SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL FIRED AMBASSADOR REICH FROM HIS LATAM POST

    On his first work day back at the State Department after being shouldered out of his senior post on Latin America, Ambassador Otto J. Reich worked in a less-exalted office Monday and faced both unclear responsibilities and a distinctly murky future. Reich is now a ñspecial envoyî to the Western Hemisphere, reporting directly to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Even the State Department's senior spokesman did not know what the job would entail. Reich was to leave Monday to accompany Powell to talks in Mexico City but he canceled ñto focus on his new job and responsibilities,î a State Department colleague said.

    Supporters of Reich say they fully expect the Bush administration to send his name back to the Senate, which will be in Republican hands and, in theory, more favorable to White House wishes. But at the State Department, spokesman Richard Boucher stated he didn't know if Reich's name would be submitted. ñThat's a White House question,î he said.

    Ambassador Reich was one of two controversial nominees to high-profile posts in the Bush administration who were removed from their jobs Friday when the House adjourned for the year, forcing a legal end to their temporary White House appointments. Unlike Reich, the other nominee, Eugene Scalia, son of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, was immediately put back in his job as the Labor Department's solicitor by the White House. However, Reich did not get a temporary reappointment as Scalia. Nor did he get any public assurance from the White House that it would again push for the Senate to finally approve him as the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs.

    MAJOR GENERAL ARNALDO OCHOA SÁNCHEZ (By: Arch Kielly, LtCol, USAF, Retired)  

     On June 12, 1989, a Hero of the Cuban Republic, Major General Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez was arrested and one month later he was put against the wall, shot and buried in an unmarked grave.  Also killed were,  Colonel Antonio de la Guardia, Captain Jorge Martínez Valdés and Major Amado Padrón Trujillo.  The Castro brothers accussed Ochoa of drug trafficking but Colonel de la GuardiaÍs daughter, Illiana, claims that he was killed because he said that Fidel Castro was crazy.  Ochoa, who was well known for his jokes and his irreverent personality, made comments regarding CubaÍs sorry state of affairs during a dinner hosted by the Minister of Transport, Diocles Torralba. This conversation was recorded by the government secret police. Torralba was later sentenced to 20 years.

    We have been told by friends in the FAR, that General Ochoa disagreed, as did many officers in Cuba, with the Castro brothers and believed that they should adopt a Soviet-style economic and political reform for the sake of the Cuban people.  It is sad that a Cuban officer may have been shot for saying what a large number of Cuban military and civilian officials have believed for many years.  Fidel Castro, who is now a caricature of his former self, parades in front of foreign and national dignitaries, ranting and forgetting his original point which brings considerable embarrassment to those who are his keepers today.

    We donÍt believe that Fidel is crazy.  Fidel is an old person who lived a ñfastî lifeî and is now paying for his youthful indiscretions and suffers mental decline.  In the West, people with similar impairments are retired and made comfortable for the rest of their days, but they are definitely not allowed to run countries.  Therefore, we advise our brothers in the Cuban Armed Forces to be careful.  The day will come when you and other Cubans will have the freedom to speak as you believe, without the fear that you may have to sacrifice yourself to save your family as General Ochoa did years ago. Remember, CAMCO is with you.  VIVA CUBA LIBRE!

    CHÁVEZ: ñƒEVEN IF THEY GET 90 PERCENT OF THE VOTE, I WILL NOT RESIGN. FORGET IT!î

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced a general strike on Sunday planned by foes to pressure him into calling a referendum. Opposition leaders have called an economic shutdown for December 2 to demand an immediate vote on whether Chavez should give up the presidency of the world's fifth-largest oil exporter. An indefinite strike led up to the April coup, in which more than 60 people were killed in street clashes.

    Chavez accused opposition leaders of trying to destabilize the nation again and insisted the walkout would lack support. "The strike called for December 2 has a card hidden up its sleeve, a knife hidden behind its back," Chavez said during his regular Sunday television program. "We're ready to fight this and wherever it may be we'll defeat it." 

    Chavez has repeatedly dismissed calls to step down before the end of his term in 2006. He insists the constitution only allows for a revocatory vote on his mandate at the halfway point in August 2003. "Even if the electoral council accepts the question as valid, even if the Supreme Court considers the question valid, even if they get 90 percent of the vote with their referendum, I will not resign. Forget it!" Chavez said on Sunday.  

     ANOTHER VICTORY IN WASHINGTON FOR CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO: AMBASSADOR OTTO REICH OUT AS LATIN ENVOY FOR U.S.

     In a hasty job reshuffling that will affect U.S. policies in Latin America, Ambassador Otto J. Reich was forced to step down Friday from the top State Department position for the region. Reich arrived on a flight from Brazil early in the day, where he'd been on a grueling diplomatic trip, only to be greeted by the news that his tenure as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs was at an end.

    Secretary of State Colin Powell, who fired Reich, has not named his replacement, but sources said Reich's principal deputy, J. Curtis Struble, a career Foreign Service officer, would fill the job in the interim. Reich reportedly has been the victim of sniping elsewhere in the department. In compliance with instructions from the Secretary, Reich was asked Friday afternoon to move out of his spacious sixth-floor State Department office to a smaller one some 100 feet away.

    Reich had held the job since January, thanks to a recess appointment by President Bush after he failed to win Senate confirmation. Reich's friends and supporters said they had received private assurances that he would be nominated again and were puzzled by a lack of a public announcement. However, they must realize by now that the mid-term elections are over and the Cuban-American vote will not be needed until 2004.

    FARMER PUZZLED BY NEW FARM SURVEY

    Farmers in Pinar del Río province are puzzled -some say worried- about a new survey the government is taking on farms in Sandino municipality. They still remember that in 1988 the government took a survey of all farms and then issued a new document to owners of the land, charging them 30 pesos for it, that took the place of the original deed on the farms, said human rights activist David Reyes. Agriculture Ministry officials told farmers the new document would henceforth be the only valid one to legal purposes. In addition, they asked farmers to turn in their original deeds, granted during the Agrarian Reform of 1959.

    For several weeks officials of Geocuba and the Ministry of Agriculture have been surveying the land, saying the 1988 survey is not valid, and that proprietors must acquire a new document, at a cost of 60 pesos. Reyes said farmers are puzzled because, they say, the dimensions of the farms have not changed. "Why so many measurements and documents?" Reyes said farmers are asking. People here know the Cuban parliament passed a new law dealing with cooperatives in October, but few details are known.

   GENERAL STRIKE ANNOUNCED FOR DECEMBER 2

    Foes of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who are pressing for an early referendum on his government said on later Thursday they would call a nationwide strike on December 2, but the government dismissed the threat as a desperate bid to force the leftist leader from power. Opposition leaders, rejecting what they called government intransigence in peace talks, announced the next strike.

    Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, who is brokering the peace negotiations, warned the opposition that an indefinite strike could torpedo the talks. He appealed to both sides to ñgive a chanceî to peace efforts. If the strike goes ahead, it will be the fourth walkout in a year called against Chavez, a former paratrooper elected in 1998.Chávez has refused repeated opposition calls to step down or hold an immediate referendum on his rule.

