That's tough news for Cuba, which over the last decade has turned to tourism as the mainstay of its economy.

     Cuba's economy also has been hit hard by falling sales at state-run stores and restaurants, a shortage of dollars on the island and the general global economic weakening since September 11. That has put pressure on Cuba's peso, which on Oct. 8 slid in value, to 24 from 22 to the dollar, its weakest showing since 1998. Government currency exchanges are facing daily lines of Cubans eager to trade pesos for dollars, nervous about a slide in the value of Cuba's currency. To make the situation worse, cash remittances from Miami family members, a key source of income to the island, are quickly decreasing.


CAMAG EY, October  21

      ñAMALIA SIMONI" HOSPITAL ELEVATOR OUR OF ORDER FOR A MONTH (CAMCOÍs Department of Engineers)

      Orderlies at the Amalia Simoni hospital in CamagÙey have to carry patients up and down the stairs to the fourth floor operating rooms because the elevator has been out of order for more than a month. ñThe surgery room is located on the third floor and emergency patients have to be rushed up three flights of stairs to the operating room," said Félix Sánchez Rodríguez, of Cuban Foundation of Human Rights.

     Hospital employees also have to hand carry equipment and supplies up the stairs. "Water bottles, oxygen tanks, IV solutions, everything has to be carried up the stairs," said Sánchez.


HAVANA, October 20

     CUBA BLAMES US FOR PRESSURING RUSSIA

     Cuba blamed the United States for pressuring Russia to close by the end of the year its Lourdes espionage electronic base which has monitored U.S. military moves and communications for almost four decades. Cuban authorities were, in fact, desperately trying to persuade Russian military representatives to stay at the base at the same time on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin was telling a Moscow press conference he was pulling out, said a statement carried by Granma, the Cuban Communist Party libel.

     It seems that despite CubaÍs complains, Putin had decided that the Cold War was over and was telling  his military: Forget about the United States and get down to the business of putting things in order in your own house.  The move by Russia raised speculation that China would now take the lead in spy operations on the island. The Chinese have built an identical spy facility in the town of Bejucal. The 2-year-old post in Havana province is believed to have the same capabilities of the Russian spy center at Lourdes.

     For Cuba, the closing of the spy base represents both a financial and political humiliation. CubaÍs economic descent has been compounded by the September 11 terrorist attacks. As a result of the criminal attacks, Cuba is suffering great losses in both the tourism industry and family remittances from the United States, a combination that has provided the island with an infusion of dollars and served as the backbone of an ailing economy within the past decade.


MOSCOW, October 20

     RUSSIA EXPECTS THE U.S. TO RECIPROCATE

     Russia is expecting the United States to reciprocate for its closing of Lourdes espionage electronic base in Cuba, Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said Thursday.

     Yakovenko said it wasn't a secret that the United States hasn't closed surveillance centers it set up in countries bordering on Russia. The Russian diplomat voiced serious concern about a radar station in Vardo, Norway.

     "We are ready to build new relations with the United States based on pragmatic cooperation and strategic stability, and consideration for other countries' interests," Yakovenko stressed.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 19

     NEW RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED BY THE U.S. ON THE MOVEMENTS OF CUBAN DIPLOMATS

     The United States government has imposed new restrictions on the movements of Cuban diplomats on American soil "effective immediately." These are the following restrictions:

     1.  Movements of Cuban dictatorship diplomats will be severely restricted in Washington and New York.

     2.  Any movements by Cuban dictatorship diplomats outside the area stipulated, are subjected to 72 hours prior notification and authorization requirements.

     3.  No visas will be issued to Cuban dictatorship officials for travel to anywhere in the United States outside of Washington, D.C., and New York City.

    For the past eight years, Cuban officials have enjoyed great freedom of movement inside the United States. However, U.S. diplomats are denied reciprocal treatment and are subject to severely controlled movement in Cuba.


HAVANA, October 19

     CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO FURIOUS FOR RUSSIAÍS DECISION TO DISMANTLE LOURDES SPY BASE

     Cuban dictator Fidel Castro responded angrily on Wednesday to Russia's decision to pull out by the end of the year a spy base on the island, saying no agreement had been reached and Moscow was ceding to U.S. pressure. An official communiqué said closure of the Lourdes station would be "a grave risk" to Cuban security and accused President Vladimir Putin of wanting to give "a special present" to U.S. President George W. Bush. "The agreement for the Lourdes radio-electronic center is not canceled, as Cuba has not given its approval, and Russia will need to continue negotiating with the Cuban government given the important issues left to resolve  ƒ We responded that we were in total disagreement and we proposed that they study other alternatives," it said.

