"I'LL ACCEPT A REFERENDUM," CHAVEZ TELLS CARTER

     Venezuela President Hugo Chavez Sunday told international observers he would accept a recall referendum on his rule, as his foes completed three days of final checks that will decide whether the left-wing leader faces a vote this year. Speaking after meeting with former President Jimmy Carter, Chavez said he was ready to go to the polls if the opposition managed during the verification to reach the minimum 2.4 million signatures needed to trigger a referendum.

     Opponents say former lieutenant colonel Chavez has manipulated key authorities -- such as the National Electoral Council -- to block the referendum challenge and fear he will reject any ruling to allow a vote on his mandate. "If the National Electoral Council says tomorrow or the day after tomorrow that the opposition has got the signatures, I'll be happy to go to a referendum," Chavez said at Miraflores Presidential Palace. "If we're going to a referendum, let's go. ... If they win, I'm gone."

     The National Electoral Council is due to announce this week whether the opposition has the minimum valid signatures needed to activate an Aug. 8 recall vote against Chavez, who foes say is dragging the country toward Communist dictatorship. The council has so far ruled that 1.9 million signatures are valid. They ordered 1.2 million questioned signatures to be reconfirmed by voters in additional checks that ended Sunday. Opposition leaders say they are confident they can reach the target, but they charge electoral officials have waged a campaign of obstruction at some of the 2,600 polling centers across the country.

    CUBAÍS DEFEAT AT GUADALAJARA SUMMIT

     Cuba and EU nations clashed throughout the summit in Mexico's western city of Guadalajara and, after failing to bridge their differences, ended up scrapping a proposal to condemn the U.S. embargo against the Communist-run island. Leaders from 58 countries spared the United States direct criticism for the Iraq war and its sanctions against Cuba in a declaration approved Friday by nations in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Cuba wanted to directly name the United States and the legislation it uses to enforce the embargo, but the Europeans argued for more general language. Cuba refused to accept the EU's "decaffeinated" version and it was withdrawn.

    The document, drafted earlier by foreign ministers, was finalized late Friday by the chiefs of state meeting for the Third Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union.  The United States wasn't a participant. The declaration left out words from a previous draft that condemned ''unilateral actions contrary to international law'' and U.S. actions against Cuba in particular. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said at the closing ceremony that he agrees with the declaration but would sign ''with reservations'' because it omitted language asking the United States to lift the sanctions against Cuba. Cuba accused EU nations of acting like "a flock of sheep, subordinate to Washington."  

   LULA INACIO DA SILVA: IS "FED UP WITH CHAVEZ" 

    Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declined insistent invitations by his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez to hold a private meeting during the Guadalajara Summit, reported on Friday Brazilian news agency Estado as quoted by DPA. The agency said an "official Brazilian source" at the Third Latin American, Caribbean, and European Union Summit said that "there would be time for a hug, but not for a private meeting."

    According to the source, the Brazilian government, leader of the Group of Friends of Venezuela, is aware of the "uneasy calm" the country is going through because of Chávez' efforts to bloc a recall vote on his mandate. The Brazilian agency quoted other unidentified sources in Brasilia who said that Lula "is fed up with Chávez."  

    CUBA NAMES CASTRO AIDE TO HEALTH MINISTRY 

    Cuba has named top Communist Party official Jose Ramon Balaguer to turn around a deteriorating free health care system that now finds patients bringing their own sheets and food to the hospital. Balaguer, the party's former ideological chief and a trusted aide to President Fidel Castro, replaced Damodar Pena as minister of Public Health, a government statement said Thursday.

    Balaguer, 71, a doctor who joined Castro's guerrilla movement in 1958, was in charge of the party's international relations. He will have to deal with mounting complaints by Cubans about the decline of Cuba's much lauded public health system, hit by economic crisis since the collapse of Soviet communism and the burden of sending many doctors abroad. Cuba has 15,000 doctors currently working in 64 countries, usually in poor rural communities with no health care, like Haiti. More than half, some 8,000, are in Venezuela, whose populist government in Cuba's closest ally in the hemisphere.

    Cubans complain that hospitals have deteriorated and lack medicine, equipment and hygiene. Patients often take their on sheets and food. Many Cubans are upset that their family doctors are being sent abroad and replaced by less experienced young medics. "I had to take my sheet, my towel and even a ventilator ... the toilets were filthy," Rosario Garcia, an elderly Havana resident who was recently in hospital.  