    In a rare political alliance of bosses and workers, Carlos Fernández, president of  Fedecamaras, was coordinating the strike action with Carlos Ortega, president CTV and with members of the Coordinadora Democratica opposition coalition. The government condemned the planned strike action as irresponsible. "This is a strike with coup intentions," pro-Chavez National Assembly President William Lara said. Opponents of Chavez say he is trying to install Cuba-style communism in Venezuela.

     LABOR LEADER CALLS FOR DRIVERS TO PICK UP PASSENGERS IN NEED OF TRANSPORTATION

    The general secretary of the government sanctioned labor union (CTC), Pedro Ross, called upon drivers of government vehicles to pick up passengers in order to mitigate the effects of the transportation crisis in the island.

    Ross called upon drivers to stop for "anyone with a need for transportation to school, work, or a hospital... to guarantee at least a minimum of public transportation." He mentioned as causes for his call "the economic situation and particularly the lack of fuel." 

   CUBANSÍ FLIGHT TO FREEDOM MAY HELP NOTORIOUS SPYÍS EX-WIFE

    The ex-wife of a notorious Cuban spy Juan Pablo Roque has made a legal move to seize an aging biplane that eight Cubans flew to freedom a week ago. Ana Margarita Martínez wants to sell the Antonov-2 as partial payment toward the $27.18 million judgment a Miami-Dade Circuit Court awarded her for a sham marriage to Roque.

    On Monday, a Miami-Dade Circuit Court clerk approved an order filed by Martínez's attorneys that requires the Monroe County Sheriff's Office to place a levy on the plane to serve as the first payment of the Cuban debt. The money would barely dent the unpaid bill -- similar antique planes are valued at $40,000 to $50,000 -- but the satisfaction would be priceless, Martínez said. ''That's not much. I just want to be a thorn in their side,î Martínez said.

   CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO HEADS U.S. PROTEST

    Cuban dictator Fidel Castro led tens of thousands of people in a rally outside the U.S. Interest Section in Havana Monday to protest the U.S. government's decision to free eight Cubans who left the island last week on a stolen crop-duster plane. Students in school uniforms, army cadets and workers of varying ages cheered and waved Cuban flags as Castro arrived at the plaza. Dressed in his olive green uniform and cap, Castro stood in the front row of the crowd waving a small Cuban flag and facing the stage, but did not address the gathering.

    ñThey must be returned to Cuba,î one of the speakers said of pilot Nemencio Carlos Alonso Guerra and his seven passengers who flew to Key West, Fla., on Nov. 11 from the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio. Castro's government last week demanded that the U.S. government return the pilot and his passengers to Cuba, along with the Soviet-built biplane. After lengthy questioning, U.S. immigration authorities decided to let the eight stay in the United States and released them from custody on Friday. Cuba has described the flight as a ñhijacking,î but U.S. officials called it a ñdesertion.î

    ARMY AND NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS PREVENT CLASH IN VENEZUELA

     National Guard troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets Tuesday to keep chavistas away from thousands of whistle-blowing, flag-waving marchers protesting President Hugo Chavez's military takeover of city police. Having prevented a street battle, soldiers with riot shields hurriedly prodded opposition mayors and governors into Congress to deliver a petition demanding Chavez restore autonomy to the 9,000-strong police department.

    Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena warned that Chavez could order similar takeovers of other local police forces to consolidate power and avoid an early vote on his rule. Contending that city police routinely repress chavistas protests, Chavez had the army take over 10 police stations on Saturday. The move sparked protests that have rocked Venezuela. Chavez said opposition Mayor Peña's failure to resolve a police labor dispute jeopardized public security. Peña has asked Venezuela's Supreme Court to void the takeover.

    The metropolitan police welcomed the opposition protest. As he directed traffic along the march route, an officer said: ñThe people are supporting the city of Caracas.î ñThe intervention is nothing but an excuse for Chavez to turn Venezuela into another Cuba,î he added. Chavez appointed Gonzalo Sanchez Delgado, an ex-sergeant, to replace Police Chief Henry Vivas. But Vivas refused to resign, and he was on the streets Tuesday to provide march security. Escorted by Caracas police officers, the demonstrators waved red, yellow and blue Venezuelan flags and banners reading ñJustice First!î and ñRespect the Police!î

    VENEZUELA POLITICAL CONFLICT INTENSIFIES

     Venezuelan National Guard troops firing tear gas and shotgun pellets skirmished with anti-government demonstrators in Caracas on Monday as the political conflict between leftist President Hugo Chavez and his foes flared into violence. Four people were wounded by shotgun pellets. After scattering to avoid the gas the protesters regrouped and briefly set up barricades of burning tires and garbage across streets in eastern Caracas. Monday's clashes came after similar disturbances over the weekend following the government's decision on Saturday to take control of the Caracas city police from the capital's mayor, Alfredo Peña.

     The weekend takeover of the Caracas police, enforced by hundreds of heavily armed troops and armored vehicles, infuriated opposition leaders who said it greatly increased the likelihood that a threatened general strike could be called. ñWe are protesting against the government's violation of human rights,î one of Monday's protesters said. But in a combative speech on Monday, Chavez defied his opponents. ñIf the coup-plotting opposition calls another strike, then get ready, because we are going to defeat them again,î he told students in eastern Sucre state. The president, who is accused by his foes of trying to install Cuba-style communism in Venezuela, calls his reforms in favor of the poor a ñrevolution.î

    Adding to the tension, a powerful blast rocked downtown Caracas on Monday, killing three people, wounding several others and causing widespread panic. Over the weekend, rival police factions exchanged gunfire; troops fired tear gas to disperse anti-government demonstrators and a grenade attack damaged cars at a local TV station that is critical of Chavez. The United States, the biggest single buyer of Venezuelan oil, expressed concern. "We are against violence, wherever it comes from," U.S. ambassador to Caracas Charles Shapiro said. Opposition leaders were planning a big anti-government march on Tuesday, which would be protected by several hundred officers of the city police who did not accept the government takeover. Many officers in stations around the capital have refused to recognize the new police chief named by the government.

    COMMUNIST CUBANS CHARGED IN ASSAULT AT CUBAN MISSION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

    Five Cubans formerly employed at the Cuban diplomatic mission in Washington, D. C.,  were charged by a federal prosecutor on Monday with conspiracy to threaten and assault demonstrators protesting in front of the Cuban mission in April 2000. The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Roscoe C. Howard Jr., said a conviction could carry an imprisonment of 180 days on conviction. But, as diplomats, the five have immunity from prosecution. In any case, they all have departed the United States. Named in the complaint were Eugenio Martinez Enriquez, Fernando Perez Maza, Damien Michael Ravelo Avila, Joel Marrero Enriquez and Armando Leonardo Collazo Iglesias.

