TEN U.S. TROOPS KILLED IN IRAQ

    Eight U.S. troops died in a car bombing Thursday and two others were killed in separate incidents in Iraq, according to the U.S. military. The car bombing in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, also wounded four troops. Hours earlier in eastern Baghdad, a rocket-propelled grenade attack killed a U.S. soldier from the 1st Cavalry, according to the coalition.

    An attack in Ba'qubah, north of Baghdad, killed another U.S. soldier, U.S. military officials said. With the deaths, 737 U.S. troops have been killed in the Iraq war -- 534 from hostile fire, 203 in non-hostile incidents, according to U.S. military figures.

    To the west of the capital in Fallujah, U.S. forces and Iraqi forces are discussing increasing the Iraqi security presence in the city and possibly repositioning some U.S. forces, according to a senior military official. The official said no peace deal has been reached and there is no immediate plan for a U.S. pullback.

    CUBAN LEADER TOUTS ñMORE AND BETTER SOCIALISM"

    Pedro Ross Leal, Cuba's top labor leader, said this year's May Day celebration will be dedicated to showing the United States that the island nation is working toward "more and better socialism" -- not a transition to U.S.-style democracy.

    In an interview with the Communist Party daily Granma, Ross Leal criticized the United States for meddling in Cuban affairs by creating its own plan for the island's conversion to democracy "such as that installed in Iraq." "The principal motivation of the patriotic and forcible demonstration by our people this coming May 1 will be to answer to the Yankees that there will be a transition to more and better socialism," said Ross Leal, the head of the Confederation of Cuban Workers.

    GOVERNMENT WEEKLY ACKNOWLEDGES PUBLIC APATHY FOR THE FIRST TIME

    In what some observers called a first, the Cuban government weekly La Vanguardia acknowledged a general lack of interest on the part of the population toward participation in Revolutionary organizations. The paper reported a significant drop in membership at the Federation of Cuban Women, the organization led by Raúl Castro's wife, Vilma Espín.

    A local supplement, El Invasor, on its April 17 issue, reported that in Ciego de Ávila province membership in the Federation dropped to 69.8 % during the first quarter. Cristina Expósito, a member of the Federation's provincial secretariat told the paper that it is necessary to implement concrete measures to solve the problem. But, said Yulién Hernández, a member of the Federation, "people get tired of the same rhetoric. You pay the dues, go to meetings that don't accomplish anything, and they control your personal life."

    U.S. FUGITIVE ñRELAXING" IN CUBA

    A multimillionaire fugitive wanted on federal tax charges is spending his time fishing for marlin, writing and puffing on cigars in Cuba, according to a published report. "I'm an old man," Herbert Axelrod said during an interview at his Havana bungalow, where he fled from federal tax charges in New Jersey last week. "I worked hard all my life and I want to relax."

    A federal fugitive warrant has been issued for Axelrod, 76, on charges he conspired to defraud the IRS by helping a former executive of his pet-book publishing company hide $700,000 in bonus payments in a Swiss bank account in the 1990s. Last week, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque denied knowing anything about Axelrod and shamelessly said the island is not a haven for those fleeing justice. However, on Friday, a talkative, kimono-clad Axelrod spoke with visitors for two hours at his one-bedroom bungalow in the Villa Paraiso section of Hemingway Marina.

    DISSIDENT BLIND LAWYER SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS

    A blind lawyer was sentenced to four years in prison Monday after the first major trial involving Cuban dissidents since last year's crackdown on government opponents, a human rights activist reported. The attorney, Juan Carlos González Leiva, was sentenced in a central Cuba courtroom during a trial of 10 opposition members accused of insubordination to Fidel Castro and resisting arrest, veteran activist Elizardo Sánchez said. One of the dissidents, Laxter Telles Castro, was not sentenced because, during the trial, he revealed that in reality he was ñIgnacio" an undercover state security agent.  

    The trial, scheduled for today, unexpectedly began Monday in Ciego de Avila, said Sánchez, who tracks dissidents' cases through his nongovernmental Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation.  González Leiva was arrested March 4, 2002, a year before a government crackdown in which 75 other dissidents were rounded up on charges of working with U.S. diplomats to undermine Cuba's socialist system. Those dissidents received prison terms ranging from six to 28 years.

    U.S. MARINES "FOUGHT LIKE LIONS" AND KILLED 64 IRAQI TERRORISTS

    U.S. forces have killed 64 Iraqi insurgents in fighting near the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday. An anti-aircraft position was also knocked out. According to the spokesman, an AC-130 "Spectre" gunship was used in the battle on Monday. About 2,500 U.S. troops are poised outside Najaf, where an uprising led by anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr began three weeks ago. A U.S. military commander said American soldiers had moved into a base camp between Najaf and Kufa but have not entered the city.

    Top coalition officials have said that U.S. and allied forces in Iraq "will not tolerate" the stockpiling of weapons in mosques in the holy city, warning that action could follow if Iraqi insurgents refuse to remove the weapons. Coalition spokesman Dan Senor said weapons must be removed from holy sites and schools "immediately" -- and if they were not, "further steps may have to be taken."

    Heavy fighting rocked Fallujah on Monday, leaving one coalition soldier and eight Iraqi terrorists dead after a three-hour firefight between insurgents and U.S. Marines. Ten Marines were wounded, four of them "pretty seriously." The Marines called in close air support, including helicopter gunships and fighter jets. Tank fire destroyed the minaret of a nearby mosque the Marines said was being used as a sniper position. A Marine commander said he believed his forces were vastly outnumbered and credited them with fighting "like lions."

    COLOMBIAN COURT CLEARS IRISHMEN OF HELPING REBEL GUERRILLAS

    Three suspected IRA members arrested after visiting a rebel safe haven were acquitted Monday of charges they trained the Colombian insurgents but convicted of traveling on false passports and identity documents. A judge sentenced the three to prison terms of up to three years, eight months and will be expelled from Colombia after they serve their time, said court official Emilia Montanez, reading from a statement. They also were fined $6,500 apiece.

    Defendants James Monaghan, Niall Connolly and Martin McCauley were not present as the verdict was read. Testimony hearings ended last year, but the verdict was not issued until Monday because of what Judge Jaime Acosta said was a heavy caseload. They were arrested in August 2001 after leaving a rebel safe haven, which had been granted by the government during peace talks that later collapsed in February 2002. Prosecutors claimed the three provided the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, with training to carry out increasingly sophisticated attacks.

    AUSTRALIAN PRIMER MINISTER VISITED HIS TROOPS IN IRAQ

    When Washington called for help to fight a war in Iraq, Australian Prime Minister John Howard dispatched troops and pledged to stay the course. A year later, Howard shows no sign of wavering, despite political fallout and withdrawals by other nations. Howard underscored his resolve Sunday by making a surprise visit to troops in Baghdad for a dawn ceremony commemorating Australia's involvement in the ill-fated World War I Gallipoli campaign. He wore camouflage body armor as automatic gunfire crackled in the background.    

     ''They take enormous risk. It's a small risk I take,'' he said. Howard's government is firm in its resolve to remain part of any coalition trying to introduce stability to Iraq even as that effort descends into greater uncertainty. He has condemned other coalition members - Spain, Honduras and the Dominican Republic - for deciding to pull their soldiers out of Iraq. ''It's likely to encourage those who are opposed to the coalition to believe that, if they can cause more bloodshed and trouble, then more will pull out,'' he said last week. ''It will encourage the insurgency. It will not encourage more peaceful activity in Iraq.''

    POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS ENCOURAGE BEATING OF CUBAN DISSIDENTS

    Political organizations affiliated with the government are said to be encouraging their members to beat any dissidents speaking up about human rights or the Varela project, a dissident initiative asking for more open government. "When the worm is well beat up, then you call the police," is the slogan reported to have been repeated in several organizations' meetings. Worm is the term given to anyone who is not favorable to the Revolution.

    Henry Saumel, the president of the Republican Alternative dissident movement, was recently approached by a friend who has ties to one such organization. The friend advised him to keep a low profile in public, and then asked him for information about the Varela project, of which he said he hadn't heard before.

    CUBA CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOR HIJACKERS' SENTENCES 

    Cuba Saturday applauded a U.S. judge's decision to sentence six Cuban plane hijackers to prison terms of at least 20 years and said the action would encourage orderly migration to the United States. The Foreign Ministry called Wednesday's sentencing in Miami "a positive event that contributes to stop violent attempts to emigrate," according to statement published by the ruling Communist Party newspaper, Granma.

