SENATORS LIEBERMAN AND GRAHAM ATTACK PRESIDENT BUSHÍS WEAK CUBA POLICIES

    Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman assailed President George W. Bush Tuesday for an ñabandonment of American values'' in sending 12 Cuban boaters back to Cuban dictator Fidel CastroÍs communist island last week to serve prison time. Lieberman's attack marked the first push by a Democratic candidate for president to capitalize on a political rift within the Cuban exile community that has emerged in the days since the 12 suspected hijackers were sent back to Cuba.

    Senator Lieberman and Florida Sen. Bob Graham, who is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, are two of the party's most popular figures among Cuban-American voters. Lieberman pledged that as president he would increase aid to dissidents in Cuba and pay for stronger transmissions of Radio and TV Marti.  ñFor the U.S. government to negotiate a jail sentence for these people with a repressive regime that we know does not have fair trials is simply outrageous.'' About 400,000 Cuban-Americans from Florida voted in the 2000 election, and more than eight in 10 backed Bush. The President stood in Miami last year on Cuban Independence Day and read a list of Cuban goals -- none of which have been accomplished. The president ''has not done what he said he would do in relationship to the dictator who still rules Cuba,'' Lieberman said Tuesday.

    Senator Graham said the president was wrong to send the 12 boaters back. He called the decision to negotiate with the Cuban government and agree to prison terms of up to 10 years in exchange for avoiding execution a ''dramatic reversal'' in policy. ''I would have given them the opportunity to make their case for political asylum,'' Graham said. ñIf they did, I would have allowed them into the country, and if they didn't, I would have only returned them to Cuba with the understanding that they would not be adversely treated or discriminated against because they had attempted to flee the Castro tyranny.''

    U.S. SAYS CONCERNED ABOUT MARTHA BEATRIZ ROQUEÍS HEALTH

    Martha Beatriz Roque, a Cuban economist imprisoned for dissident activities, has been moved to a military hospital in Havana because her health is failing, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. The United States is "deeply concerned" about the dissident, and the Cuban government should ensure she received the best possible treatment, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in a statement.

    Roque, 57, was one of 75 Cubans imprisoned earlier this year in a crackdown on activists and dissidents in Cuba. "According to family members, Roque was transferred to the Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital in Havana last Thursday due to high blood pressure, chest pain and nose bleeds. "Her health has worsened since her incarceration. The Cuban government should provide her with the best possible medical treatment," the U.S. statement said.

    The State Department complained that the Cuban authorities were holding all the prisoners in inhumane conditions and appealed for their immediate release. It said Roque was found guilty, among other things, of creating a Web site that reported on Cuba's deteriorating economic situation. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

    EUROPEAN UNION SAYS REGRETS CUBAN DICTATORÍS  REJECTION OF AID FOR CUBA

    The European Commission said on Sunday it regretted Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's rejection of European Union aid and pledged to continue to support the country's people. Castro's rejection, a response to EU criticism of human rights abuses in Cuba, came in a speech marking the 50th anniversary of the assault he led on the Santiago army garrison that launched his communist revolution.

    "The European Commission regrets the declarations made by Cuban President Fidel Castro calling for a refusal of EU aid to this country," the Commission said in a statement. "The European Commission wishes to stress nevertheless its commitment to continue supporting the Cuban people and in particular those most in need," it added.

    The European Union is Cuba's largest trading and investment partner and the source of most of its tourism, the island's most important source of hard currency. The Commission said about 145 million euros had been allocated to Cuba since 1993 from the EU community budget.

      THE CUBAN AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION SAYS PRESIDENT BUSH HAS NOT FULFILLED HIS PROMISES

    The loyalty to the Republican party that has defined Cuban-American politics for two generations came under attack Saturday from leaders of the Cuban American National Foundation -- CANF -- at their annual board of directors meeting. CANF, the most influential Cuban-American group in Washington and one of the most highly regarded Cuban exile organizations, declared political war on President Bush administration and GOP congressional representatives from South Florida.

    The spark that ignited the backlash was the Bush administration's decision last week to repatriate 12 Cubans suspected of hijacking a boat to reach Florida. After negotiations with the Cuban government, the United States agreed to return the suspected hijackers after Castro's government pledged to spare their lives and sentence them to no more than 10 years in prison. ''This will cost them,'' said Jorge Mas Santos, chairman of the Foundation, referring to the Bush administration in a speech in Spanish to the board of directors. ñThey can't count on the support of our community if they don't fulfill their promises. This administration until now has done absolutely nothing to fulfill the promises they made to this community. ñWe will not give unconditional support to a political party or to any individuals.''

    As if to underscore the point, CANF for the second year in a row invited Democratic Senator Bill Nelson to be the keynote speaker. Nelson, in an attempt to make Democratic inroads into the coveted Cuban-American vote in 2004, blasted the White House. ''Has the administration taken leave of its senses, that we would negotiate a prison sentence for people seeking freedom?'' he said. ``This is a dramatic change in policy. The Bush administration should not only be stung with public scorn, they should change the policy.''

    "...WE BELIEVE IN A FREE CUBA"

    CHAVEZ: ENEMIES PLOTTING TO KILL HIM AND "NO" TO THE REFERENDUM

    Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that a plot was being hatched in the Dominican Republic to assassinate him and he appealed to the president of that nation for help. Chavez, in his weekly television program, claimed he had evidence of the conspiracy. ñAn assassination is being prepared," the president said. He blamed his opponents but did not identify them further.

    Venezuela's opposition wants a referendum this year, accusing Chavez of grabbing power, ruining the economy with leftist policies and ignoring corruption in his government. But in his Sunday address, Chavez said opposition leaders couldn't hand in signatures to demand a referendum until the National Assembly appoints a new elections council.  Chávez also said during his radio and television weekly show that he would "never" acknowledge decisions adopted by the present National Electoral Council (CNE), as he considers that this body "has no moral or legal grounds" to make decisions. Concerning the signatures gathered on February to demand a recall referendum to terminate his mandate, Chávez underlined once and again that "they are not good, they have no value.

    Chávez asked "coup-mongers" to take note of his words, "because we won't allow any other abuse against us." He accused opposition leaders of "deceiving their own followers, by telling them that a recall referendum (to terminate his mandate) will be held on August," and stressed that means "an irresponsible waste of time."  Chávez repeated that the only revoking referendum he has heard of is to be held in California, United States: "Here, no," he said in English. Chávez added that in California there is a Bolivarian movement, and nobody should be surprised if such a group ever ran for presidency in the U.S.

    CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO: ñEUROPEAN UNION IS U.S. ïTROJAN HORSEÍ"

    Standing before the military barracks where he launched his revolutionary battle 50 years ago, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has accused the European Union of being America's "Trojan horse" and saying its economic aid is no longer needed.  In a speech broadcast live on state-run television and radio, the dictator mocked Europe's political leaders, saying they were unable to deal independently with the communist state without taking American policies into consideration.  

    "Cuba does not need the help of the European Union to survive," Castro told an enthusiastic crowd of about 10,000 invited guests, mostly Cuban officials and party leaders gathered for the 50th anniversary of the battle that launched their revolution. Castro was enraged in early June when the 15-member European Union announced it was reviewing its policies toward Cuba over human rights concerns. He also was troubled by Britain's support of U.S. military action in Iraq.