    Brigida Benitez, an attorney for the demonstrators, said that due to the complaint against the accused, they will never receive visas to enter the United States again. The melee took place on April 14, 2000 as the demonstrators were calling for democracy in Cuba and also were demanding that Elian Gonzalez not be returned to Cuba. A week after the incident, complying with the then Attorney General Janet RenoÍs instructions, Elian was forcefully seized from his Miami relatives by heavily armed immigration service agents. The boye was returned to Cuba in late June.

    Howard said in a statement that that over a dozen employees of the Cuban mission ñallegedly pushed and shoved many of the demonstrators. Several demonstrators were kicked and punched, and a few were struck with the very signs and placards they were holding during the protest,î the statement said. Some of the demonstrators required hospitalization but there were no serious injuries.

      TAKEOVER OF CITY POLICE INFLAMES VENEZUELA CONFLICT

     The government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday sent troops and armored vehicles to seize control of the Caracas city police from the capital's anti-Chavez mayor, drawing furious condemnation from political opponents. Earlier, gunfights broke out between the police, members of the National Guard and the army. National Guard troops, backed by personnel carriers armed with heavy machine guns, took over the police headquarters and other major stations around the city.

     Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello ordered the autonomous, 8,000-member city police to report directly to Chavez's government instead of to Caracas Mayor Alfredo Peña, a die-hard foe of the leftist president. Around police headquarters in Caracas' northern Cotiza neighborhood, officers loyal to Peña and opposed to the government takeover exchanged fire with colleagues inside the building who supported the move.

     As the National Guard troops, carried by trucks, deployed later at police stations, residents outside one station beat pots and pans to protest against their presence. The move followed several violent battles this month between the Caracas police under Peña and ñchavistasî  opposed to mayor Peña. Two people were killed and several dozen injured by gunfire in those clashes.

    A CUBAN-AMERICAN, CONGRESSMAN ROBERT MENÉNDEZ, ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF THE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS 

     By one vote, Rep. Robert Menéndez, a 48 years old Cuban-American, made history twice Thursday: He became the first Hispanic  and the first New Jersey legislator to be elected chairman of the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives. Menéndez is now the highest-ranking Hispanic in either major party. "Today is a historic day for the Democratic caucus and the Hispanic community," Menéndez said. "I got votes from conservative, centrist, and liberal Democrats, blacks and Hispanics and Asians, women and men," Menéndez emphasized.

    Menendez defeated Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut, 104-103. Some lawmakers and observers attributed the close vote to the popularity that both Menéndez and DeLauro enjoy among their colleagues. Menendez, a six-term congressman from Union City, almost left the House this year to run for Sen. Robert G. Torricelli's seat after Torricelli dropped his bid for a second term. But Menéndez concluded he did not want to give up a shot at a party leadership post.

    "I am so honored," Menéndez said. "Our party cannot take any part of its constituency for granted," Menendez said, making special reference to middle-class and Hispanic voters.  Menéndez has a hard-line stance only on U.S.-Cuba policy. Indeed, Cuban government officials have watched Menéndez's rise in U.S. politics with concern. On Thursday, they privately characterized his ascent as an obstacle to lifting the trade embargo and normalizing U.S.-Cuba relations. All  Cuban-Americans,  on the other hand, cheered the news of  Menéndez's victory.

     CASTRO SKIPS IBERO-AMERICAN SUBMIT

     For the second year in a row, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has decided to stay away from the annual summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal, a move diplomats said reflected his isolation in the region. His communist-run government announced that Vice President Carlos Lage would head the Cuban delegation to the Ibero-American summit in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on Friday and Saturday.

    "He could not come because he has too much work," Lage told reporters on arrival in Dominican Republic. Diplomats in Havana said they were not surprised by Castro's absence because Cuba's relations with its Latin neighbors have deteriorated, with Castro taking regional leaders to task for "licking the boots" of the United States.

    In addition, the political future of Castro's closest ally in the region, Venezuelan leftist President Hugo Chavez, is uncertain, they said. "The level of conflict that Cuba has with other countries in the region suggested that there might be a collision in Santo Domingo," a Latin American diplomat said. "The last two summits were a disaster for Cuba and the situation has not improved." At the Ibero-American summit in Panama two years ago, Castro quarreled with El Salvador's President Francisco Flores, accusing his country of harboring an exiled who allegedly was planning to assassinate him. Flores shot back that Castro was responsible for El Salvador's 12-year civil war that killed about 75,000 people.

    VENEZUELAN ARMY PATROLLING CAPITAL

    Workers scurrying to their jobs gawked at the sight of rifle-toting soldiers on Caracas' streets Thursday, stunned by the show of force intended to stop a spate of political violence. Stone-faced troops - automatic rifles in hand - stood guard beneath bridges, at busy intersections, along shop-lined streets and at subway stations.

    Army Gen. Jorge Garcia Carneiro urged citizens not to be alarmed, saying the deployment was necessary because a month-old labor dispute had diminished the crime-fighting capacity of the city's police. ñWe want a climate of peace, of harmony,î the general told state television.î The deployment followed clashes that killed two people and wounded 19; a grenade attack Tuesday on the home of Caracas Archbishop Ignacio Velasco; and a Tuesday assault on the office of Greater Caracas Mayor Alfredo Peña by ñChavistas.î Venezuela's opposition said the deployment could jeopardize election talks being mediated by the Organization of American States.

    The deployment  ñviolates the autonomy of municipalities and suffocates civil rights,î said a leader of the opposition. Chavez previously declared eight ñsecurity zonesî in the city as off-limits to protesters. Miranda state Gov. Enrique Mendoza, whose jurisdiction includes parts of Caracas, said Thursday he won't abide by the army order because street security is a civilian matter and national security is the army's. ñMy instructions are clear. I'm not going to put police officers inside patrol cars. My patrol cars are for keeping the peace and fighting crime,î the governor said.
 

    DOZENS OF STUDENTS PROTEST APPEARANCE BY AN OLD CUBAN GUERRILLA FIGHTER

    Several hundred students filled Florida International University (FIU) auditorium to hear what a well-known Cuban revolutionary fighter had to say, but dozens protested the appearance and greeted the man with cries of ñASSASSIN.î Victor Dreke Cruz, 64, was at the university on Wednesday in part to discuss his role in fighting the late Cuban President Fulgencio Batista ¿ in the 50Ís ¿in the Escambray Mountains, in Cuba, and in 1964 under Che GuevaraÍs command in Congo.

    Dreke, who many Cubans have accused of arranging executions on behalf of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and his brother Raúl, complained about the U.S. embargo against his homeland and attempted to tout his nation's contribution to the welfare of native Africans and Afro-Cubans, but was interrupted often by protesters. ñHe's a killer, he's a murderer, he's a liar,î said a former Cuban political prisoner. A FIU student said she attended with an open mind, and that the allegations of Dreke being a murderer did not solely form her opinion. ñMany others also believe he is a thug, a criminalî, she said.

    U.S. INDICTS COLOMBIAÍS TOP REBEL MILITARY LEADERS ON CHARGES OF KIDNAPPING AND DRUG TRAFFICKING

    U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced on Wednesday the indictments of Colombian rebel leaders. In three separate indictments, leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish-language acronym FARC, stand charged with hostage taking and drug trafficking in order to obtain money and weapons for terrorist activities against the government, Ashcroft told a news conference.