    TRAIN CARRYING STUDENTS DERAILS IN CUBA

    A train carrying boarding school students back from the countryside derailed south of Havana on Friday morning. A local hospital reported treating some of the teenagers for injuries. Reporters later saw flattened passenger seats and twisted steel inside three yellow passenger cars toppled on their sides, along with the locomotive, in a town called Jamaica, about 30 miles south of Havana.

    There was no immediate statement from authorities about the cause or seriousness of the derailment or the number of casualties. Officials at one nearby hospital confirmed they had treated several people injured in the derailment. In Cuba, many students ranging in age from 16 to 18, attend government-run boarding schools in the countryside, where they work in the fields and attend classes. Many return to Havana on the weekends to be with their families.  

    GOVERNMENT BARS CATHOLIC CHURCH FROM GIVING AWAY MEDICINES 

    The sign at the door of La Pastora church, in Santa Clara, reads: "After June 1, no more medicines will be donated since the church is not authorized to provide that service." Every Tuesday and Friday, missionaries had been distributing soup, bouillon cubes, crackers, medicines and soap donated from Spain and Malta. The Catholic charity Caritas had also been involved in the distribution of medicines to those that showed an appropriate medical prescription. The medicines are either not available in pharmacies or are available only in the dollar market, to which many Cubans don't have ready access.

    Last Tuesday, Father Fidencio, himself a Spaniard, came out at the usual time and announced to all that were waiting for the distribution that he had been told Cuba is a world power in the medical field and that there was no scarcity of medicines or any need for them to give away medicines, which only caused unnecessary public gatherings. He said the last distribution will take place May 30. Father Fidencio quoted the Public Health official who came to see him as saying: "In Cuba we have a surfeit of medicines and large public gatherings are forbidden."  

    CHIEF OF NATIONAL POLICE OF CUBA REMOVED FROM HIS COMMAND

    National police chief Colonel Ramón Rodríguez was removed from his command on orders from the Interior Ministry and General Pascual Rodríguez (no relation) named to replace him.

    General Rodríguez was previously posted in the central province of Villa Clara as delegate of the Interior Ministry. On assuming his new job, he reportedly asked for full authority to restructure the national police force. General Rodríguez had been police chief on two previous occasions. 

    CUBA, MEXICO DECIDE TO RETURN AMBASSADORS -- THE CUBAN TYRANTÍS "REVENGE" SUCCEEDED (See May 26 news)

    After terrorist explosions damaged three banks in Mexico City, President Vicente Fox clearly understood the Cuban tyrant's message delivered through his Mexican agents. Cuba's foreign minister  Felipe Perez Roque happily said both his nation and Mexico agreed Thursday to return their respective ambassadors, moving to ease the latest diplomatic dispute between the traditional allies. At a news conference on the sidelines of an international summit here, Perez Roque said he met with the president and Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez and that they had decided to restore the ambassadors to their posts. He did not give an exact date for their return.

    Mexico was angered by Cuban allegations that a Mexican official arrested in Havana on fraud charges was part of a larger political conspiracy. The Mexican government charged that Cuba was meddling in its affairs and on withdrew its ambassador from Havana in early May. Cuba responded by doing the same with its ambassador in Mexico City. Historically, Mexico was Cuba's strongest ally in the region. But relations have become strained under President Vicente Fox, whose administration has criticized Cuba's human rights record.

    Derbez, who spoke to reporters earlier, did not mention the decision to restore the ambassadors. Mexican officials were not immediately available for comment. But Derbez had called the meeting with Perez Roque "positive" and the "first step" toward normalizing relations. When asked if he felt the two countries would be able to overcome their differences, he said: "I always see a resolution." The decision was a surprise, especially considering that Perez Roque had said he didn't expect much from the meeting. Late Wednesday, in a statement from Havana, Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he wasn't attending the summit, in part because he was angry with Mexico. He also condemned Latin American nations - especially Mexico - for not supporting his communist-run island.

     GAVIRIA SAYS THE REPAIR PROCESS IS BEING HELD SATISFACTORILY

    Upon his arrival, OAS Secretary General César Gaviria received a report from the international observation mission stating that the repair process is being held satisfactorily, even tough there have been some minor problems. Gaviria said that according the report, almost all the claim-filing centers were working. He said that the essential part of the process is people's participation so that "their will is respected."

    The official hopes that this process is held with fewer problems than those observed in previous stages of the petition process. "We hope to have a more transparent event" this time. He requested the cooperation of mass media to ensure that the whole process is completed in the best way.