    Castro, who turns 77 next month, is the world's longest ruling head of government and his island nation is among only four communist systems in the world and the only one in the Americas. But Castro's government is struggling with a severe cash crisis, despite a recent jump in the number of visitors to the island following a slump following the Sept. 11 attacks. Cuba also has come under international criticism in recent months after a crackdown on political opponents in which his government sentenced 75 dissidents to prison terms of up to 28 years and executed three men who hijacked a ferry and tried to reach Florida.

    CUBAN POLITICAL PRISONER - URGENTLY TAKEN TO A HOSPITAL IN HAVANA (For more information: Nenita Roque 305-265-2275 or 786-348-8066; Sylvia G. Iriondo 305-934-7302)

    According to an urgent call received this afternoon from María de los Ángeles Falcón Cabello, niece of Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, we have learned that Martha Beatriz was hospitalized at the Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital in Havana since Thursday's early morning hours, due to high blood pressure, chest pain and nose bleeding.

    Martha Beatriz's niece received an anonymous telephone call yesterday night with this information. Today she went to Villa Marista (State Security headquarters), where she received confirmation that Martha Beatriz is currently hospitalized due to a heart condition, and that she is presently undergoing treatment. Martha Beatriz's niece was not allowed to see her.

    We fear for the health condition and for the life of this Cuban woman, and once again we call for the immediate freedom of Martha Beatriz and all Cuban political prisoners.

    JAMMING-TWO IMPORTANT ASPECTS (Dr. Manuel Cereijo)

    The jamming of the signals from Cuba proves two important things:

    1. The cooperation of Cuba with other rogue countries

    2. That the Cuban technology is far superior to that of Iran. In 2001, Cuba finished building a huge CIGB Center for Iran. And now this jamming done from Bejucal and not from Iran itself.

      U.S. RELEASES PHOTOS OF HUSSEIN SONS' BODIES 

    The U.S. military released graphic after-death photographs Thursday in an effort to prove to Iraqis that Saddam Hussein's feared sons, Qusay and Odai were killed in a fierce gun battle this week. The photos showed the upper torsos of the men, who were bare-chested - one lying on bloody, white sheets, the other in what appeared to be a body bag. Both had their eyes closed, the lids darkly purpled. The brothers had never worn such thick beards, and may have been trying to disguise their identities as they spent 3 1/2 months in hiding from coalition forces.

   Two U.S.-military photos showed the first man, identified as Qusay, with bruises and blood spots around his eyes. That face was far more intact than the other, identified as Odai; the mouth was open and the teeth showing. The face of what appeared to be Odai, the older brother, was severely bloodied. A gash ran from his left eye to the right corner of his mouth, and bruises and blood over his bald forehead. Dental records and visual identifications from four senior members of Saddam's former regime who are in U.S. custody were used along with X-rays to confirm the identities of the brothers.

    Washington had hoped that the deaths of Qusay and Odai would weaken the anti-American insurgency. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of Iraq, told a Pentagon news conference Thursday that the deaths of Saddam's sons ''will in fact in time help reduce the security threat to our forces.'' Some Iraqis greeted the release of the photographs with skepticism, saying they were not conclusive proof that the sons were killed. Others said they were convincing. President Bush hailed the deaths of Saddam's sons. ''The careers of the two of the regime's ... henchmen came to an end,'' Bush said Thursday. ''Now more than ever, the Iraqis can know that the former regime is gone and is not coming back.''

    CUBANS "DRIVE" OVER FLORIDA STRAITS -- TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM THE CASTRO BROTHERS' "SEA OF HAPPINESS" 

    Over the past four decades, Cubans desperate to reach the United States have crossed the perilous Florida Straits in just about anything that floats: Surfboards. Inner tubes. Homemade rafts. But it's hard to top the latest entrant in the maritime scramble: A 1951 Chevy flatbed truck.

    The green truck, tires still on, was mounted on a pontoon made of 55-gallon drums. The makeshift vessel even sported a propeller, attached to the truck's drive shaft, and was cruising along at a leisurely eight miles an hour, driver behind the wheel, when it was spotted by a U.S. government plane 40 miles south of Key West July 16.

    Unfortunately, the ingenuity of the Cubans didn't translate to success. The U.S. Coast Guard took the dozen Cubans aboard the truck back to the island last weekend. The Coast Guard, calling the truck a ''hazard to navigation,'' sank it.

    U.S. OBSERVES THE "CUBAN INVASION" 

    The U.S. administration has noticed reports published by El Universal -attributed to intelligence sources- claiming that some 6,000 Cubans -a number confirmed by Venezuelan authorities- have entered Venezuela so far, while more than 700 Cubans have been given Venezuelan identity documents and are currently working as sports trainers, physicians, and agriculture technicians. According to the report, some of these Cuban citizens have been hired as security officers for the Venezuelan government, as personnel for PDV Marina ships and tankers, and as a staff for oil refineries and government bodies.

    A U.S. official stated: "We have been closely watching the situation described as cubanization in Venezuela," cynically adding: "We hope these so-called experts actually contribute to well being in Venezuela." For the U.S. administration, this situation is similar to the arrival of several hundreds of Cubans to the Caribbean island of Grenada, invited by leftist premier Maurice Bishop, who arranged for their visit with Fidel Castro, on the pretext of building an international airport for the small nation in the 80s.

    Those Cubans turned out to be armed militia who offered a strong resistance to the U.S. troops when they were dispatched to prevent the communists from taking control of the airport, from which their airplanes could have attacked Venezuelan oilfields. 

    A CUBAN INVASION (EL UNIVERSAL)

    At least 704 Cuban citizens have been nationalized Venezuelans in record time. Since the beginning of President Hugo Chávez' mandate in 1999, several hundreds of Cubans have entered Venezuela and have been given Venezuelan identity cards allowing them to occupy positions as security officers, as captains and technicians in the tanker fleet of state-owned oil conglomerate Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), and to work in oil refineries, public agencies, and other several areas.

    El Universal obtained a comprehensive intelligence report including a list of Cubans nationalized in Venezuela. The document also details the presence of Cuban citizens in Venezuela, and it stressed the similarities between the presence of Cubans in Venezuela with other processes, such as those in Angola, Zimbabwe, Congo, and Liberia. Both Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have admitted that 3,899 Cubans have entered Venezuela officially -most of them under a rotary scheme- plus other 2,000 Cubans that came to Venezuela to take part in President Chávez' literacy campaign as teachers.

    The report refers only to Cubans who have been given Venezuelan identity documents. In the list, those appearing with an identity card number have been confirmed as nationalized Venezuelan citizens. The report also indicates that identity cards given to Cubans were not issued by the Directorate-General of Identification and Control of Foreigners (DIEX), but they were supposedly issued by Venezuelan government's security bodies.

    THE SONS OF SADDAM HUSSEIN KILLED BY U.S. TROOPS

    Saddam Hussein's sons Odai and Qusay died in a blaze of gunfire and rockets Tuesday, the U.S. military said, claiming their deaths will blunt Iraqi resistance to the American occupation. It was the most successful American operation since the war and comes as a much-needed tonic for U.S. troops, who recently have suffered a dozen attacks a day. The bodies of Uday and Qusay Hussein were identified from "multiple sources," Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told reporters in Baghdad. "The bodies are in a condition where you could identify them."