    Ashcroft said Jorge Briceno Suarez, known as ñMono Jojoyî -- the top military commander of the FARC -- was charged in two different indictments. In the first, Briceno was added to a list of six others, including Tomas Molina Caracas who were first charged in March with conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States. The indictment alleged Briceno controlled major drug transactions, arbitrated a drugs-for-weapons deal and received large sums of money in exchange for cocaine from Molina. In the second indictment, Briceno, Molina -- commander of the FARC's 16th Front -- known as "El Negro Acacio" were charged with conspiring in 1997 to kidnap two Americans and kill two Colombians. If convicted, they could face the death penalty.

     A third indictment, which was also unsealed on Wednesday, charges senior FARC commander Henry Castellanos Garzon, known as "Romana," with hostage taking for the March 1998 kidnapping of four American bird-watchers. They were held for a month. Briceno, Molina and Castellanos all live and operate in Colombia. "The State Department has called the FARC the most dangerous international terrorist organization based in the Western Hemisphere, and our indictments show them as terrorists, drug traffickers, kidnappers and murderers," Ashcroft said.

      DISSIDENT MISSING AFTER ARREST

     Three men in military uniforms picked up dissident José Luis Rodríguez at his home in Holguín in easternmost Cuba on Friday and his family didn't know his whereabouts as of Monday morning. Rodríguez's 87-year-old mother said the men told him this time they would take him beyond Holguín.

    Rodríguez, an ex-political prisoner, is involved in a project that distributes food and medicines to the needy. Some who know Rodríguez said "his work has received accolades from the town's residents, and that bothers the authorities, who apparently have decided to take him out of circulation."

    RESIDENTS DROVE AWAY POLICE WHO TRIED TO EVICT A POOR FAMILY

    Upwards of 200 neighbors drove away, under a hail of stones, the government officials who tried to evict a family of four from their home in a rural community on the road to Luis Lazo. The officials had meant to evict Daniel Marino, his wife Daisy Pérez, and their three- and eleven-year-old sons from the house in which they have lived for the past six years. One resident, Rolando Lazo, said that what irked the crowd was the violence employed by the officials.

    Other eyewitnesses said the crowd became irate when officials dragged Pérez and handcuffed her to the inside of a bus they had brought to facilitate the eviction. Residents identified the officials in charge of the operation as municipal prosecutor Mario Laviña, and the head of the legal department of the Housing Authority, Carlos Villate. Authorities are charging Marino with illegal occupancy, but Leonardo Costales, a lawyer with the Unitary Council of Cuban Workers, a non-governmental organization, said there are documents that legalize the familyÍs presence in the house.

     IRAQ ACCEPTS U.N. RESOLUTION, U.K., U.S. SKEPTICAL

     The United States and Britain expressed skepticism Wednesday after Baghdad unconditionally accepted a U.N. resolution demanding that Iraq allow inspectors to resume their search for weapons of mass destruction. In New York, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Mohammad Al-Douri, delivered a letter of acceptance to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, telling reporters that it said, "Iraq will not have any mass destruction weapons. So we are not worried about the inspectors when they will be back in the country. Iraq is clean."

    White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that President Bush administration had not seen the letter -- but warned that if it contained "any false information or omissions, that would be considered a violation," of the resolution.  British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw welcomed the Iraqi action but also warned that December 8 -- the date Iraq must give a full declaration about its weapons program -- could be troublesome. "Iraq's intentions are notoriously changeable," Straw said.

    Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, President Bush -- who was scheduled to meet with Annan later Wednesday -- repeated his warning that the United States would have "zero tolerance" for any Iraqi interference with U.N. weapons inspectors. "There's no negotiations with Mr. Saddam Hussein. Those days are long gone, and so are the days of deceit and denial," Bush said. If Saddam fails to comply, "We will disarm him," he said.

    VENEZUELA ARCHBISHOP, MAYOR ATTACKED BY "CHAVISTAS"

    A grenade was thrown at the home of the Caracas archbishop and the mayor was assaulted at a hospital after a day of clashes between government troops and supporters of President Hugo Chavez killed one person and wounded at least 20. No one was hurt in the Tuesday night attack on the home of Cardinal Ignacio Velasco, and there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Church officials condemned the assault and vowed to continue efforts to end Venezuela's political crisis.

    Meanwhile, ñChavistasî, including at least two lawmakers, assaulted Caracas Mayor Alfredo Peña at Lidice Hospital late Tuesday as he visited victims of the day's violence. Peña, a Chavez critic, was knocked down and whisked away amid shouts of ñKill him!î

    Earlier Tuesday, dozens of ñChavistasî had surrounded city hall, trapping Peña and opposition leaders for several hours, until they were rescued by some 400 national guardsmen and police. Government security official Alcides Rondón said police shot rubber bullets and ñchavistasî used live ammunition, shooting at officers and passers-by. Thirteen people sustained bullet wounds and seven were injured by rubber bullets, Rondón said, and a 23-year-old man was killed.

     ONE KILLED AND SEVENTEEN SERIOUSLY WOUNDED  DURING VENEZUELA POLICE, RIOTERS CLASH

     One person was killed and at least seventeen were seriously injured by gunfire Tuesday when Venezuelan police clashed with supporters of President Hugo Chavez in Caracas, a city official said. Police fired tear gas and shotgun pellets as they fought running battles in the streets of central Caracas with supporters of the leftist president who blocked entrances to the office of the city's Mayor Alfredo Peña, a diehard Chavez foe.

    The street violence broke out shortly before Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria sat down for talks with representatives of the government and opposition groups to broker a solution to the country's long-running political conflict over the president's rule.

     Mayor Peña, whose office has been attacked frequently by pro-Chavez demonstrators, accused the government of trying to sabotage the peace talks. The opposition has also criticized Chavez for losing control of radical elements among his supporters. "This is a provocation by Chavez," Peña told reporters. Chavez has accused foes such as Peña of plotting to overthrow his government.
     

     IRAQ PARLIAMENT REJECTS U.N. RESOLUTION

     Iraq's parliament unanimously recommended rejection of a U.N. resolution on arms inspections Tuesday, hours after President Saddam Hussein's son urged its acceptance if Arabs were included on the inspection teams. Lawmakers, however, said the final decision rests with Saddam. President Saddam had asked lawmakers to convene an emergency session to advise the ruling Revolutionary Command Council he heads on how to respond to the United Nations. The debate began Monday night. The United Nations has asked Iraq to respond by Friday.

    Parliament Speaker Saadoun Hammadi described the vote as ña message to the United States that the people of Iraq are united behind their leadership, and it also shows that the people of Iraq know that in the U.N. resolution ... there are major allegations which are baseless.î Hammadi asked deputies to vote on the clauses of the resolution by a show of hands and announced that it had been rejected unanimously.