    U.S. authorities grant Cubans 20,000 visas a year to emigrate, but many still take to the sea in rafts or speedboats run by smugglers to cross the 90 miles between Cuba and Florida. Those who arrive on U.S. shores are routinely greeted as heroes by South Florida's anti-Castro Cuban community and receive special treatment under U.S. immigration laws. But the United States prosecutes hijackers and those who smuggle Cubans into Florida.

    PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH VISITS ñLITTLE HAVANA"

    President George W. Bush, accompanied by his brother Jeb, visited "Little Havana" yesterday to collect $4.4 million for the Republican Party in less than six hours. The President raised $2.9 million for the Republican National Committee at the home of Jack Donahue, chairman of Federated Investors. In the evening, he collected another $1.5 million at the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables.

    It was President Bush's 21st visit to the state that sent him to the White House in 2000 by the slimmest of margins. The President addressed a faithful audience in the striking hotel ballroom that was overjoyed when he summed up his Cuba policy with two simple but beautiful words: ñCUBA LIBRE."

    The 600 contributors inside the ballroom showed their approval with an ovation that lasted more than two minutes. We have been  informed that the wealthy Cuba-Americans present at the reception were so pleased with the PresidentÍs words that they all raised their glasses to toast for a  ñCUBA LIBRE." Meanwhile, outside the hotel, about 100 protesters behind police barricades, among them many Cuban-Americans, bitterly displayed their deep frustrations with President BushÍs weak Cuba policy.

    CUBAN AMERICANS HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FROM BUSH AND KERRY ON CUBA 

    With President George W. Bush and Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry both campaigning in Miami this week, expectations were high among Cuban Americans who hoped they would disclose some new, effective anti-Castro plans. The political stakes are high in South Florida, with Democrats and Republicans battling to win votes in the state's volatile Hispanic electorate. In the past year, dozens of state and local elected officials have warned Bush through letters that he risks losing Cuban-American support if he doesn't get tougher on Castro.

    ''Cuban Americans are hungry for bold and dramatic new messages,'' said Republican State Rep. David Rivera, a critic of Bush's Cuba policy who says Cuban Americans are frustrated with hollow anti-Castro rhetoric. ñPresident Bush should use this as an opportunity to begin to galvanize and motivate Cuban-American voters for the upcoming election.'' Cuban-American Democrats also have high expectations. Miami-Dade Mayor and Senate candidate Alex Penelas said he planned to meet with Kerry this week. Penelas said it's important for Kerry to talk about Cuba.

    Kerry ''has to have a strong position on Cuba, and he also has to be right on other issues, and that's where he has a clear advantage over Bush,'' Penelas said. While Democratic strategists hope that a strong anti-Castro pitch by Kerry could help erode Cuban American support for Bush, Kerry will have to prove that his recent anti-Castro vitriol is not just an election-year conversion from a liberal Cuba record. Florida is a key swing state in this year's election, and the state's nearly 500,000 Cuban American voters could be pivotal.

       

    CUBA DENIES KNOWLEDGE OF U.S. FUGITIVE  

    Cuba's foreign minister denied knowing anything Thursday about an American multimillionaire who U.S. authorities said fled here to avoid tax fraud charges, but said the island is not a haven for those fleeing justice. "Cuba has never been a refugee for those fleeing justice," Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said. He pointed out that three men were arrested in Cuba this month on charges stemming from a Mexico City corruption investigation.

    U.S. authorities say Herbert Axelrod, a publishing tycoon and philanthropist, traveled here in recent days to avoid arraignment this week on charges he hid income from the Internal Revenue Service. A federal judge in Trenton, N.J., issued a warrant for Axelrod's arrest when he failed to appear for the Wednesday hearing. In Trenton, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Guadagno said Axelrod's yacht was docked at Havana's Marina Hemingway.  The United States has no extradition treaty with Cuba.

    FORMER MEMBERS OF THE BAATH PARTY MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE NEW IRAQ GOVERNMENT

    The White House confirmed Thursday that the administration is moving to change a postwar policy that blocked members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from Iraqi government and military positions. The sweeping ban was put in place by civilian administrator Paul Bremer, but he now wants to change the policy as part of an effort to convince Sunnis, who dominate the party, that they are welcome members of the postwar political transition in Iraq.    

    In Baghdad, Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor acknowledged the ban "sometimes excludes innocent, capable people who were Baathists in name only from playing a role in reconstructing Iraq. Saddam headed the Baath Party in Iraq for decades, and its members were allowed educational opportunities and to hold key posts.    

    Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, speaking at a news conference with Senor, said that as the Iraqi military grows, it will need experienced high-ranking officers, and there are many senior officers who can meet all of the de-Baathification criteria. "You're going to need generals. You're going to need full colonels. You're going to need senior officers to command and control those organizations. Obviously, that is not a skill level that you can get in a series of weeks," Kimmitt said.  

    TO AVOID CHARGES, PHILANTHROPIST MILLIONAIRE FLEES TO CUBA

    A philanthropist who sold millions of dollars worth of prized musical instruments at a discount to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has fled to Cuba to avoid tax fraud charges, authorities said Wednesday. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for 76-year-old pet products tycoon Herbert Axelrod after the multimillionaire failed to show up for an arraignment on charges that he hid income from the Internal Revenue Service.

    Axelrod was charged with using Swiss bank accounts to hide more than $700,000 in income from the IRS related to the publishing company he owned that specialized in books on animals and pets. In February 2003, Axelrod sold his collection of 30 rare Italian string instruments to the NJSO for $18 million. They were valued at $50 million. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Guadagno said Axelrod's yacht is docked in Cuba, and the former Deal resident is staying at the Marina Hemingway, a four-star resort in Havana. The United States has no extradition treaty with Cuba.

    Guadagno said Axelrod was aware of the charges against him and the court hearing that had been scheduled for Wednesday. An Axelrod associate told the U.S. Attorney's Office that Axelrod recently traveled from Zurich, Switzerland, to Cuba and had no intention of returning to this country, Guadagno told Judge Garrett Brown.

     CUBA DROPS GUANTANAMO RESOLUTION

    Cuba dropped a call to the U.N.'s top human rights body to probe allegations of U.S. abuse of Guantanamo detainees because it believes the United States and its allies were preparing a counter motion. Havana accused some Latin American and European states of cowardice over the issue as it told the U.N. Commission on Human Rights it was withdrawing a resolution expressing "deep concern" that detainees at the U.S. naval base on the southeast tip of Cuba may be being deprived of rights under international law.

    "Once again, the weight of (U.S.) pressure has been felt in this body and in countries' capitals," Cuba's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Jorge Mora, told the 53 member states of the Geneva-based commission. He said the decision had been dictated by the fact that the "United States and its allies" were preparing to present a counter motion that would have prevented action on Cuba's call. But U.S. mission spokesman David Hamill denied Washington had used threats or pressure to win support at the commission. "It is not true," he said. "They were simply afraid that they were going to lose the vote," he added.

    European countries, including many which have criticized the United States over Guantanamo, and Cuba's Latin American neighbors, rejected the resolution because, as one European envoy said: "It was too obviously politically motivated." Cuba announced the plan immediately after it was upbraided at the commission last week for abuses in a motion backed by several Latin American countries and the United States.

    SIX CUBANS SEEKING FREEDOM GET 20 YEARS FOR HIJACKING

    Despite pleas for leniency, a federal judge sticks by the sentencing guidelines and hands down 20-to-24-year terms for six Cuban hijackers. Six Cuban hijackers who used knives to force a commercial jet from Havana to Key West in their quest for American freedom will spend at least 20 years in a U.S. prison before realizing their dream.

    Four of the men -- Eduardo Mejia Morales, Yainer Olivares Samon, Yeudis Infantes Hernandez and Alvenis Arias-Izquierdo -- received 20 years in prison each. Federal air piracy laws require a minimum-mandatory sentence of 20 years and maximum of life. Alexis, who was a veterinarian in Cuba, and Miakel, who was a circus troupe bicycle stunt artist, each received a 24-year term.

    ''Four or five more years . . . it's an injustice,'' said their brother, Angel Morales, an electrician who arrived in South Florida three years ago after winning an exit-visa lottery. ñI don't understand it.'' While sympathetic to Cubans fleeing the Castro regime, federal prosecutors Harry Wallace and John Delionado said they sought life sentences because the hijackers endangered the lives of 37 passengers when the group took over the Cubana Airlines DC-3 on March 19, 2003.