    Acting on a tip from an Iraqi informant, U.S. forces mounted a six-hour operation in which they surrounded and then stormed a palatial villa in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, General Sanchez told reporters in Baghdad. Four coalition soldiers were wounded and two other Iraqis were killed in the raid, but Saddam was not among them. Qusay and Uday were the second- and third-most-wanted Iraqi leaders, and both are in the card deck of most-wanted Iraqis issued to U.S. troops in Iraq. Uday was the ace of hearts and Qusay the ace of clubs.

    Sanchez said he thought the security situation now would improve. ''I believe very firmly this will have an effect. This will prove to the Iraqi people that these two members of the Iraqi regime will never come to power again,'' the general said. After the firefight in Mosul, about 1,000 people gathered outside the smoldering villa, some expressing delight, others cursing the Americans. The White House issued a statement hailing U.S. forces for eliminating two men "responsible for countless atrocities committed against the Iraqi people and they can no long cast a shadow of hate on Iraq."

    TENS OF THOUSANDS MOURN ñQUEEN OF SALSA"

    Celia Cruz, called the "Queen of Salsa" music, was mourned Tuesday by fans who lined Manhattan's Fifth Avenue for a 1 1/2-mile procession to her funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral. The body of the Cuban-born singer was carried in a glass-encased, horse-drawn carriage from an Upper East Side funeral home behind a line of flower-adorned black limousines. Her coffin was draped in a Cuban flag.

    Her widower, trumpeter Pedro Knight, joined a line of prominent Latino musicians who walked the final blocks of the procession. Knight was met by Mayor Michael Bloomberg outside the cathedral.

    Fans wept and hoisted her pictures and albums above their heads as the service began, alternately shouting her name and singing her songs. Thousands of Cruz fans had waited Monday to glimpse her body lying in a plush coffin bed at Frank Campbell funeral home. New York Gov. George Pataki, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and Rep. Charles Rangel were among those mourners. The crowds exceeded those who had paid their last respects there to New York celebrities such as Judy Garland, Ed Sullivan, and Billy Martin, funeral directors said. A wake for Cruz in Miami over the weekend drew nearly 100,000 fans.

    CUBAN AMERICAN CONGRESSMEN: DECISION TO RETURN CUBAN REFUGEES IS A CONDEMNABLE MONSTROSITY (Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

    Returning those who the Cuban dictatorship accuses of "hijacking" makes the U.S. complicit in Cuban dictatorship's actions .

    The three Cuban American Congressmen from South Florida, Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) today condemned the U.S. Administration's decision to return to the custody of the Cuban tyranny Cuban refugees who have been accused of "hijacking" by the dictatorship, thus subjecting the refugees to illegal punishment. The Administration says Castro will not punish the refugees with more than 10 years of prison. Accordingly, a sentence of 10 years in Castro's gulag, without due process, is acceptable.

    "This action makes the U.S. complicit in the fate of the returned refugees. This act of infamy in coordination with the Cuban tyranny, is a condemnable monstrosity," said Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart. "Castro's Cuba is a place where there are no laws, no independent courts or judicial system and the entire island is at the whim of a tyrannical despot who does what he wishes with every individual on the island. Cuba is a prison, due process is non-existent and to return individuals to Cuba is to hand their fate to the criminal who is Castro!" said Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen. "This is an inconceivable act against freedom-seeking refugees. It is totally unacceptable," said Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart.

    CUBAN-AMERICANS ENRAGED BY U.S. DECISION TO RETURN 15 CUBANS PICKED UP AT SEA

    American officials said they decided to return the 15 Cubans home after receiving assurances from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro government that the alleged hijackers wouldn't be executed.  U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said American authorities determined the Cubans were ineligible for amnesty because they had committed acts of violence in Cuba as well as against Coast Guard personnel who boarded the boat Wednesday.

    A Coast Guard cutter brought the group to Bahia de Cabanas, Cuba, around 10 a.m., Coast Guard spokesman Luis Diaz said. Their return home raised humanitarian concerns, because Cuba executed three men in April for hijacking a ferry in a bid to reach the United States. Havana said the executions, by a firing squad, were necessary to halt a brewing migration crisis.

    Some Cuban-American leaders were enraged by President Bush Administration decision. ñUnfortunately, what the U.S. government has done has entered into complicity with the Castro dictatorship,'' said Joe Garcia, executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation. The three Cuban-American congress members from South Florida, U.S. Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Mario Diaz-Balart, also criticized the move. ñTo return individuals to Cuba is to hand their fate to the criminal, who is Castro,'' Ros-Lehtinen.

    CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO APPLAUDS U.S. DECISION ON CUBANS INTERCEPTED AT SEA

    U.S. government on Monday returned 15 Cubans intercepted at sea on a boat owned by the Cuban government. Cuban dictator Fidel Castro praised the U.S. decision to return the Cubans, calling it ña valuable contribution by American authorities in the fight against the hijacking of planes and boats for illegal migration through the use of violence and force.'' A Castro's statement also praised the decision by American officials earlier this year to prosecute a Cuban charged with hijacking a plane full of passengers to the United States.

    The statement announcing the return of the Cubans was read on state-run television early Monday afternoon. Afterward, a government announcer read a statement written by U.S. Interests Section Chief James Cason, warning Cubans against hijacking planes or boats to emigrate illegally to the United States. ñHijackings of boats and aircraft are extremely serious violations of international law and of United States law,'' said an English language version of the Monday statement, provided by the U.S. mission in Havana.

    CUBA DENIES JAMMING U.S. BROADCASTS TO IRAN

    The Cuban government on Saturday denied jamming U.S. satellite broadcasts to Iran and said it only blocked broadcasts by U.S.-funded Radio and TV Marti signals beamed "illegally" at Cuba. A U.S. broadcast agency and a private Iranian television broadcaster in California accused communist-run Cuba last week of interfering with transmissions aimed at the opposition in Iran.

    The Cuban authorities agreed to investigate the claim at the request of the U.S. State Department, which on Friday asked Cuba to find the jamming station. "This is a new campaign of anti-Cuban lies ... adding to a long list of hostile and aggressive actions that the imperial administration of George W. Bush has taken against our country,' a Cuban Foreign Ministry statement said. The Broadcasting Board of Governors, a federal agency that supervises all U.S. government-funded non-military international broadcasting, including the Voice of America and Radio and TV Marti, said the jamming began at about the same time as it started a daily news program for Iranians on July 6. The jamming coincided with opposition preparations for protests in Iran planned for July 9.

    The private television station NITV, which is based in Los Angeles, said the jamming began on July 5 when an unfamiliar signal appeared on the satellite transponder it uses. It asked a specialist company, TLS Inc., to find the source. TLS investigations concluded that the most probable source of the interference was in the vicinity of Havana. ñThis is truly unprecedented for a country in the Western Hemisphere to interfere with broadcasting going to a country in the Middle East," said Aiz Atabay, president of NITV.