    Tuesday's vote by representatives who must pledge loyalty to Saddam to earn a place in parliament could be seen as strengthening Saddam's hand if he wants to push for a change in the U.N. resolution along the lines proposed by his son and earlier by Arab foreign ministers. The United States, though, has said it will have no patience with any Iraqi attempts to manipulate U.N. demands.
 

    CUBAN PILOT DEFECTS TO FLORIDA WITH ALL HIS FAMILY; LEAVING BEHIND HIS ñFATHERLAND OR DEATHî WIFE

     A Cuban pilot packed seven relatives (four men, four women and a little girl) into a Soviet-made biplane used for fumigation and flew to the Florida Keys, where they sought asylum after two U.S. fighter jets ordered them to land on Monday, investigators said. Cuba's communist-run government accused the pilot of air piracy and asked the United States to return the plane and all its occupants. ñIt is not a highjacking, it is a defection,î an American official said.

    The Cuban government identified the pilot as Nemencio Carlos Alonso Guerra. Friends and family said Guerra, 48, worked for Cubana de Aviación at a crop dusting airstrip in the western province of Pinar del Rio. His wife, Magdalena Naranjo Morales, was left behind, stunned at his departure. ñFor us it's a tremendous surprise,'' she said. ñNo one is more revolutionary than he is. We've always been against those who leave. What drove him to this, no one knows.î

    The Cuban governmentÍs statement said the plane was authorized to take off Monday from Los Palacios. The plane landed at the provincial capital of Pinar del Rio, where it picked up the group of people and headed toward Key West, the statement said. The Cuban Foreign Ministry said it had delivered a note of protest, which demanded the return of government-owned aircraft, the people who took it and the rest of the immigrants on board.
  

     JETS ESCORT CUBANSÍ PLANE TO KEY WEST

    A white Antonov, appeared to be a cargo plane or possibly a crop duster, carrying ten Cubans ¿the pilot, eight adults and one child -- landed Monday at Key West International Airport, immigration officials said. The biplane was escorted by two U.S. fighter jets as it landed about 10:41 a.m., airport director Peter Horton said. ñThe airport had advanced knowledge the plane was coming, but not much, just a few minutes,î Horton said.

    ''It's our understanding that this is a defection, not a hijacking,'' Horton said. ñThe aircraft is not configured for passengers, it's configured for cargo.î The passengers were in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and agents were conducting interviews to determine if they wish to seek political asylum, INS spokeswoman Maria Elena Garcia said. It was not immediately known where the Cubans took off from or their identities.

     THE DICTATORÍS FAMILY ENJOYS LUXURIES WHILE THE CUBAN PEOPLE LIVE IN MISERY

    Just days after Steven Spielberg's warm and fuzzy summit with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in Havana, a set of smuggled home videos of Castro could sour his take on Hollywood. Starting Monday, Spanish-language newscast Noticias 41 will begin airing "The Secret Life of Castro," a 10-part series that offers the first-ever glimpse into the carefully guarded life of Cuba's dictator and perpetual revolutionary.

     Univision TV stations in New York, Miami and Puerto Rico will run the series, which delves into the family life of the 76-year-old Castro. The videos were reportedly shot by Castro's own adult children and fell into the hands of an estranged girlfriend of Fidel's son, Antonio Castro Soto del Valle. The girlfriend, Dashiell Torralba, arranged for Univision to get the tapes after she left Cuba, claiming that the broadcast is a way to even the score with Castro's wife and Antonio's disapproving mother.

     A casually attired Castro is shown to keep his family in relative comfort and privilege while the Cuban people suffer misery. The family home, Punto Cero, features a wine cellar with individual bottles worth up to $700. The videos are intercut with interviews with Torralba and other former members of Castro's inner circle, including sister Juanita Castro and daughter Alina Fernandez. 

     LACK OF AMBULANCE SERVICE RILES POPULATION

    The lack of ambulance service in Ciro Redondo township, in the Isle of Youth, has generated unhappiness among the population, who attribute the problem to government inefficiency. ñThis is not the first time we have to make do without an ambulance, and we have informed the delegate of the Popular Power [local government] of the situation, but he says this is out of his hands,î said one resident.

    Residents complain as well about the public health service as a whole. The nearest first aid facility is about 8 miles away, in the capital, they say. ñWhen we have an emergency, we have to phone Ambulance Central, and when they send a car, it is late, which endangers the patientÍs life," said the resident.

     CAMCO IS READY AND ACTIVELY INVOLVED (By: Arch Kielly, LtCol, USAF, Retired)  

     Many of you have recently being asking ñWhat is CAMCO doing to bring liberty to Cuba?  The answer is A LOT! As a start, CAMCOÍs men and women are on ñready stand-byî to assist the Cuban Armed Forces in a  transition from communism to democracy when the Castro brothers are no longer dictating to the Cuban people.  CAMCOÍs experienced personnel are knowledgeable in every military specialty.  Our membership, over 1100, have served in the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, the Coast Guard and the Merchant Marine in all grades, from the lowest enlisted rank to the grade of general. We must emphasize that CAMCO members have no political aspirations in a free Cuba.  Its role is of support.

    With the assistance of the National Endowment for Democracy, CAMCO developed, and it is still implementing, ñBuilding Bridges,î a program that provides an action that will be available when a transition to a democratic government begins.   
     Additionally, CAMCO has made contacts with national security personnel residing in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America and developed plans to aid the Cuban military to support political changes.
     Communication channels were developed to inform the Cuban military on the roles they would play under a democratic system.  CAMCO members are in touch with active duty and retired personnel and the families of imprisoned military personnel. CAMCO officials have met, and will continue to meet, with members of the Cuban military during overseas travels.
     Plans have  been developed for a training center to educate all the branches of the Cuban Armed Forces of their roles in a civic society.
     Plans have been made to establish a ñtransition typeî program to help and support Cuban military members leaving the Armed Forces.  This program would provide the necessary tools for them to succeed in a free economy.

     CAMCOÍs main focus today is effective communication and direct support.  CAMCO personnel speak regularly over the radio and television channels to send the organization's message to the Cuban people and the military.  CAMCOÍs website, with over two millions hits, is read all over the world.  Over ninety countries visit our website on a regular basis.  A CAMCO member represented the Island of Cuba in an international defense forum held in Madrid, Spain, in which senior defense officials from Latin America, the United States and Spain participated. In addition, CAMCO regularly provides economic assistance, medicines, equipment and other support to members of the Cuban military and their families who are in need.  In summary, CAMCO is ready and actively involved.  ¡VIVA CUBA LIBRE!

     TUESDAYÍS ELECTIONS SHOWED THE AMERICAN PEOPLEÍS GREAT CONFIDENCE AND RESPECT FOR THEIR PRESIDENT

     Republican Senate Leader Trent Lott said the election shows that voters ñtrust the president, respect his leadership and support what he is trying to do at home and around the world.î The GOP takeover of the Senate means no more Democratic chairmen holding hearings or probing the policies of President George W. Bush, from the handling of intelligence data and analysis about Iraq to how the Patriot Act is being used in counter-terrorism.