    PANAMA SENTENCES DISMAY MIAMI EXILES

    The Cuban government and exiles in Miami on Wednesday clashed over the prison terms of six to eight years handed down by a Panamanian judge to four exiles convicted on charges linked to an alleged plot to assassinate President Fidel Castro. Cubans in Miami called for Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso to pardon the men, jailed since their arrest in 2000, while others accused her of cozying up to Castro. ''This sentence has been bought and paid for by the government of Cuba,'' said Hector Fabian, member of a committee supporting the Panama four.

    Cuba's Foreign Ministry issued a statement published in the official Granma newspaper Wednesday arguing that the sentences handed down to the Cuban exiles Tuesday were not long enough. ''The penalties imposed do not correspond to the gravity of the acts committed in the Republic of Panama,'' said the statement, the first official Havana reaction to the exiles' conviction. The four, plus a Cuban exile living in Panama, were arrested shortly after Castro announced a plot to kill him during an Ibero-American summit in Panama City in November 2000.

    Panamanian courts later ruled there was not enough evidence to accuse the men of attempted murder or possession of explosives. They were convicted of endangering the country's security. The men convicted were Posada, Novo, Gaspar Jiménez, Pedro Remón and César Matamoros, the Cuban living in Panama. A sixth man, Panamanian José Hurtado, Posada's driver, was sentenced to four years as an accomplice.

   FIVE CUBAN FREEDOM FIGHTERS SENTENCED IN PANAMA

    Five Cuban freedom fighters  who had been accused of trying to kill Cuban dictator Fidel Castro were sentenced Tuesday to between six and eight years in prison. A veteran of the Bay of Pigs invasion, Luis Posada Carriles, and the other men were arrested shortly after the Cuban dictator, exercising his great influence and friendship with Panamanian government officials, announced a plot to kill him during an Ibero-American summit here in November 2000, though Panamanian courts ruled there was not enough evidence to accuse the men of attempted murder.

    The Supreme Court announced the sentences were handed down against alleged group leader Posada and Cuban-Americans Gaspar Jimenez, Guillermo Novo and Pedro Remon, as well as a Cuban resident in Panama, Cesar Matamoros, and Jose Hurtado of Panama, Posada's driver. Posada and Jimenez were sentenced to eight years for endangering public safety and falsifying documents. Novo, Remon and Matamoros were sentenced to seven years for endangering public safety. Hurtado was sentenced to four years as an accomplice. Counting time served, he could go free within weeks.

    Judge Jose Hoo rejected the most serious charge facing the men, possession of explosives. The defendants maintained they were in Panama to help a Cuban general who supposedly had planned to seek political asylum. The exiles accused Castro's agents of setting them up by planting a suitcase full of explosives recovered by police. Posada, born in 1928, is one of the men most wanted by Castro's government.

    DOMINICAN REPUBLIC PRESIDENT ORDER THE WITHDRAWAL OF HIS TROOPS FROM IRAQ

    The Dominican Republic will pull its troops out of Iraq early, in the next few weeks, following the lead of Spain and Honduras, Gen. Jose Miguel Soto Jimenez said Tuesday. The announcement came just two days after President Hipolito Mejia pledged to keep the country's 302 troops in Iraq until their one-year commitment ended in August.

    "The troops in Iraq will be coming back in the next couple weeks," the Dominican Armed Forces general said. Soto Jimenez said the president changed course based on security concerns for Dominican soldiers after Honduras announced its troops would be pulled back early. The Dominicans have been serving with the 370 Honduran troops under a Spanish-led brigade policing Iraq's al-Qadisiya and Najaf provinces since August.    

       CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO ASKS FOR AN INVESTIGATION ON U.S. GUANTANAMO NAVAL BASEÍS  ñCONCENTRATION CAMP"

    The aging Cuban dictator, stung by a U.S.-backed U.N. condemnation of Cuba's human rights record, lashed out at the United States Monday for building a "concentration camp" at Guantanamo Bay for prisoners suspected of ties to terrorist organizations. Fidel Castro said European nations that voted against Cuba last week at the U.N. Human Rights Commission are now faced with an "embarrassing" decision on whether to monitor the situation at the U.S. naval enclave in eastern Cuba, where hundreds of prisoners have been held without charges since 2002.

    Castro said the U.S. naval base had been "converted into a concentration camp where absolutely no rights are respected." The 77-year-old Castro, wearing a military uniform, spoke during a television talk show marking the anniversary of the botched 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion by CIA-trained Cuban exiles seeking to end his fledgling socialist revolution. Cuban diplomats tabled a resolution the very same day on arbitrary detentions at the U.S. base. It called for a U.N. investigation of Guantanamo Bay. The resolution is due to be debated in Geneva by Thursday. 

    CUBA PRESENTS RESOLUTION AGAINST THE UNITED STATES IN GENEVA

    The United States is confident of blocking a move by Cuba at the U.N.'s top human rights body to criticize its treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. mission spokesman in Geneva. Cuba has put forward a motion at the United Nations' Commission on Human Rights expressing "deep concern" that detainees at the U.S. naval base on the island may be being deprived of their rights under international law. The resolution, which Cuba announced immediately after being itself criticized last week in a motion backed by several Latin American countries and the United States, asks the U.N.'s various special investigators on human rights, including protection against torture, to take an interest in the case .

    But European and U.S. diplomats said that a motion was being prepared to stop further debate of the Cuban call at the annual meeting of the commission, which ends in Geneva on Friday, and defer any action on it until some future session. "It is very likely that there will be a resolution passed saying that the Cuban resolution on Guantanamo is inappropriate," an European diplomat said. "We believe the resolution presented by the Cubans will fail." If passed, the non-binding Cuban motion would be unlikely to change U.S. policy but success, which would require backing from U.S. allies, would be an irritant to the United States.

    HONDURAS PRESIDENT ORDERS THE WITHDRAWAL OF HIS TROOPS FROM IRAQ

    In another blow to President George W. Bush and his coalition partners in Iraq, Honduras followed Spain Monday in announcing it will pull its troops out of the country. President Ricardo Maduro, a close ally of the United States, said he had already told coalition countries that Honduras' 370 soldiers in Iraq would soon quit the country. He said in a television and radio address the withdrawal would be carried out "in the shortest possible time and under safe conditions for our troops".  Honduras said earlier Monday it was considering the withdrawal due to spiraling violence and pressure created by Spain's decision to pull its forces out. 

    Spain is commanding troops in Iraq from other Spanish-speaking nations in the coalition -- Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Honduran soldiers were sent to Iraq last summer as peacekeepers only, and have been clearing mines and providing medical care in central Iraq. They had previously been set to leave when their mandate expires in July.  In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Monday each country in the U.S.-led coalition would make "individual decisions" whether to stay in Iraq as conditions there change. Boucher said he believed there was no change in the status of troops from Nicaragua, another U.S. ally in Central America which has sent troops to Iraq.

    PRESIDENT BUSH TOLD ZAPATERO THAT HIS ABRUPT WITHDRAWAL WOULD GIVE ñFALSE COMFORT TO TERRORISTS"

    President Bush gave a chilly welcome to Spain's new leader Monday, suggesting his abrupt withdrawal of troops from Iraq would give ''false comfort to terrorists.'' Spain's pullout of 1,300 soldiers - and an expected troop withdrawal by Honduras - was a blow to President Bush's portrayal of a solid international coalition in chaotic Iraq. With no immediate replacement for Spain's forces, other members of the coalition hastened to rewrite military plans to deal with Iraq's increasingly bloody landscape.

    President Bush also ''stressed the importance of carefully considering future actions to avoid giving false comfort to terrorists or enemies of freedom in Iraq,'' press secretary Scott McClellan said. 

    President Bush, in an afternoon speech in Hershey, Pa., raised the subject of the Madrid bombings and said: ''The terrorists used violence to spread fear and disrupt elections. They want us to panic. See, that's their intent. Their intent is to say: 'Let's create panic among the civilized world.' They want nations to turn upon each other, civilized nations to argue and debate about the mission. ''You know, they're not going to shake our will,'' the president said. ''I'll say as plainly as I can to them: You'll never shake the will of the United States of America.''

    CHAVEZ APPLAUDS SPANISH IRAQ PULLOUT

    Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, a fierce critic of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, on Sunday applauded as "a big league decision" Spain's move to pull its troops out of the country. Chavez, a leftist former army officer who often spars with Washington over its policies, last week backed Iraqis fighting the U.S. "imperialist aggressor" and blamed President Bush for the recent surge in Iraq violence.

    "This can be called a big league decision, a sovereign decision, a courageous one," Chavez said in his Sunday television program after reading a bulletin on Spain's decision to withdraw its 1,300 troops from Iraq. "This shows there are reasons to be optimistic," Chavez said.