    ADIOS, MIAMI CROWD TELLS SALSA QUEEN CELIA CRUZ

    One hundred fifty thousand mourners lined the streets Saturday to pay their respects to salsa legend and Cuban exile Celia Cruz, weeping at her casket but also celebrating her music and shouting her trademark phrase, "Azucar!"  "This is Celia's day. She is the personification of Cuba, the free Cuba and the future Cuba," said Roly More, grandson of famous singer Benny More.

    The line stretched for 15 blocks at one point for the viewing at the Freedom Tower -- the Ellis Island of the Cuban community, where immigration officials processed more than 500,000 Cubans who fled Fidel Castro's government in the 1960s. Many mourners held roses, some waved Cuban flags and most tried to shield themselves from the sun with umbrellas or floppy hats in the Cuban national colors of red, white and blue. Many yelled CeliaÍs catch phrase "Azucar!" or sugar.

    The casket was surrounded by white and purple flowers, as well as American and Cuban flags. On one side, CeliaÍs husband, Pedro Knight, stood dressed in black with other family and friends. Even after nine hours of public viewing, several thousand people were left unable to view the body when the doors to the Freedom Tower were closed to prepare for the procession to Gesu Catholic Church, where a memorial Mass was celebrated Saturday night. CeliaÍs body was to be returned to New York on Sunday. On Tuesday, a funeral Mass was set for St. Patrick's Cathedral.

    A MESSAGE TO THE CUBAN MILITARY LEADERSHIP  (By Arch Kielly)

    ItÍs a question of whom you are going to believe.  Fidel and Raul say that there is no money for fuel, no money for spare parts, and no money for the armed forces.  Meanwhile, the free press reports that the Castro brothers are two of the richest people in the world.  They claim that the Castros, their immediate families and their closest allies have secret bank accounts and own property in friendly countries throughout the world.

    The Cuban Armed Forces have confronted many enemies throughout the years, but none more deadly than the Castro brothers.  Members of the Cuban Armed Forces know, better than anyone else, how many Cuban boys died in foreign countries or came back totally disabled by wounds or lethal diseases.   The Soviet Union used Cuban boys as surrogates to advance their dreams of world domination.   And for what, what did they accomplish?  The Castro brothers never cared for the tears shed by mothers and fathers when they claimed the remains of their children at Cuban ports.   The CastrosÍ hands are stained with the blood of Cuban soldiers who were traded for favors from their communist masters.

    After Fidel passes away; Raul Castro, Ricardo Alarcón, Carlos Lage and Felipe Perez Roque will be coming to the Cuban military to beg that they be supported.  DonÍt do it!  They cannot govern unless the military backs them.  Give liberty, democracy and economic plurality a chance.  A Poem:  All want to reach the mountaintop.  The eagle and the Zunzun fly together and reached it quickly.  The serpent trip is slow and eventful to the mountain.  But the serpent is now on the mountain, too.  ¡VIVA CUBA LIBRE!

    CONGRESSMENÍS LETTER TO SECRETARY POWELL: DO NOT RETURN REFUGEES TO CUBA  (Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)

    "On Wednesday, July 16, 2003, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted in international waters another boat filled with Cuban refugees seeking freedom in the United States.  It is reported that 15-20 refugees are now being held in custody and await repatriation to Cuba under the 1994 Clinton-Castro Migration Accord.  The Castro dictatorship has alleged that these refugees hijacked the boat, "Gaviota 16", in their attempt to flee the island.  We appeal to you in the strongest possible terms to prevent the return of these refugees to the Castro dictatorship where they will certainly be denied due process of law and will face the possibility of execution.

    "This year, faced with increasingly desperate attempts to seek freedom, the Castro dictatorship summarily executed several refugees who were convicted of hijacking in a secret trial.  The Castro dictatorship aggressively punishes those who attempt to flee the island.  Many of those who have attempted to leave Cuba and have been intercepted and returned by U.S. authorities under the 1994 Clinton-Castro Migration Accord have been subjected to retaliation by the Castro dictatorship.  This is a violation of the Accord.

    "In April, the U.S. had an opportunity to grant entry to Cuban refugees intercepted in international waters, who were instead returned to the Castro dictatorship by force, and subsequently, as noted above, three were executed.  We hereby request that the U.S. government not become complicit in what may become another series of illegal executions by the Castro dictatorship."  

    U.S. COAST GUARD INTERCEPTED A CUBAN BOAT AND DETAINED 15 PEOPLE

    The U.S. Coast Guard boarded a 36-foot Cuban boat Wednesday and took 15 people into custody, a day after the government-owned vessel was taken from the island and was chased by Cuban authorities. The Coast Guard had been tracking the vessel before boarding it Wednesday in international waters in the Straits of Florida. Cuba's dictatorial and totalitarian government said its coast guard chased the vessel into Bahamian waters on Tuesday. The Bahamian government said the vessel re-entered international waters Wednesday. The Cubans would remain aboard the cutter until immigration officials can interview them, at least until Thursday.

    A Coast Guard spokesman said he did not believe the boat had been forcibly hijacked. Cuban officials said the vessel ñGaviota 16" was owned by GeoCuba, a government-owned geologic exploration and mapping company. ñWe see this as a stolen Cuban vessel that has been commandeered as a vehicle in an illegal migrant voyage,'' the spokesman said. He did not say how far the boat was from U.S. waters. Usually, Cubans who reach U.S. shores are allowed to remain in the country, while those found at sea are generally returned to Cuba.

    In Washington on Wednesday, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States has reminded Cuba that ñit has an obligation to resolve hijackings in a manner that's consistent with international law, and that it needs to conduct law enforcement judicial actions consistent with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.''  He said that ñany hijacker who arrives in the United States will be prosecuted with the full force of the U.S. legal system.''

    CUBAN LEGENDARY SALSA SINGER CELIA CRUZ DIES

    Legendary Cuban-born singer Celia Cruz, the flamboyant and charismatic entertainer known as the "Queen of Salsa," died on Wednesday at her home in New Jersey, her representative said. Cruz died shortly after 5 p.m. with her husband, Pedro Knight, and close friends at her side. She lived in an apartment in Fort Lee, across the Hudson River from New York. She had been suffering from cancer and had been in a coma since Tuesday. Cruz's representative said she was born on Oct. 21, 1924. Her trademark phrase was "Azucar!" -- Spanish for "Sugar!" -- which she would shriek to wild applause during her concerts.

    A Grammy Award-winner who recorded more than 70 albums, Cruz found success half a century ago in a musical style previously dominated by men. In Miami, home to much of Cuba's exile community, the singer was mourned by many as a great artist and a symbol of exile opposition to Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

    Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) said: "The passing of Celia Cruz is cause for deep pain. A piece of Cuba has died. Celia Cruz was a musical genius and an exemplary human being, dedicated to improving the lives of all, to the most admirable humanitarian causes, and with a profound love for Cuba and her people. I send my deepest condolences to her husband, another great Cuban, Pedro Knight."

     DIAZ-BALART AND COLLEAGUES DEMAND ACTION FROM DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ON CRIMES BY CASTRO

     Congressmen Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Dan Burton (R-IN), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) today sent the following letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft demanding, among other actions, prosecution by the Department of those responsible for the 1996 murders of U.S. citizens in international airspace:

      ñWe have recently read press reports that the Justice Department has been able to bring to the U.S. several Cubans to testify on behalf of U.S. prosecutors in a federal trial against a freedom-seeking Cuban refugee.  This is not the first time Cubans, and Cuban government officials, have been brought to the U.S. to appear on behalf of federal prosecutors in federal trials."