     Several changes in the Senate highlight how the oversight will change:  Sen. Bob Graham, the Florida Democrat who chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee and became an outspoken critic of the administration's Iraq policy, is leaving the committee. The new chairman is likely to be Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., a more reliable ally of the administration who defended the CIA during recent hearings. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., gives up the Senate Armed Services chairmanship to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., a staunch Bush ally.

    Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who sharply questioned some of Attorney General John Ashcroft's decisions, will be replaced by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. The incoming chairman, said last summer that much of the criticism of Ashcroft was ñhysterical.î Unfortunately, one Senate committee that will not be affected much by the change is Foreign Relations, where liberal Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware gives way to liberal Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana as chairman. 

    PRESIDENT BUSH: THE CUBANS ARE THE ONLY EXCEPTION

    President George W. Bush said Thursday that he would make sure Haitians are treated the same as everyone else. The surprise comment was in response to a question that came at the end of a news conference dominated by talk of Iraq and Tuesday's elections.

    ñFirst of all, the immigration laws ought to be the same for Haitians and everybody else, except for Cubans,î Bush said. ñAnd the difference, of course, is that we don't send people back to Cuba because they're going to be persecuted, and that's why we got the special law on the books as regards to Cubans. But Haitians and everybody else ought to be treated the same way, and we're in the process of making sure that happens.î

    Under current policy, Haitians -- unlike migrants from any other country -- can be detained indefinitely while they await asylum hearings. The Immigration and Naturalization Service fears that releasing Haitians on bond would spark a mass exodus from the troubled country.

    CHAVEZ MOVES TO BAR REFERENDUM

    President Hugo Chávez has asked the Supreme Court to oust Venezuela's election authorities, in a move that opposition leaders say is designed to stall a referendum challenging his rule. Venezuela's opposition said Wednesday it will call a general strike to oust Chávez. Chávez asked the Supreme Court to strike down parts of a new law that allow the National Elections Council to remain in office until the National Assembly appoints new members. 

    If the Court rules for Chávez, there would be no authority available to decide on a petition signed by 2 million people demanding a referendum on the president's rule. ñWe have no alternative but to call workers, families, political parties, unions, doctors, teachers, students to join a general strike,î said Carlos Ortega, president of the 1 million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation. ñA great national conflict is imminent.î Also Wednesday, the head of the elections council, Roberto Ruiz, resigned, citing the board and the country's lack of trust in his leadership.

    The council must verify the signatures and decide whether to organize the vote by Dec. 4 -- 30 days after the petition was introduced Monday. Chávez has said the proposal for a referendum on his rule is unconstitutional. However, he has said the constitution allows a referendum in August 2003, or midway into his six-year term, and has welcomed such a vote. 

     DR. BISCET SEEKS PROBE OF CUBAN PRISON CONDITIONS

    Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, freed last week after almost three years behind bars, complained Wednesday about his treatment and called for an investigation of Cuban prison conditions. Biscet complained that he had to sleep for more than a year on a makeshift hammock-type bed and was given small rations of food, showing reporters a tray with what he said was a normal lunch - the size of an airplane meal.

    ñI ask international human rights organizations to supervise Cuban prisons,î Biscet said at his first news conference with Cuba-based international reporters since his Oct. 31 release. But he acknowledged it was unlikely that Cuba's communist government would agree.

       REPUBLICANS CONTROL CONGRESSƒAND, OF COURSE, THE WHITE HOUSE

    Republicans swept to control of Congress early Wednesday, taking the Senate from the Democrats and solidifying their grip on the House. With two senate races yet to be settled, Republicans had 51 seats, enough to guarantee control of the senate. Republicans easily turned back the Democrats' challenge in the House, fashioning a majority for a fifth straight election.

    As the magnitude of their gains sank in, Republicans began looking ahead to the Congress that convenes in January. ''Hopefully, we won't have that gridlock we had before,'' Illinois Rep. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House, said in an interview. ''Things that are important to the American people, like a Homeland Security bill, we're going to get it done.'' Something that should be of special concern to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro is the upcoming changes in the leadership of  the Senate committees and subcommittees.

    President Bush campaigned hard for the Election Day triumph, and there was no denying his personal victory. The president campaigned in 23 states over the final five weeks of the campaign, hoping to elect congressional candidates who could advance his legislative agenda over the next two years and gubernatorial hopefuls who could aid his re-election in 2004.

    FOUR CUBAN ENVOYS EXPELLED

    President Bush administration said Tuesday that it is expelling two Cuban diplomats and asking two others to leave the United States in retaliation for a U.S. senior intelligence analyst spying for Havana. ''In response to unacceptable activities, the United States decided to take strong action,'' said a State Department spokesman. Almost three weeks ago, a federal judge handed down a 25-year jail term to a Pentagon senior analyst, Ana Belen Montes, for her lengthy spying career.

    Two diplomats from the Cuban Interests Section, the island's diplomatic mission in Washington, were informed last Friday that they had 10 days to leave the country, the spokesman said. He identified them as Oscar Redondo Toledo and Gustavo Machín Gómez, both with a diplomatic rank of first secretary. ñThese expulsions represent our response to the unacceptable Cuban activities for which Ana Belen Montes was arrested and convicted,î he said. ñThe Montes matter is extremely serious.î

    Separately, two diplomats at Cuba's mission to the United Nations in New York City have been requested to leave the United States for ñengaging in activities deemed to be harmful to the United States.'' One of the Cuban diplomats in Washington declared persona non grata, Machín, has variously served as a spokesman, first secretary or business affairs secretary since 1997. Machín's expulsion is considered a blow to the Cuban government because he has experience in dealing with the business and congressional community. We call on the Cuban government to ensure that there will be no similar episodes or new actions in the future against the interests of the United States,'' the State Department said.

    CUBAN-SPANISH JOINT VENTURE GOES BANKRUPT

    A joint venture between the Spanish concern Agrove and the Cuban Ministry of Construction went bankrupt, saddling the Spaniards with a 230,000 dollar loss, revealed an employee. The joint venture, Gestcons, had been formed to construct windows, doors and other metallic structural elements, with production intended mostly for the domestic institutional sector, initially the repair of schools and hospitals.

    The source said when initial plans proved not profitable, the company decided to market its production to the tourist sector, but that its products were of lesser quality than their imported competition. Finally, the company tried to make less costly windows, and when that turned out not to be successful, the Spanish side decided to pull the plug. According to the source, the production facility employed 12 workers, and the company had 30 administrative personnel.

    DR. BISCET CONDEMNS CASTROÍS DICTATORSHIP

     Just four days after being released from prison, Cuban dissident Oscar Elías Biscet on Monday called on sympathizers and democratic governments to rid the island of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, stopping short of endorsing an armed ouster. ''So long as the dictatorship of communist Castro exists, we Cubans cannot live in liberty and democracy, and violations of human rights will continue,'' Biscet said during a teleconference press briefing from Havana.