    Spain's new Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Sunday ordered troops to return to Spain in as short a time as possible. After the terrorist attack in Madrid, Zapatero promised to bring the troops home by the end of June. The Venezuelan leader, who is facing an opposition campaign to end his five-year rule with a recall referendum, often accuses Washington of trying to topple him, a charge denied by U.S. officials. 

    AL-SADR HAILS QUICK SPAIN PULLOUT

    Radical Islamic cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has welcomed Spain's decision to withdraw its troops from Iraq "in the shortest time possible," as U.S. officials braced for more possible pullouts. According to a spokesman in the Iraqi city of Najaf, the Shiite cleric praised Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's decision Sunday to pull Spain's 1,400-plus troops from Iraq.

    Al-Sadr also is asking that people from all coalition countries put pressure on their governments to follow Spain and recall their forces, spokesman Fuad al-Turfi said. The coalition is seeking to capture or kill al-Sadr, who is wanted for questioning in the same killing, but it is feared that military action could spark further violence. Spain's Iraq contingent is based near Najaf, where an uprising led al-Sadr began two weeks ago. It is part of a Polish-led multinational brigade based in southern Iraq. Spain's Socialist prime minister announced the pullout decision out of fear that terrorists could strike again in Spain.

    COMPLYING WITH TERRORISTSÍ DEMANDS, ZAPATERO ORDERED SPANISH TROOPSÍ IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ

    Complying with terroristsÍ demands, Spain's prime minister on Sunday ordered Spanish troops pulled out of Iraq as soon as possible, fulfilling a pledge to a nation recovering from terrorist bombings that al-Qaida militants said were reprisal for Spain's support of the war.  A day after he was sworn in, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said he did not believe the United Nations would assume responsibility for Iraq after the U.S.-led occupation formally ends June 30 -- his criterion for allowing the troops to stay.  "More than anything, this decision reflects my desire to keep the promise I made to the Spanish people more than a year ago," said Zapatero, whose Socialist party came to power after general elections on March 14.

    Zapatero's Socialist party won the March 14 general election amid allegations that outgoing Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, by backing the war in Iraq, had provoked commuter-train terrorist bombings that killed 191 people three days before the vote. To soothe the terrorists, Zapatero promised to remove Spanish troops. In a five-minute address at the Moncloa Palace, Zapatero said he had ordered Defense Minister Jose Bono to ''do what is necessary for the Spanish troops stationed in Iraq to return home in the shortest time possible.'' He cited his campaign pledge to bring the 1,300 troops in Iraq home by June 30, when their mandate expires, if the United Nations failed to take political and military control.

    Mariano Rajoy, who ran against Zapatero in the election after Aznar decided not to seek another term, said the decision made Spain ''much more vulnerable and weak in the face of terrorism.'' Zapatero has ''thrown in the towel'' rather than try to exhaust all possibilities of getting a U.N. resolution to meet his demands, Rajoy said. Zapatero's warning of a possible Spanish withdrawal had prompted some U.S. lawmakers to charge such a move would appear to be appeasing terrorists. It is evident that, for fear or complicity, Zapatero has made the Spanish government very vulnerable to any future terrorist groupsÍ demands.

    KERRY SAYS  PRESIDENT BUSHÍS FOREIGN POLICY IS ñSTUNNINGLY INEFFECTIVE"

    Democrat John Kerry on Sunday accused President Bush of being "stunningly ineffective" at foreign policy and stuck by his argument that the war against terrorism isn't primarily a military struggle. The Massachusetts senator and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee pressed his argument that Bush, the Republican incumbent, went about the Iraq war in a way that has left the United States and its troops shouldering too much of the burden. He said he would build an international alliance to share the responsibility for rebuilding Iraq.

    "I think this administration has proven, frankly, stunningly ineffective in diplomacy," Kerry said, citing Bush's policy change on Israel last week. "There were Arab leaders that were taken by surprise by this announcement." "I will immediately reach out to other nations in a very different way from this administration," he said. "Within weeks of being inaugurated I will return to the U.N. and I will rejoin the community of nations."

    Kerry rejected the suggestion that he's been inconsistent on Iraq because he voted for the congressional resolution that authorized the use of force, and against $87 billion in additional funding for the war. A Bush campaign commercial currently on the air criticizes Kerry's vote against the aid package last year. "Think of that. The president threatened to veto that bill, and yet he is now accusing me for voting no," he said.

    U.S. SENATOR BILL NELSON SAYS HUGO CHAVEZ GOVERNMENT IS ñHOSTILE AND UNFRIENDLY"

    Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, at the end of a three-day visit to Venezuela on Saturday, blasted President Hugo Chávez for aiding Colombian guerrillas, blocking a recall referendum sought by the opposition and ignoring a flourishing black market for passports and other official documents that could fall into the hands of terrorists. ''We may reach the point where the U.S. has to treat this government as a hostile and unfriendly government to the U.S. and the U.S. interests,'' said Nelson, a Democratic member of the Senates Foreign Relations Committee.

    Nelson described a tense conversation he had Saturday morning with Foreign Minister Jesús Pérez over allegations that Venezuela was assisting Colombian guerrillas such as the FARC. Pérez ''said Venezuela had no ties to the guerrilla groups. I told him flat up that I respect your right to your opinion but that I disagree with you, and that is based on complete information, including intelligence that I have seen,'' Nelson said.

    A month ago, presidential candidate John Kerry issued a statement advocating tougher policies on Venezuela. According to Nelson, Pérez said that he did not think Kerry would be tough on Venezuela if he were elected president and chalked up the candidates harsh statement as election-year pandering to Cuban-American voters, many of whom abhor the Castro-Chávez alliance. 'I said, I know Sen. Kerry, and he in fact does believe what was stated on his website,' Nelson recalled. 'I said, `Let me tell you something else: Sen. Kerry is not going to get most of that Cuban-American vote. Most of that Cuban-American vote will go to President Bush, so he does not need to pander to that vote.' '' Nelson said, however, that Kerry would still seek Cuban-American votes. ñHe may not get a majority of the Cuban-American vote, but he will get a good portion.''

    DESPITE THE ñCRIMINAL BLOCKADE," CUBA BUYS $106M MORE IN U.S. FOOD

    Hungry for normalized trade with the United States, communist Cuba announced Friday that talks this week resulted in more than $106 million in deals for American corn, powdered milk, chicken and other food. Winding up trade talks with Cuban officials in Havana, American farm representatives said they hoped to sell more products - even invest on the island - if the U.S. government allows that in the future.

    Aberle said that over two years the Des Moines, Iowa, company has contracted to sell Cuba 440,000 tons of grain worth $75 million on behalf of the 750 grain cooperatives it represents across the United States. ñIt's a nice business, and we'll continue to come back,'' he said. The American food sales to Cuba are allowed under an exception to long-standing U.S. sanctions against the island, and constitute the only real trade between the neighboring nations. Trade is one-sided, with Cuba barred from selling anything to the United States.

    "We are formulating a foundation for tremendous business opportunities in the future,'' said U.S. Rep. Butch Otter, a Republican from Idaho who signed several nonbinding letters of intent with Cuban officials for the future potential sale of products from his state. Otter, who opposes American restrictions on travel to and trade with Cuba, said that even this week's United Nations vote criticizing Cuba's human rights record ñis not going to diminish my resolve to continue to press for normalization of relations.''

    CASTRO TRIES TO AVOID CAPITALIST ENTERPRISE'S DESTRUCTION OF HIS REGIME 

    Managers of Cuba's state enterprises have been told to hand over their expensive cars like Toyotas and Mitsubishis and stick to the more proletarian Russian-made Ladas or smaller vehicles.  Nor can they drive cars with decorations or air-conditioning, which has set them apart from ordinary Cubans in the sweltering heat of tropical summer. It's part of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's campaign to roll back the market-oriented reforms that gave rise to social differences in an officially classless, communist-run society. The most recent clampdown has targeted executives of state companies, whose perks are under fire.

    A decade ago, Cuba sowed the seeds of capitalism when it reluctantly legalized the U.S. dollar and permitted some private enterprise as it battled to survive a post-Soviet meltdown of its centrally planned economy.  State corporations, particularly those involved in tourism, the Caribbean island's main hard currency earner, adopted modern business practices. With that came the perks and status symbols of capitalist society that are now being wrung out of the economy.