     Cuba acknowledged it had been in talks with a Russian envoy in Havana up until late Tuesday about Moscow's desire to withdraw from the base. Russia indicated its urgency in resolving the issue was due to the upcoming Putin-Bush meeting Sunday on the sidelines of a summit of Asia-Pacific nations in Shanghai, the Cuban statement added: "Anyone can understand how nice that news would be ... a special present ƒ It was an especially unwelcome move at the very time the aggressive and warlike policy of the U.S. government is stronger than ever."

     After his 1959 revolution, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro steered Cuba into a close relationship with the Soviet Union, which sent thousands of soldiers to Cuba and kept the island's economy afloat. Moscow stationed warheads in Cuba, provoking the 1962 Missile Crisis. Now, however, the two governments are poles apart ideologically, and Havana hails Russian economic and social problems as evidence of what happens if communism is abandoned.


TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, October 18

     PRESIDENT BUSH WELCOMES RUSSIA CLOSING OF CUBA SPY CENTER

     President George W. Bush welcomed Russia's decision to close a major spy center in Cuba, saying it was a sign of an improving U.S.-Russia relationship. "This decision is another indication that the Cold War is over," Bush said in a written statement.

     "President (Vladimir) Putin understands that Russia and America are no longer adversaries  ƒ   We do not judge our successes by how much it complicates life for the other country. Instead, both nations are taking down relics of the Cold War and building a new cooperative and transparent relationship for the 21st century," he said.

     President Bush, who stopped at Travis Air Force Base on his way to a summit of Asia-Pacific nations in Shanghai, said he looked forward to meeting Putin on Sunday on the sidelines of the summit "where we will work to deepen the Russian-American partnership."


MOSCOW, October 18

      RUSSIA CUTS SPY BASES

     Russia will close two important intelligence bases, one located in Cuba and the other in Vietnam. It seems that the overseas cuts are part of efforts to raise money for Russia's struggling military at home. Gen. Anatoly Kvashnin, head of the armed forces' General Staff, told reporters that Russia would dismantle its radar stations in Lourdes, Cuba, and Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. The pullout from Vietnam will start on Jan. 1, but no definite date was announced for the Cuba station.

      General Kvashnin said the closure of the station in Cuba alone would allow Russia to save at least $200 million a year in rent and salaries. ñWith that money we can buy and launch 20 communication, intelligence and information satellites, and purchase up to 100 sophisticated radars,'' he said. When President Vladimir Putin visited the electronic spying facility in Lourdes in December, he told the station's personnel that their mission was very important for his government's decision-making.

      On Wednesday, Putin told military top brass that the decision to close the electronic intelligence center outside Havana had been reached after "deep analysis and long talks with our Cuban partners." His wording suggested that the decision to shut Lourdes had met resistance from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. A final Russian military pullout from Cuba will mark the end of a 40-year chapter in the Cold War in which Moscow sent thousands of troops and equipment across the world to America's doorstep to shore up Castro, its new young communist ally. The Russian's presence in Cuba through the decades was a constant irritant to the United States, provoking crisis after crisis.


MIAMI, October 18

     CAMCO SUPPORTS THE GREAT SOLIDARITY MARCH ñGOD BLESS AMERICA" (Published by Diario Las Americas on October 17)

     The Cuban exile community is calling for a great solidarity march in support of the United States nation and people, in their war against international terrorism that will begin at 2:00 P.M. on October 20 a the Bay of Pigs Heroes Monument located at 8^th Street (Calle 8) S.W. and 13^th Avenue.

     One of the first organizations to support the Solidarity March was CAMCO (Cuban American Military Council). In a statement signed by its Chairman, Major General Retired Erneido Oliva, CAMCO enthusiastically supports the great Solidarity March entitled ñGod Bless America"  ƒ  to render homage to the martyrs and heroes of the cities of New York and Washington.

     ñCAMCO urges all its members to attend this patriotic event in defense of the United States of America, and to publicly demonstrate our unconditional support to the counterattack launched against international terrorism by the Administration of President George W. Bush.