     ñWe would like to know what you are doing to prosecute another case: CastroÍs 1996 murder of U.S. citizens in international airspace. Castro in 1996 publicly acknowledged that he personally gave the order to carry out the shoot down and murder of these U.S. citizens. We are not aware that the Justice Department is seriously investigating this case or seeking any criminal indictments in connection to the murders. Further, we believe the Justice Department should be carrying out the investigations with the goal of issuing indictments against the Cuban dictator for narcotrafficking and crimes against humanity under the international convention against Torture."

    Touch here   and read this important letter

     THREE CUBANS KILLED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LEAVE CUBA

    A Cuban vessel with at least 27 people on board was hijacked on Tuesday and sailed to the Bahamas just a day after three Cubans were shot dead by the revolutionary police while attempting to leave Cuba on a fishing boat. A government statement said the Cuban Coast Guard "followed" the boat until it entered Bahamian waters, and asked Bahamas to return the vessel and its hijackers. Cuba reported seven men on the deck and about 20 people inside.

    The day before, three men were shot dead and a boy was seriously wounded in the head by the revolutionary police when they attempted to hijack a fishing boat in western Cuba to reach the United States. A spokesman from the  Interior Ministry said the three men, armed with a revolver and a knife and accompanied by a woman and her two sons, aged 17 and 10, tried to hijack a boat on Monday morning in La Coloma, Pinar del Rio. The incident was the latest case of violent hijackings by Cubans trying to leave communist-run Cuba for the United States. The three dead hijackers were identified as Francisco Lamas Caron, 29; Luis Alberto Suarez Acosta, 22; and, Yosvani Martinez Acosta, 27. 

    CUBAN DISSIDENTS GO TO FRENCH EMBASSY FETE 

    Irritated by a Cuban crackdown on opposition groups, France loaded its Embassy's National Day guest list with dissidents this year. Cuban officials stayed away en masse. In a sign of continued tension between Cuba and the European Union, guests said they saw no Cuban officials at all during the embassy reception on Monday, though many were invited. A handful turned up at the front gate before the event to turn in their invitations and then walk away. An unprecedented number of dissidents turned up. Most, smiling broadly, said it was the first time they had been invited to the event.

    Among those who attended was Vladimiro Roca, Elizardo Sánchez, Oswaldo Payá and René Gómez.  If the situation was politicized, "it was due to the government, not to us," said Roca. ñThe majority of my colleagues and myself attended this celebration not with an attitude of defiance toward the government but defending our essential right to accept any invitation we receive on civilized terms," said Sanchez. Rene Gomez, head of a small independent lawyers association, noted that Cuban embassies abroad commonly invite opposition party members to their receptions. "If they can do it, why can't foreign embassies accredited here in Havana?"

    U.S. SATELLITE BROADCASTS TO IRAN JAMMED OUT OF CUBA

    U.S. government officials as well as Iranian Americans and communications satellite operators confirm that all U.S.-based satellite broadcasts to Iran are being jammed out of Cuba, one of IranÍs major allies and a nation increasingly dependent on Iranian oil.  ñWe are well aware of the jamming," said one senior U.S. official  familiar with intelligence on the matter. He said that it was almost certainly done as part of an effort by the Iranian government to eliminate dissent during a week of renewed student protests and the inauguration of Voice of AmericaÍs Farsi-language television programming to Iran. It may also be a clear message to the United States government of CubaÍs electronic sophistication and capabilities if it dares to intensify the signals of Radio and TV Marti.

    Asked if the jamming were being done out of Cuba, the official would only say that it was ñwithin the realm of possibility." However, three sources associated with the broadcast services confirmed that Loral Skynet, the operator of the Telstar-12 satellite used by the broadcasters, had fixed the location of the jamming as ñ20 miles outside of Havana." 

    CubaÍs main electronic eavesdropping base, at Bejucal, is about 20 miles outside of the Cuban capital. The base, built for Cuba by the Russians in the early 1990Ís, monitors and intercepts satellite communications. Over the past few days „ as the fourth anniversary of the countryÍs most widespread protests approached „ the broadcasts have been jammed, not in Iran but in Cuba, according to officials and investigators.            

    CUBAN TEACHER FIRED AFTER TEACHING ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS

    A 49-year-old history teacher was fired from his post at a Havana school after answering students' questions about human rights. Héctor Morejón had been teaching for 28 years, 19 of them at the "Chilean Martyrs" middle school, when administrators fired him after learning he had taught students about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Administrators said the subject matter was not part of the teaching plan, and that teaching about human rights constituted "ideological deviationism," and thus a serious breach of discipline.

    Morejón said he appealed to Manuel Oropesa, the general secretary of the union, and also the vice-principal at the school. Morejón said Oropesa told him to present his complaint at the labor justice organisms, since he couldn't do anything. "My interference here has to be very limited," Morejón said Oropesa told him, "because they could think I'm covering for you or helping you... I am a Party member and, well, you know how these things are."

    Morejón said during the 19 years he was there he had always been a stellar worker receiving excellent performance reviews. He said he had even been awarded trips abroad to countries in the Socialist camp, on three different occasions, as a reward for being on the vanguard of Socialist labor.

     ANDY GARCIA WANTS TO SEE CUBA FREE

    Cuban-born U.S. actor Andy Garcia, filming in Romania, said Saturday he was struck by the parallels between the regimes of late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and Cuban leader Fidel Castro. ñCuba is under the same kind of totalitarian dictatorship that Romania was,'' Garcia told The Associated Press in an interview.

    Garcia was wrapping up a 42-day film shoot of ñModigliani." He portrays the Italian painter and sculptor in the movie. Garcia, 47, said he had talked with Romanians who witnessed the revolution while he was on the set at the Buftea studios, a village 12 miles north of Bucharest. He also met with President Ion Iliescu, a key figure in the revolt. ñAs a Cuban, I am looking forward to that day when (Cuba) comes out of the Communist dictatorship,'' he said.

    FIRST U.S. CARGO VESSEL IN HAVANA IN 42 YEARS AND 9 PREVIOUS U.S. ADMINISTRATIONS

    American barge "Helen III", from Mobile, Alabama approaches  Havana's port dock, carrying 1,614 metric tons of newsprint and about six tons of timber  on Friday July 11, 2003, in Havana, Cuba. The 323-foot-long barge -resembling a floating, tarp-wrapped warehouse - was the first U.S.-flag, U.S.-crewed commercial vessel to enter the harbor since the United States broke relations with Cuba in 1961. A few minutes after the barge docked, Pedro Alvarez, chairman of Cuba's import agency, Alimport, came out with Jack Maybank, Maybank's company owner, and his son Jack Maybank Jr.