    But inspectors have begun fanning out this month to make sure executives are complying with a Transport Ministry circular specifying what cars they can use. Increased circulation of the U.S. currency brought division between haves and have nots -- Cubans with dollars and those with no access to dollars who remained stuck in the peso economy.  Local analysts say Castro views state business managers as a potentially corrupting force that played a role in bringing down East European communism. He would like to do away with the dollar, the currency of his arch-enemy the United States, they said.  Cuban economist said. "We are going back to the 1980s when everything was centralized.

    CAMCO CONDEMNS THE BRUTAL BEATING OF FRANK CALZON IN GENEVA

    The brutal beating by Cuban officials of  the Cuban-American leader Frank Calzon in Geneva should be considered a criminal act for which the Cuban government must be condemned. After the United Nations Commission on Human Rights narrowly passed a resolution today critical of Cuba, members of Cuba's governmental delegation viciously attacked Calzon, executive director of the Washington-based Center for a Free Cuba.

    The attack took place inside the United Nations building in Geneva. Witnesses said a Cuban delegate punched Mr. Calzon, knocking him unconscious. UN guards reportedly protected him from further assault by additional members of the Cuban delegation.  The attack occurred shortly after the Commission passed a resolution critical of Cuba's human rights record.  "This type of behavior is not just a breach of diplomatic protocol, but is itself a human rights violation," said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor.

    "A brutal attack inside the very building where the Commission on Human Rights meets only underscores the deep crisis the Commission finds itself in today," she said. They and other repressive regimes lobby aggressively to prevent passage of condemnatory resolutions. The United Nations must make it abundantly clear to all delegations that intimidating and physically assaulting anyone on or off UN grounds is unacceptable and punishable, despite Cuba's claims of diplomatic immunity.  The credibility of the Commission and of the UN is on the line.

    UNITED NATIONS CONDEMNS CUBA FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS 

    The top United Nations human rights watchdog passed resolutions Thursday criticizing rights conditions in Cuba. The 53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission voted 22-21 to 21 with ten abstentions for a Honduras-proposed resolution that "deplored" Cuba's jailing 75 dissidents arrested on March 18, 2003. Cuba said the resolution against it was the work of the United States. Shortly after the vote, the Cuban delegation said it had filed a resolution claiming widespread human rights abuses by the United States against detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

    The Honduran resolution criticizing Cuba called for the commission's experts on torture, judicial independence and arbitrary detention to investigate the situation. Richard Williamson, head of the U.S. delegation, said his only disappointment was that the vote was so close. "The fact is no one can argue repression doesn't happen in Cuba," Williamson said. "It's an island prison. It's good to have a resolution putting some pressure on that regime."

    Significantly, five of the fifteen most repressive governments in the world -- those of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan -- are members of the Commission on Human Rights, representing nearly 10 percent of the total membership. They and other repressive regimes lobby aggressively to prevent passage of condemnatory resolutions against Cuba. The influence of this group of states on the Commission's proceedings highlights the urgent need for the democratic member states of the UN body to finally band together and create a permanent democracy caucus that would work as an effective counter-bloc.

    CUBA CONDITIONALLY FREES SERIOUSLY ILL DISSIDENT

    Cuba has conditionally freed one of 75 opponents of President Fidel Castro, imprisoned last year for long terms, due to the grave state of his health. Human rights activist and independent librarian, Julio Antonio Valdes, who was serving a 20-year-sentence, said he was released Wednesday night because he needed a kidney transplant. "I didn't expect it, it was a total surprise ... I'm feeling ill but I am very happy to be out of jail," Valdés told Reuters on Thursday in a telephone interview.

    Valdés was released only hours before the United Nations' top human rights body voted narrowly to condemn Cuba over its rights record. Valdés is the first of the group to be freed. Valdés said he was free to remain at home or in a hospital "until I am completely recovered." He planned to go to a Havana hospital on Thursday as a first step toward receiving a kidney transplant.

    CHÁVEZ BACKS IRAQ INSURGENTS AGAINST US

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez blamed President Bush Tuesday for violence in Iraq and sent a message of support to Iraqis he said were battling the U.S. "imperialist aggressor." In one of his fiercest attacks against Bush, the left-wing leader once again accused Washington of trying to end his rule in Venezuela. He spoke to thousands of cheering supporters in Caracas on the anniversary of a 2002 coup that briefly ousted him and which he said was "made in the White House." The Venezuelan leader said the U.S. government had seized the "excuse" of its international campaign against terrorism after Sept. 11, 2001, to "declare war on the world".

    Chavez spoke as Bush pledged at a news conference in Washington to keep U.S. troops in Iraq as long as necessary. Chavez said a surge in fighting between U.S. troops and Iraqi insurgents, the bloodiest combat since Saddam Hussein's fall, was shedding "innocent blood", including children's. "Whose fault is the violence in Iraq? Is it Saddam Hussein's, the Muslim fundamentalists'? No. The fault of all these deaths has a name: George W. Bush," Chavez added.

    "From Latin America, from Venezuela, we send out our heart to our brothers the Iraqi people, and the Arab peoples who are fighting the battle against the imperialist aggressor." "Up in Washington, they say that Fidel Castro and I are the destabilizers of the continent, the bad boys," he said. "They (the U.S. government) are the bad boys, the big destabilizers, not just of the continent, but of the whole planet," he added. Chavez said: "I'll make a bet with Mr. Bush. Let's see who lasts longer, he in the White House or me here."

    THE U.N. PANEL TO VOTE ON CUBA IN GENEVA

    The annual and contentious debate in Geneva over Cuba's human-rights record takes center stage this week as the U.N. Commission on Human Rights prepares to vote on a U.S.-backed resolution condemning the communist-run nation. The vote, scheduled for Thursday, is particularly important this year because of Cuba's crackdown against 75 dissidents who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms days before the commission's vote last year.

    The resolution, submitted by Honduras, is similar to the one approved last year, which called on Cuba to allow an independent monitor to examine the treatment of dissidents but stopped short of an outright censure. It failed to mention the then-recent arrests and convictions of the 75 dissidents, who were accused of being U.S. mercenaries. This year's resolution, co-sponsored by El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Australia and the Czech Republic, again urges Cuba to comply with the request to allow a representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the country, asses the human-rights situation and prepare a report.

    U.S. diplomats in Geneva, as in every year since the mid-1990s, have been pressing other commission member nations to vote against Cuba. ''We've made no secret of the fact that we thought it's important for democracies in the region to step up,'' said a State Department official in Washington. ñWe're lobbying hard.'' ''This sends a clear signal that this region has defined the kind of government that we all want to see,'' the official added.

    EMBARGO? WHAT EMBARGO? MORE THAN 300 U.S. FARM OFFICIALS GO TO CUBA FOR TALKS

    U.S. farm representatives hoping to build long-term trade relationships with communist Cuba were traveling there Monday for talks island officials say could lead to as much as $100 million in new sales. More than 300 people representing about 150 producers of American farm goods were expected at the three-day event beginning Tuesday afternoon, Cuban authorities said.

    Among farm interests participating is the USA Rice Federation, which represents about 85 percent of U.S. producers. "The importance of Cuba in terms of rice is huge for us - it's huge for them," said federation representative Marvin Leherer. "We're committed to a long term relationship with Cuba. "Cuba was the No. 1 market for American rice prior to sanctions," he added, referring to U.S. trade restrictions imposed more than four decades ago.

    Also among those scheduled to participate in the talks were Cargill Inc., of Minnetonka, Minn.; Archer Daniels Midland of Decatur, Ill.; and Kaehler's Homedale Farms in St. Charles, Minn. The talks are organized by the Cuban food import company Alimport, which arranged a similar round of talks in December to mark the second anniversary of the first U.S. commercial food shipments to post-revolutionary Cuba.

    CEV WILL REPORT TO THE VATICAN ON PRESIDENT CHAVEZÍS ATTACKS AGAINST THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

    The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) will submit a claim to the Vatican on recent attacks by President Hugo Chávez against representatives of the Catholic Church.

    Bishop Baltazar Porras, CEV president, said that he would travel to Rome to explain to the Secretariat of the Vatican State the political situation in Venezuela and the tensions between the government and the church, news agency Dpa reported. In his most recent attack, Chávez lashed out Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara, the only Venezuelan primate, branding him as an immoral person with a negative dossier in the Vatican.

    VENEZUELA TOP COURT BRANCHES CLASH OVER REFERENDUM

    Rival branches of Venezuela's politically-divided Supreme Court clashed Monday over an opposition bid to recall President Hugo Chavez in a legal stand-off that further snarled the already delayed referendum process. In a ruling that ratified an earlier decision last month, the court's electoral chamber gave electoral authorities five days in which to accept as valid more than 800,000 disputed pro-referendum signatures. In theory, this would open the way for a recall vote this year against the left-wing president.