MOSCOW, October 17

     RUSSIA TO WITHDRAW FROM LOURDES

     President Vladimir Putin announced today that the Russian military would pull out of the Lourdes intelligence base his country maintains in Cuba. Lourdes is a big Russian spying center near the coast of the United States. Putin made the announcement at a meeting in the ministry of defense.

     The move, announced by Putin appeared to be a major step towards ending completely the Russian military presence on the Caribbean island. The Kremlin leader did not say when the withdrawal of forces from the electronic intelligence base would take place. The Kremlin press service quoted Putin as saying the decision to close the base was taken after long discussions. Lourdes was costing Russia 200 million dollars a year to keep it running. The spy base, which was built in the 1970s and is situated just outside Havana, has been home to about 1,500 Russian military and their families.

     Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to try to prevent the United States from rescheduling hundreds of millions of dollars in debt owed by Russia unless the Russians shut down what U.S. critics (and CAMCO) saw as a spy station. Moscow has said, for its part, that the intelligence base was needed to observe U.S. compliance with nuclear treaties signed by U.S. and monitor its missile launches.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 17

     SENATOR DASCHLE OFFICE GETS ANTHRAX LETTER; ABC NEWS EMPLOYEEÍS BABY IS ILL

     A letter received by Senator Daschle's office "had anthrax in it.'' The letter that twice tested positive for the deadly bacteria set off a wave of concern in the Capitol, where 50 people began taking antibiotics, police turned away tourists, and authorities ordered every employee to stop opening mail. Final tests of the suspicious powdery substance were under way, but ñthis is a criminal investigation now,'' said Lt. Dan Nichols, a spokesman for the Capitol police force.

       Postal inspectors said the letter sent to Daschle was postmarked Sept. 18 in Trenton, N.J., the same postmark that appeared on an anthrax-tainted letter opened by an assistant to NBC anchor Tom Brokaw. In Trenton, a mail carrier and a postal inspector reported possible symptoms of anthrax Monday.

     Anthrax also struck the 7-month-old child of an ABC News employee. The child is being treated with antibiotics and is expected to recover. It was the third such case involving a major American media company this month. President Bush said ñthere may be some possible link'' between anthrax-tainted mail and terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, though ñwe have no hard data.'' 


HAVANA, October 17

     BLACKOUTS INCREASE IN HAVANA

     Starting October 1, Cuban authorities have been cutting electrical service to various areas more frequently and for longer periods than before, presumably as a savings measure. The central Cuban provinces of Villa Clara and Sancti Spíritus report blackouts that now last more than eight hours a day. In Havana city and Havana province cuts have also been reported with more frequency than recently.

     Local authorities have also decreed that facilities with air conditioning shut the equipment off. At the post office in Old Havana, customers and workers complained about the heat in recent days. An official there said they had been ordered to turn off the air conditioner, and added that there was also no running water in the bathrooms.

     "The scarcity of dollars, the reduction in the number of foreign tourists, and the evident worsening of the economic crisis after the terrorist attacks of September 11 will surely result in more blackouts," said one analyst.


HAVANA, October 16     

     ñFIDEL, FIRST TERRORIST", PROCLAIMS GRAFFITI IN LA LISA, HAVANA

     A writing with the words "FIDEL, FIRST TERRORIST," followed by the word SOZ, appeared on the wall of a drugstore in a Havana town.

     The police came and covered the sign with a blanket and later with a fresh layer of paint, but not before it was noticed by residents and commented widely across town. The drugstore is located in 158 St. in La Lisa, Havana. To the moment no arrest have been reported.

     Graffiti or any public writing criticizing Cuban dictator Fidel Castro or his government is punished by law.


MIAMI, October 16

     CUBAN PATRIOTIC AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR A SOLIDARITY MARCH ON OCTOBER 20 TO SUPPORT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH IN OUR WAR AGAINST INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

     The Cuban American Military Council   CAMCO is an organization comprised of former members of the United States Armed Forces, active and retired members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), the Assault Brigade "2506," and former members of the Cuban Constitutional Armed Forces.

        CAMCO enthusiastically and fully supports the  "God Bless America" Solidarity March that will be conducted in the City of Miami next October 20 at 2:00 P.M., to render homage to the martyrs and heroes, civilians and military, of the cities of New York and Washington, D.C.

        CAMCO urges all its members to participate in this patriotic event in defense of the United States of America, and to publicly demonstrate the membership's unconditional support to the counterattack launched against international terrorism by the Administration of George W. Bush.