    ''I ask the democratic governments of the world, the people who love justice and liberty, to support the Cuban people and not the government of this island, which usurped, betrayed and dishonored the population,'' Biscet said. The 41-year-old physician was released from a prison last week after serving three years on charges of insulting a national symbol, creating a public disturbance and `îinstigation to crime.î

    Even as he endorsed a peaceful transition toward democracy, Biscet did not condemn the use of violence, likening ''people who used other methods'' to Cuban patriots such as José Martí. Biscet, Antonio Maceo and Máximo Gómez.''  As other dissidents have done before, Biscet also harshly criticized the Varela Project, saying that it is framed within a communist constitution implemented by Castro, and he cautioned against lifting the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba.

    CHAVEZÍS FOES DELIVER DEMANDS FOR REFERENDUM

     Venezuela's opposition Monday delivered 49 boxes of signatures demanding a referendum on President Hugo Chávez, despite facing difficult obstacles. Central Caracas was plunged into chaos as police fought running street battles with ñchavistasî who threw rocks and bottles at opposition demonstrators. The clash near the National Electoral Council left up to 60 people injured. A dozen suffered gunshot wounds, two of them serious.

    "We managed to enter here without bombs, stones or sticks, only with flags and chants," said Julio Borges, an opposition leader. "Pens and votes are the weapons of Venezuelans." The delivery of two million signatures marked an important symbolic victory for Chávez opposition. If the electoral council approves the referendum question as phrased, voters will be asked whether they think Chávez should resign, voluntarily, with immediate effect.

    The ñChavistasî gathered outside the council's headquarters in downtown Caracas from early Monday morning. Chanting slogans like ''they shall not pass'' and ''this is a class struggle -- poor against rich,'' they vowed to repel the opposition marchers. Chavez on Sunday dismissed the opposition challenge and warned his opponents they would need to wait until next year for a binding referendum or reform the constitution to allow early elections.

    LACK OF FUNDS KEEPS CUBA AWAY FROM GAMES...AND AFRAID OF DESERTERS

    There are no funds to send athletes to the Central American Games in El Salvador at the end of November, charged someone close to the athletes. "The Cuban government has too many liquidity problems to face the expenses of the games, which would involve housing athletes in México, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador," the source said.

    The Cuban government cited lack of security as the reason not to send a delegation to the games in El Salvador November 23 to December 7. In a published article, the government said the islandÍs "sports authorities have tried to contact Salvadoran authorities that would be responsible for the participantsÍ security to go over protection measures for Cuban athletes, without having accomplished their purposes."

    After announcing the Cuban delegation would not participate in the 19th Central American and Caribbean Games, the Cuban government said it would stage an "Olympiad" with the participation of 1,500 Cuban athletes divided into three regional teams.

     AGAIN, VENEZUELA OPPOSITION DEMANDS CHAVEZÍS RESIGNATION OR ELECTIONS

    Police firing tear gas clashed Monday with rock-throwing government supporters who tried to stop thousands of opposition marchers from delivering more than 2 million signatures demanding a vote on Hugo Chavez's presidency. Nine people were wounded by gunfire in the melee. Venezuela's opposition, determined to oust Chavez for allegedly creating a totalitarian regime, has threatened to start an indefinite general strike.

    The first jubilant marchers to reach the council building celebrated their accomplishment, hugging each other and chanting ñElections Now!î The opposition wants a Dec. 4 vote, saying Venezuela can't wait until next year. National Elections Council director Jose Manuel Zerpa said the council has 30 days to verify signatures and decide whether a vote can be held. The impasse has convulsed Venezuela and raised the specter of a second military coup - or even civil war.

    Protesters waving Venezuela national flag, some wearing plastic gloves that say ñElections now! and placards demanding Chavez's ouster marched toward the National Electoral Council building, where the furious crowd of red-clad Chavez supporters awaited them. The march followed a slow-moving, two flag-draped trucks carrying 49 boxes of petitions and a sign reading, ñSignatures to Save Venezuela.î

    THE CUBAN DICTATOR SCORNS PROJECT VARELA

    Cuba's National Assembly met for one day on Saturday, but did not discuss Project VarelaÍs petition. Dissidents on Thursday called on the assembly to debate a petition for political and economic reforms that they presented in May, backed by more than 11,000 signatures. But assembly members said it was not on the agenda.

    "They are like fish out of water. There is no oxygen for counterrevolution Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, 76 and in power since a 1959 revolution, told the assembly using a term employed in Cuba to describe the political opposition. Castro told nearly 600 lawmakers that the island's dissidents are ñideologically defeated. They have no weapons to face the revolution. All they have is hypocrisy and lies," he said.

    Last month, when pressed in an interview with American television network ABC's Barbara Walters, Castro said the project VarelaÍs reform proposal would get a response "in due course." The Varela Project calls for legal reforms to ensure freedom of expression and assembly, the right to own a private business and the release of political prisoners. It proposes that the reforms be put to Cubans in a referendum.

    CUBA CHALLENGES U.S. TO SHOW PROOF ON BIO-WEAPONS

    Cuba challenged President Bush administration on Friday to produce evidence to back up renewed U.S. charges that the Communist-run island has a germ warfare research program. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, Otto Reich, on Thursday repeated accusations that Cuba at least had a limited research and development program for biological weapons and therefore represents a threat to the national security of the United States.

     "This is a bare-faced lie," Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said at a news conference called to reject the charges that were first leveled in May by Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton. ñI challenge Mr. Reich to present the smallest bit of proof,î Perez said.

    President Bush has vowed to maintain a four-decade trade embargo against Cuba designed to oust Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Washington lists Cuba as one of seven states that sponsor terrorism.

    VENEZUELA OPPOSITION NO TALKS WITHOUT POLL AGENDA

    Venezuela's opposition will not sit down to peace negotiations with President Hugo Chavez's government unless the agenda includes an early referendum, an opposition leader said on Friday. A day after Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Cesar Gaviria had expressed guarded optimism about possible peace talks, Chavez and his opponents still appeared to be far apart on the crucial election-timing issue.

    The leftist president, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and survived a brief coup in April, has ruled out the idea of a referendum on his rule before next August, a time frame he says is dictated by the constitution. Chavez told foreign correspondents Thursday his government would not give in to "blackmail." "We can't go to a referendum just because someone holds a pistol to our head," he said.

    But opposition leaders, who have staged big marches and a 12-hour strike this month to pressure the Venezuelan leader to quit and hold early elections, plan to hand in more than 1.3 million signatures Monday calling for an immediate referendum. Gaviria said before leaving Caracas Thursday he hoped the government and opposition would sit down to peace talks next week focusing on elections as a way to end the crisis. "We can't sit down to talk without an agenda and the agenda must include the date for a consultative referendum (on the president's rule) ... in December or January," said William Davila, a leading member of the opposition coalition Coordinadora Democratica.

    MISSING GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE SERGEANT DECLARED DEAD

    A non-commissioned officer missing from Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba was declared dead, but his family still hopes to find him alive, his mother said Friday. ñWe just don't feel that the Army is looking hard enough. As far as we're concerned, he's been taken by somebody,î said Ann Foraker, mother of Sergeant Ryan Foraker.