    But the court's constitutional chamber, which has already overruled the electoral chamber once before on the disputed signatures, issued a competing decision claiming exclusive jurisdiction to settle disputes over the referendum process. The legal sparring in the Supreme Court raised fresh doubts about whether the referendum will go ahead. It must be held before Aug. 19 for the opposition to have a chance of ending Chavez's populist government through a national vote.

    Supporters of Chavez, who rejects the vote petition as riddled with forged signatures, dismissed the electoral chamber's latest ruling as "a joke" and accused its three magistrates of siding with the opposition. "The electoral chamber's decision has absolutely no validity," said Ismael Garcia, Chavez's political campaign chief. But opposition leaders, who accuse the constitutional chamber of being biased in favor of the president, said Venezuela's National Electoral Council risked violating the constitution if it did not obey the electoral chamber.

    LEONARDO BRUZÓN ÁVILA NEAR DEATH, PROPER MEDICAL ATTENTION DENIED IN A HAVANA HOSPITAL

    A Cuban human rights activist, jailed for hatching plans to honor the late Brothers to the Rescue fliers, has lapsed into a coma after a prolonged hunger strike, according to sources monitoring his health. Sources described as ''delicate'' the condition of Leonardo Miguel Bruzón Avila, imprisoned without trial since Feb. 23, 2002, the eve of a protest he was organizing to commemorate the death of the four Miami exiles in 1996.

    He said he was going to start an indefinite hunger strike called "Liberty or Death,'" journalist María del Carmen Carro said in a telephone interview Wednesday from Havana. "Other prisoners joined him, but they gave up.'' Carro said Bruzón Avila, who began his hunger strike on Oct. 10, lapsed into a coma on Tuesday. He decided to refuse even liquids in February, the second anniversary of his arrest. His mother told sources Bruzón had lost teeth due to malnutrition.

    ''He wanted to have his day in court or be liberated,'' Carro said. Bruzón Avila, 48, has staged numerous hunger strikes in the past, causing outcry from Amnesty International and Cuban exile groups. This is the first time he has lost consciousness, sources said. Carro said she received word from Bruzón Avila's family early Tuesday that he had fallen into a coma at the Salvador Allende Hospital in Havana. She said she was told his blood pressure was low and his vital signs weak.

     CUBA TO SCRAP VISAS FOR THOSE WISHING TO RETURN; BUT CUBAN-AMERICANS COULD LOSE THEIR U.S. CITIZENSHIP

    The Cuban government has confirmed that from June, Cubans living abroad with Cuban Passport will no longer need to apply for a visa to visit the Caribbean island. For the rest, everything stays the same. The propaganda move, announced by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, appears designed to increase tourism from the former "gusanos". Today with privileges only surpase by the top members of the nomenclature. 

    Since the Cuban revolution in 1959, almost 10% of the population has left, but unfortunately many return to prolong with their dollars Fidel CastroÍs dictatorial regime. Mr Perez Roque says that from 1 June the rules will change. But really they will not. Cubans abroad can apply for a Cuban passport that will enable them to come and go as they please. But Cubans that already are American citizens could lose their citizenship. They will need an American Visa in their Cuban passport to return. What could happen if, once in Cuban territory, they don't get that visa and can't come back home.

    MOTHER OF HIJACKER KILLED BY THE CUBAN DICTATOR MOURNS SON

    One year after a firing squad executed her son and two other ferryboat hijackers, Ramona Copello says there is nothing left for her in Cuba.  Her 31-year-old son, Lorenzo Enrique Copello, was among a group of armed men who seized a ferry full of passengers on April 2, 2003, and tried to force it to sail to the United States. Coming just as Fidel Castro's government was handing down prison sentences to 75 activists on charges of being U.S. mercenaries, the April 11, 2003, firing squad executions were roundly condemned around the world.

    "I keep asking myself why they executed him," said Thursday night. "I want to leave this country."  But she wants to exit legally, as a political refugee to the United States. Her paperwork was submitted months ago and now she awaits final word from American officials.  Although the hijackers were armed, none of the estimated 50 people aboard the ferry was hurt.  The executions were the first on the island in several years.  "The sentences imposed by the tribunals and upheld by the Council of State had to be applied without wavering to the hijackers of the ferry," Castro said in April 2003 speech. 

    VENEZUELA WILL INCREASE ECONOMIC TIES WITH CUBAN DICTATORSHIP

    Venezuela is studying the purchase of an oil refinery in Cuba and plans to open a bank branch in Havana to expand trade, the new leftist Venezuelan ambassador Adan Chavez said. The older brother of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said at his first news conference in Havana that he had come to strengthen economic and ideological ties between the two political allies.

    Chavez said the purchase of the unfinished Soviet-built oil refinery in Cienfuegos was being studied as part of an oil supply agreement signed in October 2000 under which Venezuela ships Cuba 53,000 barrels a day on generous terms. Venezuela's state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has for several years been considering involvement in the Cuban refinery built with outdated Soviet technology.

    Venezuela also plans to open an office of its export finance bank, Banco de Comercio Exterior, in Havana, he said. Cuba will help Venezuela build low cost housing and will build a plant to produce medicine in Venezuela, he said. Cuban has sent 12,000 doctors, teachers and sports instructors to Venezuela, raising concerns among opponents of the Venezuelan president that he is seeking to establish Cuban-style communism in the oil-producing nation.

    CHILEAN LEGISLATORS CONDEMN CUBA

    With 67 favorable votes, 18 against and 18 abstentions the Chilean Lower House condemned the Cuban regime of President Fidel Castro for its human rights policy.  The approved message ñrequests the President of the Republic to ensure Chile maintains in United Nations the condemnation of the Cuban regime because conditions which previously justified it remain unchanged". It also requests the naming of a special UN humans rights relator to visit Cuba.

    Further on the text reiterates that the Chilean Chancellery express concern with the situation of over 70 people who remain detained in Cuban prisons for over a year, and also express interest in the rights of the people and organizations who requested to be received by the Human Rights Committee of the Latin-American Parliament.

    The votes against the proposal came from the senior partner of the ruling coalition, the Socialist Party of President Ricardo Lagos, while other smaller parties abstained.  President Lagos has said that Chile will decide how to vote in the United Nations once the final declaration has been drafted.  Chile voted against Cuba in 2000; and in 2002 and 2003, backed resolutions asking Cuban dictator Fidel Castro to allow a special UN envoy to verify CubaÍs  human rights situation.

    COCKROACHES PROLIFERATE IN THE CAPITAL 

    Cockroaches are proliferating in several Havana municipalities and the Public Health department doesn't seem capable of solving the problem. Several residents said the first step to addressing the problem would be to pick up the garbage that sits on street corners for days at a time, and maybe later to fumigate houses.

    One Havana resident said: "It was only thanks to an insecticide that I bought from a private party for 20 pesos that I've been able to cope." Another resident said: "I can't get too worked up about it. I wash the dishes at night and wash them again in the morning. And if they walk over me, I just hit them with my hand and done. I used to be afraid of them; now they are daily acquaintances."

    CONDOLEEZZA RICE TESTIFIES FOR THREE HOURS UNDER OATH BEFORE 9/11 COMMISSION -- "THERE WAS NO SILVER BULLET"

    Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser, testified on Thursday before the 9/11 Commission that "there was no silver bullet that could have prevented" the deadly terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and disputed suggestions that President Bush failed to focus on the threat of strikes in advance. "I know that, had we thought that there was an attack coming in Washington or New York, we would have moved heaven and earth to try and stop it.

    Rice said that the Bush administration's efforts against terrorism were "intense" during the summer of 2001, but there was "no silver bullet that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks." "In hindsight, if anything might have helped stop 9/11, it would have been better information about threats inside the United States -- something made difficult by structural and legal impediments that prevented the collection and sharing of information by our law enforcement and intelligence agencies," Rice said.

    She said that threat-reporting in the spring and summer of 2001 was "not specific as to time, nor place, nor manner of attack." Rice said that the terrorist threat against the United States began long before the attacks. "The terrorists were at war with us, but we were not yet at war with them," Rice said in her opening statement at the highly-anticipated hearing.

     LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART TO RECEIVE THE HIGHEST MEDAL GRANTED BY THE CONGRESS OF COLOMBIA ON APRIL 13

    On The Congressional Order of the Great Gold Cross "Orden del Congreso Gran Cruz de Oro", the highest medal granted by the Congress of Colombia will be presented to Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart by the President of the Colombian Congress, Senator German vargas Lleras.