(Signed)
Erneido A. Oliva, Major General (DC) Retired
CAMCO Chairman.
(Click here to learn more about the "DIA/PENTAGON Spy")


NEW YORK, October 16

     ANTHRAX NOW FOUND IN THREE STATES; FLORIDA, NEW YORK AND NEVADA

     In Florida, preliminary tests showed five more supermarket tabloid employees have anthrax antibodies in their blood, indicating exposure at some point. If the tests are confirmed, the total number of exposed employees would be eight, including one fatality.

    The anthrax outbreak at NBC's Manhattan headquarters originated with an anonymous, threatening letter from Trenton, N.J. and a second network employee has shown signs of possible exposure, officials said Saturday.

      And across the country in Nevada, more anthrax by mail: A third test on a suspicious letter sent from Malaysia to a Microsoft office in Reno came back positive for the rare bacterium, officials said.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 16

      REPORTS OF POSSIBLE BIOTERRORISM CONTINUED TO SCARE THE PUBLIC

     1.   Reports of white powder were investigated Friday in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Nevada.

     2.   A US Airways flight from Charlotte, N.C., to Denver was diverted to Indianapolis Saturday after a flight attendant found a powdery substance in a trash can. The substance was being tested.

     3.   In San Jose, Calif., about 80 passengers were held aboard a United flight to Chicago Saturday after a man reportedly stood up in mid-flight and released a powdery substance into the air ventilation system. The FBI said the substance, which turned out to be confetti from a greeting card, was harmless and was not intentionally released.

     4.    There was a brief scare at U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, which last week received a shipment with a powdery substance. The powder was found to be nontoxic.


HAVANA, October 15

     CUBAN STATE SECURITY POLICE PROHIBITS JOURNALISM COURSE 

     The Manuel Márquez Sterling Journalists Association, a newly formed association of Cuban reporters working outside state media, announced that government authorities had banned them from holding a public inauguration of their new journalism 2001/2002 courses scheduled for Monday, October 15.

     In a release sent by fax to foreign media during the weekend, the association said that to avoid confrontation it would not hold the inauguration. But, ñwe will not renounce study. There could be no law that prevents citizens from perfecting their knowledge of Spanish grammar, of the English language, and of journalism.''

     Led by a former Moscow correspondent for Cuba's official news agency, the association is made up of people who describe themselves as ñindependent journalists.'' The group was formed with the help of Raúl Rivero, the former Prensa Latina news agency correspondent, and perhaps Cuba's best known journalist working outside state media.


HAVANA, October 14

     CUBAN DICTATOR CRITICIZES  WHAT HE CALLS ñWAR HYSTERIA"

     Cuban dictator Fidel Castro said in a speech that ended on Friday this week's U.S.-led bombing raids on Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington had whipped the world into "war hysteria." In a five-hour speech, Castro said the attacks were a way for the ruling elites of the rich and powerful nations to maintain their global domination.

     "All this war hysteria, all this invention of a state of war has the clear aim of crushing and neutralizing the movement of the people," Castro said in his speech to a closed-door congress of left-wing Latin American journalists in Havana. "For us, terrorism is any act in which innocent lives are sacrificed," Castro said, referring to the reported deaths of some civilians in Afghanistan.

     "There is a big difference between the armed struggle and terrorism, a difference they want to erase from the map, with the aim of dominating more easily," he said.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 14

     COMMUNIST CUBA, AGAIN, SHOWS ITS HATRED AND ENVY FOR THE UNITED STATES

     Communist Cuba takes advantage of the terrorist attack on America to harshly criticize the United States. ñIt is impossible to forget that our people have been the victims of such actions, promoted from U.S. territory itself, for more than 40 years. In all, 194 countries expressed their sympathies and condolences along with their support to the United States. While it is U.S. protocol to extend AmericaÍs thanks on such occasions, the United States has done so for each country, except Cuba. State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said on September 18th, "While the Cuban government condemned the attack, unfortunately statements made by Castro and other Cuban officials contained gratuitous comments of no consolation to those who have suffered so greatly from these attacks.

     Further, Cuba was the only country that did not sign the Iber-American resolution on September 15th "expressing condolences to the United States, its commitment to fight against terrorism in all its forms and reaffirming its conviction that terrorism is a grave world threat," pointed out Boucher in answer to a reporter's questions at the State Department on Tuesday the 18th.  