    The American flag was hoisted briefly over the entrance to Havana Bay Friday for the arrival of the first U.S.-registered cargo vessel in four decades, another step in the growing trade with Cuba. The floating warehouse barge, towed by a tug from Chickasaw in Alabama, unloaded 1,614 tons of newsprint and 6 tons of timber in Havana. Washington eased trade sanctions on President Fidel Castro's government over two years ago to allow the sale of food and other agricultural products, including timber and paper. The United States slapped an embargo on Cuba and broke off diplomatic ties after Castro's leftist revolution in 1959.

     CUBA SIGNS CORPUS CHRISTI PORT AGREEMENT

    Cuba signed an operating agreement with the Port of Corpus Christi, an agreement that an official from the Texas city said could help erode the long-standing U.S. embargo of the island. ñIt's another very progressive step toward the ultimate abolition of an embargo whose time has long passed,'' said Ruben Bonilla Jr., the Port of Corpus Christi's commission chairman.

    While Cuba has operating agreements with 11 other U.S. ports, the Corpus Christi deal is the first ñagreement on strategic work'' that sets out plans for future activity, said Pedro Alvarez, chairman of Cuba's food import agency, Alimport.

    Bonilla said that Corpus Christi, America's fifth-largest port, hopes to take some of the business now going through Florida, which has a large population of Cuban exiles, many vehemently opposed to the socialist government here. He said that while much of the population of Florida opposes normalized relations with Cuba, ñnevertheless they receive the economic benefit'' of trade. The pace of contacts, if not contracts, had slowed after April, when Cuba sentenced 75 dissidents to prison terms of six to 28 years, but a delegation from Iowa visited in May.

   MONSIGNOR PORRAS HIGHLIGHTED THE ROLE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN VENEZUELA

    Monsignor Baltasar Porras, president of the Venezuelan Bishops Conference, highlighted the role of the Catholic Church tackling ñextreme circumstances related to human rights, violation of civic rights and some draft bills which would fuel the unrest in the country." In the opening ceremony of a general assembly gathering the leaders of the Venezuelan Catholic Church, Porras made a call in favor of seeking a peaceful solution to the countryÍs crisis, reached within a tolerant, respectful and non-exclusive environment. Chavez once called the church a "tumor" and priests "devils under their cassocks."

    Skirmishes at the funeral rites of Cardinal Ignacio Velasco ñare a good example of that. Those incidents are rejected by the whole Venezuelan society." He also said that solving the problems facing Venezuela is not only a responsibility of politicians. ñWe can not be observers. This is a matter of concern to everybody."

    CUBANS IN VENEZUELA ACCUSE CHÁVEZ OF HELPING CASTRO TO REMAIN IN POWER

    Cubans living in Venezuela are writing a document to express their worries about a possible implantation of Cuban ñbarbarities" in the country. Juan Antonio Muller, a former Cuban political prisoner with more than 30 years in Venezuela, denounced Fidel CastroÍs interference in VenezuelaÍs domestic affairs. He added that President Hugo ChávezÍ administration is boosting this interference in domestic policies.

    Muller warned that Venezuela is helping Castro to remain in power. He said they are going to collect signatures of Cubans living in Venezuela to alert the countryÍs people and leaders about the real situation in the island.

     AMBASSADOR REICH PREDICTS THAT CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTROÍS REGIME IS ABOUT TO FALL

     Former Ambassador Otto Reich, U.S. Special Envoy for Latin America, said that Cuba and Venezuela are the biggest concerns in the region, and predicted that  Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's regime is about to fall, according to a report published on Wednesday by an Italian newspaper.

    Reich told the newspaper Corriere della Sera that "regarding Venezuela, President (Hugo) Chávez' policies are nothing but a cause of concern for us." The official is currently visiting Italy to meet with the country's authorities. He added: "We are closely watching a referendum that should be held on August 19, halfway Chávez' mandate."

    According to the U.S. official, the recent dead of Cardinal Ignacio Velasco "will not weaken protests against him (Chávez). He (Chávez) is an anti-Catholic who has described the Church as a tumor," Reich reminded. In addition, he ensure that "the Cuban regime has entered its terminal stage." "Castro is going to fall soon, I could bet on that."

    POLICE DEMAND CUBAN PSYCHIC TO REPORT WOULD-BE RAFTERS

    Agents of the Technical Investigations Department pulled in Aurora Piña and Deine Tristá on July 2, asking them to report people who intended to leave the island by sea from their hometown of Batabanó, in the south coast of Havana province.

    Piña is a psychic who offers readings from her home. Tristá is an ex-political prisoner who served an 8 year sentence for deserting from the Cuban army and attempting to leave the country illegally. Piña said police assumed people attempting to leave the island would seek out her services for spiritual support. Both Piña and Tristá told authorities that they didn't have the required information and regretted not being able to help them in their inquiries. Regrettably, the police failed to ask the psychic when the dictator is going to fall.

    CUBAN AMBASSADOR IN VENEZUELA REFUSED TO RECEIVE A LETTER FROM VENEZUELAN WOMEN

    A group of community leaders and professionals -headed by Margarita de Tablante, president of civil association New Venezuelan Press, on Tuesday went to the Cuban Embassy in Caracas to hand over some letters addressed to President Fidel Castro asking him to release 30 Cuban journalists who were arrested and convicted to 14 to 27 prison terms.

    When they tried to deliver the documents to Cuban Ambassador to Venezuela, Germán Sánchez Otero, they were informed that any communications for the Cuban diplomatic representation has to be handed over to the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry. The Cuban diplomatic premises were protected by the Police Intelligence Services Directorate (Disip) and the Police of Baruta Municipality. No Cuban diplomat received the group.

    PRESIDENT BUSH VOWS TO AID LIBERIA, CONDEMNS SLAVERY

    President George W.  Bush pledged Tuesday to help end Liberia's civil war and branded slavery one of history's greatest crimes, beginning a trip to Africa that underlined a major policy shift.  President Bush's commitment on Liberia signaled his first trip to Africa as president was designed to cement his administration's reassessment of the continent's strategic importance over oil and intelligence that al Qaeda could use it as a hide-out.  He told West African leaders at a meeting in  Senegal's capital Dakar that he would participate in efforts to enforce a fragile cease-fire in Liberia to end 14 years of war.  "We're in the process of determining what is necessary to maintain the cease-fire," President Bush said.

    White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said it would be "some time" before the president decided whether to send troops. "The United Nations is going to be involved. The United States will work with ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States)," President Bush told reporters.  In a sign of difficulties confronting any peacekeeping mission, forces loyal to Liberian President Charles Taylor stopped U.S. military experts from visiting a refugee camp outside Monrovia Tuesday, witnesses said. 

    CUBAN SUGAR PRODUCTION WORSENING

    A year after Cuba began a major revamping of its state-run sugar industry and the poorest crop in 70 years make clear it will be years before the blueprint becomes a reality. The reorganization aimed to make the industry more efficient and competitive on the world market by closing 70 of 156 mills and aimed to produce 4 million tonnes a year with about one-third of the land then dedicated to cane. But sugar industry officials now believe it will be 2007 or later before Cuba, once the world's largest sugar exporter, meets the target.

    None of Cuba's 13 sugar-producing provinces met production or cost targets. Local analysts believe Cuba will have to import hundreds of thousands of tonnes of sugar if it is to meet foreign supply contracts and domestic consumption of 700,000 tonnes per year. Sugar Minister Ulises Rosales del Toro blamed "a lack of financing, lack of cohesion and understanding of the changes caused by the restructuring and excessive rain." The sugar industry is Cuba's largest, with more than 400,000 workers and farmers and 2 million of the country's 11 million people dependent on it, most living in small sugar towns across the island.