    On April 13, 2004, during a solemn session of the Congress of the Republic of Colombia, United States Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) will receive the highest Medal granted by the Congress of Colombia, the Congressional Order of the Great Gold Cross (la Orden del Congreso Gran Cruz de Oro), that will be presented to him by the President of the Colombian Congress, Senator German Vargas Lleras. Congressman Diaz-Balart will be recognized by the Congress of Colombia for his efforts on behalf of Colombians in the United States. Congressman Diaz-Balart is the author of the legislation known as the Andean Adjustment Act (AAA), which seeks the legalization of the immigration status of Colombians and Peruvians who arrived in the United States prior to December 1999. Congressman Diaz-Balart has also been a strong supporter of the U.S. Congress' assistance for Colombia's security.

    "It is a great honor for me to receive such a high distinction from the Congress of the sister Republic of Colombia at the hands of Congress' President, Senator German Vargas Lleras. Colombians in the United States, through their dignified work on a daily basis, enrich all the communities in which they live and this entire great country, both economically and culturally. I will continue fighting for them, and for all of our communities," said Diaz-Balart.

    CUBA COFFEE CROP THE WORST IN 50 YEARS

    Cuba's coffee harvest ended over the weekend, and is considered one of the worst in 50 years due to drought as well as fuel and other shortages. Local media and source reports indicated that output declined 5 percent from the previous crop of 200,000 to 250,000 60-kg bags. The crop has been estimated at around 190,000 to 240,000 60-kg bags.

    The International Coffee Organization reported from March 2003 through February 2004 that Cuba's exports were 38,203 60-kg bags, compared with 67,857 bags during the same period in 2002/03. Through 2000 Cuba earned around $20 million annually from coffee exports, but in recent years low prices and declining production have cut export revenues by more than 50 percent, a Foreign Trade Ministry official said recently.

    HONDURAS PRESENTS MOTION AGAINST CUBA AT U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM IN GENEVA

    Honduras tabled a motion urging Cuba to guarantee freedom of expression and religion at the main United Nations human rights forum on Tuesday, with the apparent blessing of the United States. The motion also called on Havana's communist authorities to hold a "fruitful dialogue" with Cuban political groups and thinkers to develop democratic institutions and civil liberties. It backed citizens' rights to due process and deplored the heavy sentences handed down against some 75 dissidents rounded up a year ago, but stopped short of demanding their release.

    Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Australia and the Czech Republic have so far joined Honduras as official sponsors of the motion. Diplomats said that although the United States had not yet signed up as a co-sponsor, it had made clear it backed the motion and would support it, along with European Union countries on the body. The 53-member commission, holding its annual six-week session to examine rights violations worldwide, is due to vote on a raft of resolutions late next week.

    The Honduran motion urges Cuba to cooperate with the U.N. investigator for human rights in Cuba, French magistrate Christine Chanet. Chanet, who has not yet received permission to visit Cuba from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, said in her first report in February that dozens of dissidents were being held in alarming conditions, isolation cells or facilities crammed with "common criminals." The U.N. human rights forum last year adopted a resolution brought by four Latin American countries -- Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Uruguay -- urging it to accept a probe by Chanet.

    U.S. GENERAL VOWS TO CRUSH SHIITE MILITIA

    A top U.S. general in Iraq vowed on Wednesday to "destroy" a Shiite militia led by wanted radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr that has launched a wave of attacks against coalition forces in southern cities. "We will attack to destroy the al-Mahdi Army," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told reporters. "Those attacks will be deliberate, precise and they will be successful."

    He said U.S. forces were trying to hunt down members of the al-Mahdi Army in the mainly Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City in Baghdad, and he called on al-Sadr to surrender. "If he wants to calm the situation ... he can turn himself in to a local Iraqi police station and he can face justice," Kimmitt said. U.S. authorities announced an arrest warrant for al-Sadr, whose al-Mahdi Army militia battled U.S. and other coalition troops since Sunday in a half dozen cities, including Baghdad and mainly Shiite cities of the south, killing eight U.S. soldiers and two coalition soldiers.

    Kimmitt said al-Sadr - along with Sunni guerrillas who have opposed U.S. forces for months - are waging violence to disrupt the June 30 handover of power from the Americans to an Iraqi government. "All the Iraqi people that are watching this understand this. It all comes down to extremism versus moderation," Kimmitt said.

    ALARCÓN SAYS STATE SECURITY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN IMAGE ABROAD

    Cuba's parliament speaker, Ricardo Alarcón, defended a crackdown on 75 activists last year, telling a group of American newspaper editors Monday that Cuba's internal security is more important than its image abroad. The dissidents were sentenced to terms of six to 28 years last March after they were charged with working for the United States to undermine the communist government of Fidel Castro. Washington denies the allegations, and they have said their only crime was speaking their mind.

    Alarcón, president of Cuba's National Assembly, repeated that the 75 were ñmercenaries working to subvert the island's socialist system." "Are you just supposed to cross your arms and let a big power plot against you?" Alarcón asked. "We have to defend ourselves, we have to protect ourselves." "No nation can base its conduct relating to fundamental national security based on how the media might reflect what you do," he said.

    Alarcón made the comments at a meeting with the board of directors for The Associated Press Managing Editors, which represents 1,700 newspapers in the United States and Canada. The board arrived in Havana Sunday for a two-day stay after visiting Mexico, where they met with President Vicente Fox.

    CHAVEZ REJECTS CLAIMS OF MILITARY ïREVENGEÍ ATTACK

    Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez Sunday dismissed as "lies" opposition allegations that eight soldiers were set on fire inside a military prison cell as retaliation for signing a referendum petition against him. Authorities are investigating how the soldiers were burned in a blaze last week at Fort Mara military base in western Zulia state, raising opposition fears of possible human rights abuses within the armed forces.

    "They are saying the soldiers who signed against Chavez were burned, something absolutely horrible," the leftist leader said during his Sunday television program. "You see the lack of morality in the ranks of the opposition." Government officials said the fire was an accident ignited by a cigarette. But opposition groups, citing the relatives of one soldier, say they suspect the men were doused with flammable liquid and set ablaze as a punishment.

    State news agency Venpres printed interviews with some of the soldiers who rejected the allegations of retaliation after they were transferred to a Caracas military hospital. But the father of one soldier said his son had been threatened after officers found out he had signed the referendum petition.

    VENEZUELA SAYS WILL PUSH FOR OPEC PRICE BAND RISE 

    Venezuela will continue to push for OPEC to increase its reference oil price band from the current $22 to $28 per barrel, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Monday. OPEC's crude oil basket price has held above the band for all but one day since early November last year, and Venezuela is recommending that this target range be adjusted upward.

    ISLAMIC GROUP WARNS SPAIN OF ñINFERNO"

    Police patrolled subway and bus stations Monday in the Spanish capital, and a newspaper said an Islamic group that claimed responsibility for the March 11 bombings had threatened to turn Spain into "an inferno." This seems to be the reward received by the Spanish people for trying to appease, with Socialist José Luis Rodríguez ZapateroÍs election, the terrorists who carried out the commuter train attacks. The attacks came three days before Spain's general elections. Many voters perceived the attacks as a reprisal for the government's support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

    Monday, the conservative newspaper ABC said that just hours before the terrorists killed themselves in Leganes, it received a fax from the same group that had claimed responsibility for the March 11 bombings. ABC said the letter was handwritten in Arabic and signed "Abu Dujana Al Afgani, Ansar Group, al-Qaida in Europe."

    The ABC letter said Spain had until April 4 to end its support for the United States and withdraw its troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. "If these demands are not met, we will declare war on you and ... convert your country into an inferno and your blood will flow like rivers," the letter said. The group said it had showed its force with the "blessed attacks of March 11." What appeasing actions Mr. Zapatero and the Spanish people would take now, facing possible new terrorist attacks? 

    POLL SAYS PRESIDENT BUSH IS LOSING SUPPORT ON IRAQ

    Public approval of President George W. Bush's handling of Iraq has slipped to a new low - alongside his overall job rating - after last week's grisly deaths of four contractors in Fallujah, a poll says. Still, a majority supports his decision to use military force in Iraq, says the poll released Monday.

    Four in 10, or 40 percent, approve of the way President Bush is handling Iraq, while 53 percent disapprove. That's down from six in 10 who approved in mid-January, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The President's overall job approval is at 43 percent, a low point for his presidency, down from 56 percent in mid-January. In the new poll, 47 percent disapproved of President Bush's job performance. His approval soared to 90 percent after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and remained in the 70s for almost a year after that.