     Rep. Jeff  Flake (R-AZ), author of an amendment to the Treasury Postal Appropriations Bill loosening travel restrictions on the Communist controlled island, condemned the Cuban governmentÍs remarks. ñHaving just returned from Cuba, I saw first-hand how Fidel Castro used the U.S. as a scapegoat for the mess he has made of his own country. But I am completely outraged and offended that his response to yesterdayÍs act of war against the U.S. is to once again place blame at our feet."


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 13

     PRESIDENT BUSH WILL OPPOSE ANY SOFTENING OF THE EMBARGO

     If Congress defies President Bush and insists on letting U.S. citizens travel freely to Cuba, the president may veto an entire $17 billion appropriations bill that includes the softer language, a White House office warned Thursday. The warning from Mitch Daniels, director of the Office of Management and Budget, signaled a clear raising of the stakes on U.S. policy toward Cuba.

     In a letter to eight key legislators, Daniels said the White House ñstrongly opposes'' any initiative to soften pressure on Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, including a House-approved proposal July 25 that would prohibit the Treasury Department from spending money to enforce restrictions on U.S. travel to the island.  ñIf a bill is presented to the president with this provision, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill,'' Daniels wrote.

     Since illegal travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba has been on the upswing, members of Congress have voted to abolish the federal travel restrictions for two consecutive years. Last year, language lifting the travel restrictions was stricken from a House-approved bill as the proposal passed through the Senate. This year, House members, voting 240-186, again sought to prevent the Treasury Department from spending money to enforce the travel restrictions. The amendment was attached to a huge Treasury appropriations bill, which later was approved by the Senate without the language. The spending plan is now before House-Senate conferees seeking to iron out different language in the two versions of the bill.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 13

     CUBA SHOULD REMAIN ON THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENTÍS TERRORIST LIST

     Cuba's totalitarian government is among those on the U.S. State Department's terrorism blacklist, and should remain there until it turns over to American authorities the criminals and terrorists it harbors. In addition to terrorizing its own citizens, the Cuban government has trained and harbored thousands of terrorists for more than three decades. The terrorists have arrived at the Cuban training camps from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Argentina, Peru and other countries, and even include FARC and ELN guerrillas from Colombia. Cuba's status as a sanctuary for Basque ETA and Colombian terrorists, among others, is well known.

     Cuba was home to Irish Revolutionary Army operatives who were arrested in Colombia in August and accused of training FARC guerrillas in urban terrorism. Since the triumph of the revolution, Cuba has maintained close ties with fellow members of the terror blacklist: Libya, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Sudan. As recently as this year, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro saw fit to renew those personal and political relationships in a Midleast tour. While in Iran, he declared that Cuba and Iran, working together, ñcould put the United States on its knees."

     Among the Cuban regime's most heinous terrorist acts are: 1. The Cuban Air Force's shoot-down of two unarmed civilian planes over international waters in 1996. That premeditated attack killed four South Florida residents; and 2. The 1994 sinking of a tugboat fleeing Havana Harbor packed with 72 Cubans fleeing the island prison, of whom 41 died, including 10 children. Both criminal attacks earned the Cuban government condemnation from the Organization of American States Interamerican Commission for Human Rights and other international institutions.


HAVANA, October 12

     THE CUBAN DICTATOR SAYS: ñARGENTINAÍS ECONOMY WILL EXPLODE"

     Cuban dictator Fidel Castro angered the Argentine government on Wednesday by saying its beleaguered economy had got a "stay of execution" from Washington but would soon "explode" anyway. The dictator of communist-run Cuba told a left-leaning Argentine newspaper that Argentina and other Latin American nations burdened with a total $950 billion in foreign debt "and unbelievable poverty" had "lost all independence."

     Citing U.S.-led aid packages dating back to the "Brady Plan" Latin American debt bailout of a decade ago to major aid packages from the International Monetary Fund in recent months for countries like Brazil and Argentina, he said: "Latin America is like those people on Death Row in the United States: they appeal and appeal and after 23 years go to the electric chair. You have been given a stay of execution, they have given you some pills, some bonds and other things ƒ Now, with or without annexation, you are going to explode, and so will neo-liberalism," the dictator said. "

     "One favor the people who committed the attack in New York have done for imperialism is that they will now blame the sabotage for the failures of neo-liberalism," he said. "Because it was already finished, it was already in crisis..." CastroÍs comments brought an immediate response from Argentine President Fernando de la Rua's spokesman, Juan Pablo Baylac, who told reporters: "Argentina is not going to explode." In early May, Castro accused Argentine President Fernando de la Rua's government of "licking the boots of the Yankees," and characterized all Argentine government officials as "cockroaches."