    A Cuban economist doubted 2004 output would be any better. "The short crop means there will be less financing and resources. No one wants to work due to low wages and poor working conditions. Organizational problems persist and the ministry has too much to do," he said. But western diplomats say it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade mills, diversify production and develop former plantations. "Cuba is broke. They need massive foreign investment for the plan to work, which I doubt will be forthcoming any time soon," a European diplomat said.

    CUBAN ACTRESS FORCEFULLY EVICTED BY THE REVOLUTIONARY POLICE FROM HER HOME  

    The well-known Cuban actress Marisol Fontes and her entire family were evicted by the revolutionary police from their home in La Playa, Havana. She was held back by her sister Maribel while she tries to stop government officials from moving her belongings from her five-bedroom house into a two-bedroom apartment in Havana. Cuban authorities said she had bought the house illegally ten years ago and in Cuba's Communist society, Cubans are not allowed to freely buy and sell property.

    ELIZARDO SÁNCHEZ AND OSWALDO PAYÁ PREDICT OPPOSITION COMEBACK

    Democracy activist Oswaldo Paya said he traveled the length of Cuba twice this spring and found the dissident movement bruised but alive despite a government crackdown that put 75 dissidents behind bars. Paya, the organizer of the Varela Project, was spared in the harshest crackdown in decades. ñThe campaign, our committees, could not be destroyed by this blow,'' said Paya. 

    Veteran human rights activist Elizardo Sanchez said: ñIn the 35 years I have been in the resistance here, I have never seen so much solidarity for us among the simple peopleƒThey have just cut down some grass that is only going to grow back.'' ñThe Cuban people want greater spaces and well-being, civil liberties.'' Sanchez said he would support a democratic transition led by Castro. ñWith his enormous authority, Fidel could be a great facilitator of change,'' he said. ñBut he doesn't want to.'' Thus ñthe only resolution will be the end of the regime,'' said Sanchez.

    Paya said change in Cuba must occur from inside. But he rejected the idea of a Castro-led transition and disagreed with the conventional wisdom that changes must wait until after Castro dies. ñWe are not waiting,'' said Paya. ñChange in Cuba will come by a great civic mobilization.'' ñI'm not married to the idea of capitalism, or of socialism,'' Paya said. ñI believe in the worth of the individual, in the liberation of the person from within.''   

      POLICE, RIOTERS CLASH AS VENEZUELA MOURNS CARDINAL VELASCO

    Venezuelan police firing tear gas and shotgun pellets on Monday dispersed supporters of President Hugo Chavez, who threw stones and firecrackers at Caracas Cathedral, where Catholics were mourning the death of Roman Catholic Cardinal Ignacio Velasco. Velasco, who frequently criticized left-winger Chavez, died Sunday night at 74 after a long illness.

    As hundreds of Catholics filed past his coffin, a group of around 50 Chavists outside heckled the mourners, shouting that Velasco was a "coup plotter." When the hecklers threw stones and firecrackers at the cathedral, police and National Guard troops fired rounds of tear gas and shotgun pellets to disperse them. One Metropolitan Police officer was injured when hit on the head by a stone. "What is happening is deplorable. This isn't a day to shout political slogans. This is a day of mourning," Ramon Muchacho, spokesman for Caracas Metropolitan Mayor Alfredo Pena, told reporters.

    Velasco was one of the best known figures of the local Church in this predominantly Catholic South American country. Although he was an outspoken critic of Chavez's self-styled "revolution," he accompanied the populist leader when rebel generals and admirals briefly deposed him in April 2002 and sent him to Venezuela's Caribbean island of Orchila. Chavez, who was restored to power by loyal troops after 48 hours, said he asked Velasco to pray with him under the stars by the sea on the island.

    MORE CUBANS ARRIVE IN VENEZUELA

    More than 300 Cuban doctors will arrive in Venezuela in July to reinforce a growing contingent of medical personnel from the communist island who are already working in Caracas, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday. Cuba's participation in this urban health campaign and in a nationwide literacy program has infuriated opponents of left-winger Chavez, who accuse him of trying to turn Venezuela into a replica of socialist Cuba.

    The new reinforcements will bring to more than 800 the number of Cuban doctors involved in a government project called "Into the Slums."  "New waves of doctors are going to arrive from Cuba ... They are going to be sent to the heart of the slums. Nothing and nobody is going to stop this humanitarian action," Chavez said, speaking during his weekly "Hello President" television and radio show.

    In a growing alliance that has irked the United States, the biggest buyer of Venezuelan oil, more than 3,000 Cuban doctors, military advisers, sports trainers, literacy experts and farming consultants are working in Venezuela under a bilateral cooperation treaty. Venezuela also supplies to Cuba up to 53,000 barrels per day of oil on preferential terms, making the South American nation the Caribbean island's single biggest trading partner.  

     If you have not read it, click here    and read the message that our Chairman recently sent to the Venezuelan military.

     SOUTH AFRICA AND CUBA SIGN INVESTMENT AGREEMENT BEFORE PRESIDENT BUSH VISIT 

    Last Friday, just days before a visit by U.S. President George W. Bush to South Africa, the deputy minerals and energy minister Susan Shabangu met Cuban economic co-operation and investment minister Martha Lomas in Pretoria to sign an accord which she said paved the way for South African mining and energy firms to invest in Cuba.

    Sur Africa's ties with Cuba date back to before1994, when the Cuban government supported the now ruling African National Congress (ANC) in its battle against white minority rule. Nelson Mandela, who established diplomatic ties with Cuba the day after his 1994 inauguration as South Africa's first democratically elected president, has repeatedly called Cuban dictator Fidel Castro his "very good friend Fidel." President Bush will visit South Africa as part of a July 7-12, five nation African tour.

     CUBAN GROUP URGES DISSIDENT UNITY

     Five of Cuba's top dissidents Thursday issued a ''declaration of principles'' that called for unity among opponents of Fidel Castro but acknowledged rifts in the dissident movement and denounced individualism in the ranks. The declaration did not mention anyone by name. But it seemed to refer to Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas, who last week called for a permanent international campaign of support for his Varela Project and the release of 75 dissidents sentenced in April to long prison terms.

     Signed by Elizardo Sánchez, Gustavo Arcos Bergnes, Vladimiro Roca, René Gómez Manzano and Félix Bonne Carcasés, the declaration endorses the right of Castro opponents to ''launch projects, initiatives and diverse working ideas'' but rejects ñany assumption that dissident organizations in general are under the obligation or duty to support them. ''No person is entitled to speak on behalf of the whole of the dissidence,'' the document cautions. ñAny pronouncements made by anyone must be formulated only in the name of the organization or group itself.''

    The five leading dissidents who signed Thursday's statement had formed an umbrella group called All United that originally included Payá. In recent months, however, Payá's name has not appeared in the group's public statements. The five wrote that relations among dissidents must show respect for others' ideas and must be of a ''cordial, respectful and brotherly'' nature. ''Any public statement by a dissident in which he censures another or others . . . by reason of the posture he may assume toward a project, initiative or specific working idea, or because of his methods of organization or tactics for struggle are contrary to the democratic spirit of our struggle,'' their declaration said.