    Public support for the decision to use military force in Iraq has not changed. The poll found that 57 percent think the United States made the right decision to use military force - about the same as in early February. Half of those polled, 50 percent, said the United States should keep troops in Iraq until a stable government is formed there, while 44 percent said the U.S. should bring troops home as soon as possible.

     CHAVEZ LASHES OUT AT VENEZUELAN CATHOLIC LEADERS

    President Hugo Chávez on Sunday accused Venezuelan Roman Catholic leaders of betraying the interests of the country's impoverished majority. Squeezing his eyes shut and clutching an image of Jesus Christ, Chávez asked God ''to forgive the Catholic hierarchy for having forgotten to favor the poor'' and aligning itself ñwith the darkest interests of Venezuela's capitalist oligarchy.''

    The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference -- the nation's highest body of church leaders -- recently criticized abuses committed by government security forces in cracking down on violent anti-Chávez protests last month.

    THREE SUSPECTS BLEW THEMSELVES UP IN MADRID

    Three suspects in the Madrid railway bombings blew themselves up Saturday in a building while surrounded by police, killing one special forces agent and wounding 11 police officers, the interior minister said. The blast in Leganes, a southern suburb of Madrid, blew away part of the walls of the building. Police had earlier evacuated residents and cordoned off part of the town. Interior Minister Angel Acebes said a preliminary investigation indicated three terrorists had died, but he added the number had yet to be confirmed because of the damage to the bodies.

    "The special police agents prepared to storm the building and when they started to execute the plan, the terrorists set off a powerful explosion, blowing themselves up," Acebes said. "There are three that could have blown themselves up, but the possibility of more is not ruled out," he said. He said police believe some of the suspects may have carried out the March 11 train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded more than 1,800.

    HONDURAS TO SPONSOR RESOLUTION ON CUBAÍS HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION

    Honduras has announced it is sponsoring a resolution critical of the human rights situation in Cuba.  The Honduran Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the Central American nation will ask the U.N. Human Rights Commission to approve sending a representative to Cuba to assess the situation there.

    Before the official Honduran announcement, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said Tegucigalpa is acting at the request of the United States. He said, among other things, that the United States promised economic aid to Honduras in return for that country sponsoring the resolution.  The Honduran Foreign Ministry said the move stems from Honduras' concern for international law and is devoid of any political considerations. 

    BISHOPS WARN OF ESCALATION AGAINST HUMAN RIGHTS ¿ ñWITHOUT A POPULAR VOTE, PEACE IS THREATENED"

    After its 31 Annual Assembly of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV), the Conference warned of danger to the country if the presidential recall vote is hindered. In the final statement, the bishops expressed their worries about the erosion of the rule of law in Venezuela. The faces of the Catholic Church's leaders expressed concern after the conclusion of Conference. This concern was voiced in the final document drawn up by the bishops. Vulnerability of human rights, deterioration of institutions, and uncertainty about the recall vote were some of the key issues debated in Caracas.

    The President of the CEV, monsignor Baltazar Porras, ratified that the crisis must be solved through a pacific, democratic way, ruling out violence. "If there is not a popular vote, then the path to peace is closed; this will lead us to a way of violence, something the country does not want." "Recent events speak about an eventual frustration of the citizens' right to such a referendum. To prevent or delay, wrongfully, the fulfillment of this right is a serious injustice," read monsignor Porras.

    The CEV'newss document also condemned retaliations against those who signed a recall vote petition or disagree with the government's policies, which represents "a violation of human rights" and deepens the national crisis. The CEV said a totalitarian, exclusive government cannot be imposed in the country, but the people neither want "to go to the past." "We must look ahead. Together, we must build a new society through union." "Democracy is wounded and threatened," said Porras, on behalf of the bishops, regarding the situation of civil rights after the increasing violation of human rights in the country. President Hugo Chavez has dismissed his Church critics as "devils in cassocks."

    CUBA IS A THREAT TO THE SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES

    After reading the testimony made yesterday by John Bolton, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, that Cuba is "a  "terrorist  threat to the United States," CAMCO asked itself: Can George W. Bush Administration remain impassive before this threat that unfortunately is repeatedly denounced by U.S. government officials? The administration is going through a mini-political crisis now created by last week's testimony by Richard A. Clarke, President Bush's former counter terrorism director. Clarke stated that the administration failed to respond quickly enough to warnings about al Qaida in the months before the Sept. 11 attacks.

    Is it possible that in the future we could see a similar crisis set off by Cuba's biological weapons? For the last years the administration has been repeatedly alerted of Cuba's threat to our national security and has done nothing about it. Similar charges by Mr. Bolton were made public May 2002 regarding the development and spread of nuclear, chemical and biological arms. CAMCO hopes that this time, something effective is done before it is too late. We must always keep in mind the tragic results of the terrorist attacks against the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

    Since 1998, our chairman, Major General (DCNG-Ret.) Erneido A. Oliva, has been denouncing the threat represented by Cuba to the United States (Click here and read: Pentagon: "Cuba Military not a Threat").  General Oliva has stated that "Cuba is a threat and will be a threat to the U.S. as long as FIDEL and RAÚL CASTRO, both equally responsible for the Cuban tragedy, remain in power." ñThe Castro brothers have repeatedly intervened in other countries and have trained, and continued to train international terrorists because they dream to turn the Andes in the Sierra Maestra of Latin America" Oliva said in a 1998 interview with The Miami Herald.

    US WARNS CUBA MAY HAVE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS

    The Bush administration has warned that Cuba may have a biological weapons program that represents a terrorist threat to the United States. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton told a congressional committee Tuesday there is a "strong" case the communist island has biological weapons.

    Mr. Bolton also said intelligence shows that Cuba has shared some of its weapons technology with rogue states. The U.S. State Department has accused Cuba of harboring terrorists and has listed the island as a state sponsor of terrorism. Cuban officials have repeatedly denied the charges.

    THE BODIES OF U.S. CITIZENS DRAGGED THROUGH THE STREETS OF FALLUJAH, IRAQ

    A vengeful crowd of cheering Iraqis dragged the burned and mutilated bodies of four contractors -- three of them American -- through the streets of Fallujah Wednesday after killing them in a vehicle ambush. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy director of operations for the U.S. army in Iraq, said all four contractors were working for the U.S.-led occupation authority in Iraq. Wednesday's scenes were reminiscent of an October 1993 incident in Somalia when 18 U.S. Army Rangers and one Malaysian were killed in the downing by Somali militias of two U.S. helicopters. Mobs dragged the corpses of Americans through the streets of Mogadishu.

    In a separate attack, five American soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb was detonated beside their armored vehicle convoy west of Baghdad, the U.S. army said. ''These are horrific attacks by people who are trying to prevent democracy from moving forward, but democracy is taking root,'' said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

    Television pictures from Falluja showed one incinerated body being kicked and its head being stamped on by a member of the jubilant crowd, while others dragged a charred and blackened body by its feet. As one corpse lay burning on the ground, an Iraqi came and doused it with petrol, sending flames soaring into the air. At least two bodies, their skin burned away, were tied to cars and pulled through the streets, witnesses said.

    HUGO CHAVEZ SAYS OPEC OUTPUT CUTS FIRM 

    President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday oil cartel OPEC must go ahead with its plan to cut production by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from April 1 to prevent a price-depressing build-up in crude stocks. "The OPEC cut is firm," Chavez said in an address to the nation. "Venezuela believes it is fundamental to make this cut in production to maintain prices," he said.

    But Ramirez said it was still unclear whether Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ministers would decide to make another output trim at the group's next policy review meeting on March 31 in Vienna. "We will have to see," he said when asked about possible future cuts in production. The producer group decided to cut 1 million bpd from official quotas at its February meeting and reduce production above agreed limits in order to prevent a price slide in the second quarter, when demand traditionally dips.

    CUBAN POLICE ARRESTED THREE WHO FILMED THEM BEATING A MAN

    Police arrested three who filmed them as they beat a young man in Havana's Central Park, and fined about 20 others who berated them as they beat their handcuffed victim.

    According to eyewitnesses, last Saturday just before 5:00 p.m., a uniformed policeman detained a young man who couldn't produce papers when requested to do so. After a plainclothes man joined them, the two started beating the man. A crowd quickly surrounded them, calling them abusive. In short order, a virtual fleet of police cars and patrolmen responded. They helped take the original prisoner away in a van and disperse the crowd, not before also taking in the three who had been filming and issuing 100-peso fines to about 20 in the crowd.