MIAMI, October 11

     THIRD CASE OF ANTHRAX IN FLORIDA

     Law enforcement and public health officials confirmed Wednesday night that a third employee of the American Media Inc. tabloid publishing firm has been exposed to the anthrax bacteria. U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis said the latest employee who tested positive for the presence of anthrax spores in her nose was a 35-year-old woman. Lewis declined to identify the woman. ñIt is now a criminal investigation,'' Lewis said, speaking at an evening news conference with the FBI, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Health Department.

     While emphasizing that the anthrax contamination appears to be limited to the 66,000-square-foot AMI office building in Boca Raton, Florida, criminal and public health investigators were unable to say how the employees were exposed or why. AMI publishes The National Enquirer, The Star, The Globe, The Sun and other supermarket newspapers.

    Hector Pesquera, the FBI's special agent in charge of the Miami division, said there is ñno evidence'' linking the anthrax to the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. But Lewis quickly added, ñWe have not come to any conclusions.'' Florida Health Secretary John Agwunobi said early results from more than 700 nasal swabs of employees and visitors to the office showed no additional people had been exposed. Last week, 63-year-old photo editor Robert Stevens died from anthrax, and spores of the bacteria were discovered in the nasal cavity of a mailroom worker, Ernesto Blanco, a Cuban-American who is in stable condition. Pesquera said the woman exposed to the bacteria worked near both men. An investigator said the woman may have worked in the AMI mailroom with Blanco and taken over his duties when he became ill.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 11

     CUBA SELLS ITS BIOTECHNOLOGY TO OTHER NATIONS THAT SPONSOR TERRORISM

     Cuba has sold its biotechnology to other nations that sponsor terrorism that could be using science intended to save lives as a means to destroy it, said José de la Fuente, the former director of research and development at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. The biotechnology used to manufacture three lifesaving medical products -- and which could be used to produce biochemical weapons -- has been sold to Iran, one of seven nations on the State Department's list of states that sponsor terrorism, said de la Fuente, now living in the United States, calling the sale ñprofoundly disturbing.''

     De la Fuente says the technology sold to Iran could be used to produce lethal agents to use as biochemical weapons -- like anthrax bacteria or smallpox virus. Many steps in the fermentation process that produces vaccines and other medicines are similar to the one used to manufacture biochemical weapons. De la FuenteÍs revelation comes at the same time the FBI is investigating the possibility that man-made anthrax bacteria was used to poison employees at a South Florida publishing company, and as experts nervously debate the possibility of biochemical assaults in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

     The technology sold to Iran could be used for the purpose of producing bioweapons and other toxins that could be used in bioterrorist attacks, said de la Fuente, now a faculty member at Oklahoma State University. The close relationship between Cuba and Iran became evident in May when Cuban dictator Fidel Castro went on a tour to the Middle East and Asia that included visits to Iran, Syria, Algeria and Malaysia. In Iran Castro said: ñIran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees.'' 


HAVANA, October 10

     GRANMA, THE LIBEL OF THE CUBAN COMMUNIST PARTY, STRONGLY CRITICIZES AIR ATTACKS ON AFGHANISTAN

     The Cuban Communist Party libel Granma on Monday strongly criticized the air strikes on Afghanistan by the United States and Britain. ''No matter what the pretext, this is a war with the most sophisticated technology aimed at people who don't know how to read or write,'' the daily said in an editorial.

     ''It's not a war against terrorism, which could and should be defeated by other more effective, rapid and lasting means available to us; it is a war in favor of terrorism, whose military operations will make it more complicated and more difficult to eradicate terrorism,'' it said.

     The U.S. and Britain unleashed bombing and missile attacks Sunday against Taliban military targets and terrorist training camps to retaliate for the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington. Air strikes continued Monday, with only U.S. forces taking part.


MIAMI, October 10

     CASTRO, BIOTERRORIST IN OUR BACK YARD (Guest Commentary By Agustin Blazquez with the collaboration of Jaums Sutton. Oct 9, 2001).

     With all the coverage lately in the U.S. media about bacteriological warfare, why have Americans been kept ignorant about Castro's factories of bacteriological and chemical weapons in Cuba? Undoubtedly, there is a deliberate effort by the U.S. media not to report negative information about Cuba.