    INDEPENDENCE DAY

    Today is the most important Holiday of this Nation because on JULY 4TH, 1776, the United States of America Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence.

     Some of us take our liberties for granted, but we shouldn't. So, letÍs take a few minutes while enjoying our JULY OF 4TH holiday and silently thank the American patriots for the freedom and democracy we enjoy today. It's not much to ask for the price they dearly paid. We all should also pray for the eleven million Cubans who cannot enjoy our freedom today because they live under a hideous Communist dictatorship.

    Remember: Freedom is never free!

    WAR CRIME CASE AGAINST CASTRO MAY STAND

     Changes to Belgium's war crime laws to prevent complaints against President Bush and other U.S. officials shouldn't derail a case against Fidel Castro, Judicial Watch, an American group that filed charges against the Cuban leader, said Tuesday. Under pressure from the United States, the Belgian government has proposed altering the law that allows its courts to try crimes against humanity anywhere in the world. The government's proposal would change the law so that a charge could be filed only if the victim is a citizen or resident of Belgium or there is some other direct link to the country.

    Belgium's government proposed the changes after Washington reacted with anger to complaints filed against American officials. Judicial Watch said the changes would not stop its case filed on behalf of exiled Cubans against Castro. The complaint accuses the leader of false imprisonment, torture and persecution. Because some of the plaintiffs live in Belgium, or have Belgian citizenship, the complaint can proceed, said Larry Klayman, chairman of Judicial Watch.

    ñCastro will never leave office ... as a consequence he should be subject to prosecution,'' said Klayman, who was in Brussels as part of a European tour to lobby governments to take a harder line against the Cuban dictator. He was accompanied by Alina Fernandez, Castro's exiled daughter, and Blanca Rosa Gonzalez, whose son was recently jailed in a crackdown on critics of the government. Klayman expressed satisfaction that the European Union had criticized Castro following the sentencing of 75 dissidents to long prison terms and the firing-squad executions of three men who hijacked a ferry.

    COLOMBIA CONFIDENT WILL REGAIN U.S. MILITARY AID

    Colombia expressed confidence on Tuesday it would quickly resolve a dispute over the International Criminal Court which led the United States to suspend military aid to its key ally in the war on drugs. "You should bet that all these problems are going to be cleared up," Defense Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez told a news conference, at which she pointed out that almost all U.S. aid to Colombia for 2003 had already been delivered. Among the countries punished are: Brasil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Perú, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as Bulgaria, Estonia, Letonia, Lituania, Eslovaquia y Eslovenia, countries that want to join NATO.

    The United States said on Tuesday it was cutting off military aid to 35 countries, including Colombia, because they back the International Criminal Court and have not exempted Americans from possible prosecution. Colombia, where the government is fighting leftist guerrillas and drug traffickers, was allocated about $100 million in military aid this year and has already received all but $5 million of that, U.S. officials say. President Alvaro Uribe is popular in Washington for his tough stance against leftist rebels and his commitment to an aerial spraying campaign which is cutting into the supply of Colombian cocaine.

     PRESS GROUP TELLS TOURISTS ABOUT REPRESSION IN CUBA

    The international press watchdog group Reporters Without Borders on Monday began distributing postcards at the French capital's largest airport that contained the slogan, ñWelcome to Cuba, the world's largest prison for journalists.'' The postcards, distributed at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport by the Paris-based group are part of a campaign to raise tourists' awareness of repression in Cuba. The cards were given only to people traveling to Cuba on Cubana de Aviación, the Cuban airline.

      ''This is not a call to boycott flights to Cuba, but just [a way of letting] those who go to that country know that behind its sun and beaches there is a totalitarian regime that represses and impedes freedom of the press,'' Reporters Without Borders Secretary General Robert Menard said. The cards feature Argentine-Cuban guerrilla Che Guevara's face superimposed on an anonymous police officer, who in a famous image from France's May 1968 protests held a shield in one hand while brandishing a club in the other.

     ñDid you choose Cuba for its friendly people, its lovely beaches, its rum and its seductive rhythms? Know where you're heading. Behind its clichés, the sun doesn't shine for everyone. ñChe' is no more than an icon used by the authorities to legitimize their repression,'' the back of the postcard reads.

     VENEZUELA LAUNCHES CUBAN-BACKED LITERACY CAMPAIGN

      Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched a Cuban-backed campaign called ñMision Robinson"  on Tuesday  to eradicate illiteracy in his country, denying opposition charges that it was aimed at teaching Cuba-style communism. The Cuban participation is opposed by foes of leftist Chavez. They accuse him of ruling like a dictator and trying to replicate Communist-ruled Cuba in Venezuela.

    In a video conference broadcast from Caracas to schools around the country, the Venezuelan leader praised the literacy program as a major advance in his so-called "revolution" to improve the lives of the country's poor. "This has nothing to do with indoctrination," he said, dismissing allegations by opponents that the campaign would seek to impart Marxist ideology along with reading and writing skills.

    Chavez thanked his friend and political ally, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, for donating texts, videos and 50,000 television sets to help the Venezuelan literacy drive. The Venezuelan leader briefly visited Havana during the weekend for talks with Castro.

    PRESIDENT BUSH MAKES FIRST-ELECTION STOP IN FLORIDA --  THE PRESIDENT TOLD THE CUBAN-AMERICANS: "...WE BELIEVE IN A FREE CUBA;" -- CAMCO TOO, BUT...WHAT ARE WE DOING?...UNFORTUNATELY, NOTHING EFFECTIVE 

    President George W. Bush courted Hispanics and took in another $3 million in contributions Monday in his first re-election campaign appearance in Florida, the state looming as a 2004 battleground after the bitter recount fight in 2000. The president first stop in Miami was in the Cuban-American community of Little Havana, where he visited the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Center and assured seniors they will receive a prescription drug benefit under Medicare reform legislation passed by both houses of Congress.

    He sprinkled Spanish phrases into his remarks and took the ñobligatory swipe" at Cuban President Fidel Castro, saying that "under the current leadership in Cuba there will never be freedom." "We believe freedom is the future of every country. We believe in a free Cuba," President Bush said to applause. President Bush needs Florida in his column in the 2004 election and will have to deal with a determined fight by Democrats wanting to avenge the 2000 election when a Supreme Court decision (and the Cuban-American community's decisive vote) gave him the state and the presidency. Hispanics in Florida, particularly Cuban-Americans, make up a very important voting bloc in the state.

    CHÁVEZ VISITS CUBA DURING THE WEEKEND

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez made a surprise visit to Cuba on the weekend in order to meet with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and to ñinspect" the progress of bilateral agreements, according to an official statement broadcasted by a Cuban TV station.

    Both leaders examined the fulfillment of the Integral Cooperation Agreement signed by Cuba and Venezuela in 2000. This short visit ñhighlighted the bonds of friendship and solidarity between the homelands of José Martí and Simón Bolivar," the official note stated. Chávez traveled to Cuba from Colombia, where he attended the Summit of the Andean Community of Nations.