    Foraker, 31, who was married with two daughters, has been missing since Sept. 24 from Camp Delta, where 598 detainees accused of links to the Taliban or al-Qaeda are held. His wallet, military ID, and civilian shorts and T-shirt were found folded and stuck in a rock crevasse outside his barracks. The U.S. military suspects he climbed down nearby cliffs overlooking the sea and drowned.

    The mother said an Army representative appeared at her door Thursday and said her son was dead. But without a body, the family wants the search to continue. ñI just don't buy anything the Army has said,î Mrs. Foraker said. Speaking from Guantanamo Bay on Friday, Maj. Sandra Steinberg confirmed the Army has declared Ryan Foraker dead but gave no explanation for its decision.

     DR. OSCAR ELIAS BISCET IS FREE

     Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, 41, was freed Thursday after almost three years behind bars for displaying Cuba's flag upside down in an act of civil disobedience. Accompanied by his wife Elsa Morejón, he walked out of Cuba Si Prison in the eastern province of Holguin and immediately traveled to his mother's home in Havana. ñDespite my three years in prison, I have not given up my struggle for the liberty of Cuba, especially for the prisoners,î Biscet in brief comments to reporters in the capital. Biscet was arrested in November 1999 and sentenced in February 2000 to three years in prison.

    ñThe Cuban authorities had no legitimate reason to incarcerate someone for three years because he took part in a peaceful protest. In addition to Biscet, they should release all of the independent journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents who remain incarcerated in violation of their fundamental rights,î Jose Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch said in a statement released late Thursday in New York.

     CUBA EXPELS SWEDISH ACTIVIST

    A Swedish sociologist and activist has been deported from Cuba, Sweden's foreign ministry said on Friday. Dissident sources in Cuba said police had seized Erik Jennische, a member of Sweden's Liberal Party and secretary general of the Swedish International Liberal Center, after he met opponents of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Cuba regularly expels any foreigner who meet opposition figures.

    ñI can confirm he was detained by immigration and sent back to Sweden yesterday evening,î a ministry spokeswoman said. "He was put on a plane out of Cuba. I don't have the details why this happened." Several dissidents in Cuba said Jennische was arrested by immigration police on Wednesday night.

    Oswaldo Payá said Jennische did not show up for a meeting at his house on Thursday and that he had learned later that Jennische had been detained after meeting other dissidents. Jennische has been an active supporter in Europe of Cuba's small but growing dissident movement. The European Parliament last week awarded Paya its top human rights prize, named after the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov.

    STUDENTS WORK BAREFOOT ON THE COFFEE FIELDS

    More than 2,000 children from schools in the municipalities of Sagua de Tánamo, Frank País, Moa and Holguín in the province of Holguín have to work on the coffee harvest barefoot and without proper work clothes. Since September the youthful workers have been picking coffee beans as part of a "camp school" program that obliges them to spend between 30 and 45 days in farm work. During this period, the students live in shelters under poor conditions and far away from their families.

   Some parents met with the Holguín Municipal Education Board and were told the board was unable to supply shoes, clothing, hats and work accessories. Many of the parents said they were unable to buy shoes for their children because of the poor salaries they received.

    ANA BELENÍS CASE SWEPT UNDER THE RUG

    According to court reports, details of Ana Belén Montes' espionage career will remain largely secret. Officials in President Bush administration have said ''she did grave damage to this country'' by providing "secret" and "top secret" information to the regime of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro through her Cuban handlers stationed in Washington, D.C. However, these officials are trying to sweep the Pentagon spy case under the rug to prevent the American people from knowing that Cuban dictator is as, or even more, treacherous than Saddam Hussein.

    SLANG SPOKEN BY ISLAND CUBANS (By: Arch Kielly, LtCol, USAF, Retired)  

    According to Beatriz Varela from the University of New Orleans, ñthe Spanish spoken by more than ten million Cubans in the Island is progressively reflecting the profound socioeconomic and political transformations of those who live under a Communist system.î  Despite Fidel Castro international propaganda machine; the lack of services, medicine, food and material necessities facing the Cuban people, are directly mirrored by the way the suffering island people speak. This is in contrast with the Cuban Diaspora whose speech reflects the fruits of a global economy.  Following are a few examples of the new Cuban slang:

    Nada de nada, nananina (zero of everything). Aptly describes the state of affairs in the island today. Monada (police force).  Monada comes from monkey or ape, enough said. Alternativa (alternative)  A favorite and humorous colloquialism in vogue today. Since the badly managed CastroÍs communist economy is unable to provide for societal needs, many replacements are defined as an ñalternativa".  For example: alternative food (the use of soy to replace meat), alternative medicine (the use of herbs instead of unavailable medical drugs), alternative cement (made out of ashes and lime instead of clay and powdered lime).

    The Cuban ingenuity and humor cannot hide the realities of a corrupt system incapable of providing for its own people.  The Cuban Armed Forces laugh at the dictatorÍs ranting about CubaÍs ñexcellentî medical system. The Cuban military, as Cuban civilians, must ask family members living abroad and CAMCOÍs friends to send them medicines as basic as aspirin.  As always, we urge our brothers in the Cuban Armed Forces not to support a Fidelista/communist government in a post Castro Cuba.  When they come and ask you to maintain them in power, tell them NANANINA, that you are not a MONADA and that there is an ALTERNATIVA for Cuba.  Remember CAMCO stands with you and will be there if you ask us to help.  ¡VIVA CUBA LIBRE!

    CIA ñJEALOUSIESî BLAMED FOR BAY OF PIGS DEFEAT

    The failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 was due in part to "intense internal jealousies" within the CIA, British documents released Wednesday claimed. In April 1961, around 1,500 opponents of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, trained and armed by the CIA, launched a surprise attack on Cuba in a bid to topple the communist regime. The invasion was repelled three days after intense combat.

    A month later, an aide to President Kennedy went to London to brief the British Foreign Office on what had gone wrong. The Foreign Office forwarded information from the briefing to British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. "The intelligence failure of the CIA appears explicable only on the assumption of intense internal jealousies ...," Foreign Office official H.A.A. Hankey wrote in a letter to Tim Bligh, Macmillan's principal private secretary. "The President has certainly lost confidence in the CIA," David Ormsby Gore, Britain's ambassador to Washington, wrote to Bligh.

    President Eisenhower wrote to Macmillan in July 1960 to ask for Britain's support in isolating Castro, who was forming ever-closer ties with the Soviet Union. In his reply, Macmillan agreed that the Cuban dictator "is really the very devil" but said he needed more information. "It would  make it easier for us to help if we had a rather clearer understanding of your actual intentions," Macmillan wrote. "I am not very clear how you really mean to achieve this aim." One memo from the British Foreign office to its ambassador in Washington in 1960 appears particularly prophetic. "The greatest danger, which must be avoided at all costs, is an unsuccessful operation that would leave Castro in power but more embittered than ever," the memorandum emphasizes.