     Among the U.S. media there are many Castro sympathizers. And others are willing to cooperate in order to keep their access to Cuba, their bureaus and star reporters getting personal interviews with Castro. Morally this is dishonest because they are compromising the freedom of information. This selfish and arrogant attitude of the U.S. media has rendered a disservice to the American people by giving them a false sense of harmlessness about Castro's Cuba for decades. (Click here to read the full report). 


MIAMI, October 9

     SECOND CASE OF ANTHRAX FOUND IN FLORIDA

     The Boca Raton offices of American Media Inc. were shuttered Monday after a second employee showed signs of the rare anthrax bacteria that killed a 63-year-old photo editor for the Sun supermarket tabloid last week. The second employee, a 73-year-old man initially hospitalized for pneumonia, has not been determined to have anthrax, although a nasal swab showed signs he had been exposed to it, a state health official said. The FBI said the man, whose name has not been released, is in stable condition at an undisclosed South Florida hospital and is expected to survive.  More than 300 employees of the National Enquirer, the Star, the Globe, the Sun and the Weekly World News who work for AMI are being asked to go to the health department offices in Delray Beach for antibiotics and further testing.

     FBI and health department officials said the second case was confirmed late Sunday night after nose swabs on a co-worker of Stevens showed signs of the bacteria that causes pulmonary anthrax. Tim O'Connor, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Health Department, said the man did not have a ñfull blown'' case of anthrax, but the nasal swabs showed signs of the same bacterial spore that led to the fatal case of inhalation anthrax that killed Stevens and led to widespread fears -- so far unconfirmed -- of a bioterrorist attack.

     An environmental test inside the American Media building in Boca Raton also confirmed the presence of the bacteria, O'Connor said. State health officials received a ñpreliminary positive indication'' of anthrax Sunday afternoon and confirmation ñwas obtained late in the evening.'' ñThe building has been secured for the purpose of further environmental public health testing and we have begun to contact employees,'' he said. The FBI is ñin control'' of the investigation, and that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is working with the bureau.


HAVANA, October 8

     CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO DENOUNCES U.S. MILITARY OPERATIONS AGAINST TERRORISM

     Cuba dictator Fidel Castro on Monday denounced U.S.-led military operations against Afghanistan. A formal statement from communist Cuba was pessimistic over the future course of the conflict and questioned the motives of its decades-old political foe, the United States, in launching the attacks.

     "This is not a war against terrorism, which should and could be defeated by other truly effective, rapid, and strong measures at our disposal," the statement said. "This is a war in favor of terrorism, where military operations will make it much more difficult and complicated to eradicate. A cure worse than the disease." 

     Saying nobody could know where the U.S. war against terrorism would lead, the communiqué called for "an end to the military operations and the eradication of terrorism through the cooperation and support of all countries working through the United Nations." The Castro dictatorship has condemned September's suicide attacks on the United States, but even more strenuously warned against military retaliation.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 7

     AMERICA FIGHTS BACK -- WAR AGAINST TERRORISM BEGINS

     The United States and Britain on Sunday unleashed a military counteroffensive against terrorism in response to the Sept. 11 criminal attacks on New York and Washington that killed more than 5,500 people. The United States blames Saudi exile Osama bin Laden for the attacks and accuses Afghanistan's ruling Taliban of harboring him and his al Qaeda network.

     The two countries armed forces pounded Afghanistan and its Taliban regime with volleys of cruise missiles and waves of bombs. ñNow, the Taliban will pay a price,'' President Bush said in a nationally televised address. ñThe battle is now joined on many fronts. We will not waver. We will not tire. We will not falter and we will not fail.'' While U.S. warplanes dropped bombs, officials said, U.S. cargo planes dropped food and other humanitarian aid. ñThe oppressed people of Afghanistan will know the generosity of America and our allies,'' President Bush said.

     As the strike was under way, terrorist leader Osama bin Laden issued new threats against Americans. The FBI asked police departments nationwide to rise to the ñhighest alert'' against possible new attacks on U.S. soil. President Bush and other U.S. officials called the offensive on the capital of Kabul, the southern city of Kandahar and many other targets a prelude to wider action against bin Laden, his followers and hosts in Afghanistan and terror networks around the world. A Taliban spokesman said bin Laden survived the allied counterstrike.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 2

      U.S. PRESSED TO REMOVE CUBA FROM TERRORIST LIST BY CASTROÍS SYMPATHIZER GROUPS

    A group of 16 organizations that sympathize with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and individuals with an interest in improving U.S.-Cuba relations, have questioned whether the island nation belongs on the State Department's list of terrorist states that includes Cuba but not Afghanistan.

     Frank Calzon, Executive Director of the Washington-based Center for a Free Cuba, disagreed with the contention. "Whether Cuba should belong on the terrorist list is a matter that should be decided on the basis of evidence, and there's plenty of evidence that he supports terrorism," Calzon said of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. "If somebody wants to know what Mr. Castro wants to do to the United States, all one has to do is take a look at what he's willing to do to his own people. And folks who claim that Cuba doesn't support terrorism simply have to go to a library and look up a number of things."

     Calzon also said that, as recently as last year, during a summit in Panama, Cuba reportedly balked at backing a resolution proposed by El Salvador condemning the violent Basque separatist group ETA in Spain. U.S. rationale for keeping Cuba on the list has included the charge that the Cuban dictator harbors Spanish Basque terrorists, that it has contacts with Colombian guerrillas and that there are a number of fugitives from U.S. justice living on the island.


WASHINGTON, D.C., October 1^st.

     THE REALITY OF BETRAYAL: WHAT IS AT STAKE IS NOT THE PRIDE OF BUREAUCRATS BUT THE SECURITY OF THE COUNTRY (By Marcelo Fernandez-Zayas, Click here to read Intelligence Report 24 ¿093001)

     ñThe case of alleged Cuban spy Ana Belen Montes will be a subject of analysis and commentary for many years to come ƒ What is at stake is not the pride of bureaucrats but the security of the country.  The investigation has to be deep and persistent ... Naturally, the FBI wants to get to the bottom of the current spy issue, perhaps even at the price of cutting a deal with the attorneys for Ana Belen Montes ƒ"

     ñThis spy episode is very embarrassing for Washington, the city, and the Department of Defense as an agency: the U.S. Government was penetrated and duped by a single agent of a small foreign governmentƒ.  She had access to information on secret weapons as well as plans for defense and offence, to include the names and ranks of military leaders and locations, number and strength of key military unitsƒ"

     ñShe delivered to Castro on a golden platter many of America's most sensitive secrets.  And there is no doubt that, at minimum, many of those secrets are now in the hands of Iran and Iraqƒ The White House is now painfully aware that Castro could stab this country in its back ƒ Can we deal safely with Saddam Hussein while his proxy and ally Fidel Castro remains active and plotting in Havana?  This is just one of the dilemmas facing the USA right now."


WASHINGTON, October 1st.

      CUBA SPY TRIED TO SOFTEN A PENTAGON ASSESSMENT THAT CUBA DOES NOT REPRESENT A MILITARY THREAT TO THE USA

     It seems that before her arrest as a spy for Cuba last week, Ana Belen Montes made a direct impact on U.S. policy toward Cuba. Her job allowed Montes to participate in the Cuba Inter-Agency Group and share her political thoughts with dozens of policymakers and intelligence analysts. She conducted briefings on Capitol Hill, regularly met with CIA counterparts, and had access to the Intelink computer network of secret intelligence reports. The portrait that emerges is of a spy who apparently was in a position to do considerable damage.

     Montes most recent effort involved an intelligence appraisal that attempted to further soften a 1999 Pentagon assessment that declared Cuba no longer a threat to the United States militarily (See Miami Herald's Article). As the highest-level accused spy for Cuba, Montes probably knew the identities of U.S. intelligence agents in Cuba. Unquestionably, her arrest shows the Cuban intelligence apparatusÍ sophistication and aggressiveness.

     As a senior intelligence analyst on Cuba for the Defense Intelligence Agency, Montes traveled to Havana, first in 1993 to study the Cuban military, and again in January 1998 during Pope John Paul II's visit.  ñThe offense that Ana Belen Montes committed is a capital offense ƒ several months may elapse before prosecutors determine if Montes will provide details about the extent of her alleged espionage to avoid the death penalty", said Senator Bob Graham of Florida.  (Click here to learn more about the "DIA/PENTAGON Spy")


FORT WASHINGTON, October 1st.

      IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR CAMCO MEMBERS 

      We recommend our membership to regularly visit our ñCLASSIFIED AREA."  Critical  and important updates on our ACTIVITIES / PROJECTS and CUBA are posted regularly in these pages.