    CASTRO ABSENT FROM SUMMIT BECAUSE OF LATIN AMERICAN LEADERSÍ  ñBETRAYALî

    Cuban dictator Fidel Castro said European complicity with the United States and the ïbetrayalÍ of some of his "submissive" Latin American neighbors will keep him from attending Friday's summit of European Union and Latin American leaders in Mexico. The meeting promises to be a hollow ceremony devoid of any agenda for dealing with the social problems facing Latin Americans, the 77-year-old Cuban leader said in a fiery statement explaining his absence from the summit in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.

    He said the expulsion of Cuba's ambassador from Mexico on May 1 and "dishonest" Mexican accusations of Cuban meddling in Mexican politics were also factors in his decision to stay home. In an open letter to the Mexican people, Castro blasted European and Latin American leaders for bowing down before to the policies of his arch-enemy, the United States. "The complicity of the European Union with the U.S. crimes and aggressions against Cuba ... make it unworthy of being taken seriously by our people," Castro said.

    Castro accused several Latin American governments of blindly following orders from Washington and said it was "not possible to give even the slightest seriousness or respect to their criteria and decisions." Castro said he expected the leftist presidents of Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil to do what they could to improve Latin America's lot "in the five minutes they are given to speak." 

    CATHOLIC CHURCH REJECTS SANCTIONS AGAINST COMMUNIST CUBA

    Cuba's Roman Catholic bishops on Wednesday rejected sanctions adopted by the Bush administration against the Cuban government and said the island's future should be decided without foreign interference. The Catholic Bishops Conference said new sanctions announced on May 6 by the White House only served to aggravate the hardships and burdens already suffered by Cuban families under communist rule.

    The bishops also criticized price increases implemented on Monday by President Fidel Castro's government because they hurt Cuba's poorest families. "It is unacceptable that the future of Cuba be determined on the basis of exclusions and much less with the intervention of a foreign government," the bishops said in a statement. The Catholic leaders repeated their call for a national dialogue to solve Cuba's problems peacefully.

    "We urge those who shape or try to shape the destiny of Cuba, from inside or outside, be they Christian or not, to show their good will only through respectful dialogue and the adoption of measures that guarantee reconciliation and peace between Cubans," the bishops said.

    CUBA TRIES TO TURN THE EXILE COMMUNITY AGAINST PRESIDENT BUSH

    Havana rallied support this weekend among Cuban exiles for its confrontation with President Bush administration's latest get-tough-on-Castro policy. A three-day meeting in Havana drew nearly 500 Cubans living abroad. Two hundred-and-twenty of them came from the United States despite Washington's threat to prosecute or fine those who attended if they didn't first get a special license from Washington to attend the meeting.

    At the Havana meeting, the Cuban Government capitalized on some sentiment in Miami against regulations going into effect June 1. These new restrictions prohibit Cuban-Americans from traveling to the island more than once every three years even in the event of a humanitarian emergency. They allow visits only if the traveler has immediate relatives still in Cuba. Visits to aunts, uncles and cousins are not permitted.  Some participants, however, complained the event had been stacked. They said the closed-door meeting was heavily packed with people sympathetic to the communist government. "The only people running the panels were officials with their own agenda: the U.S. embargo, the new U.S. restrictions, etc.

    Instead of opening the door more each time, they are polarizing the situation," one participant charged. He said his efforts to raise issues of freedom of expression and political choice were rebuffed at the conference.  The message was clear. The Cuban government's first priority is assuring the survival of the Revolution and we are being enlisted in that battle. No one should have any illusions about it," the man emphasized. In 1994, 37,000 Cubans returned to the island on visits. In 2003, nearly 168,000 visited, 115,000 of them Cuban-Americans.

   ASHCROFT: AL-QAEDA DETERMINED TO ATTACK AGAIN

    Al-Qaeda is determined to launch a U.S. attack in the next few months that could be linked to a major event such as the upcoming international economic summit or the summer political conventions, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Wednesday, citing ''credible intelligence from multiple sources.'' Ashcroft noted that following the March 11 train bombings in Madrid an al-Qaeda spokesman said the terrorist organization's plans for an attack on America were 90 percent complete. That, coupled with a steady stream of intelligence about Al-Qaeda gathered before and after the Spain bombings, ''suggest that it's almost ready to attack the United States,'' he said at a Justice Department news conference with FBI Director Robert Mueller.

    The intelligence does not contain specifics such as timing, method or place of an attack. But officials say it is backed with greater corroboration than usual, including information that operatives may already be in the United States.  Ashcroft and Mueller asked state and local law enforcement and the public for help tracking down seven people thought to be connected to Al-Qaeda. ''All present a clear and present danger to America. All should be considered armed and dangerous,'' Ashcroft said.

    Ashcroft said the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq due to the political repercussions of the train bombings could lead Al-Qaeda to attempt to influence U.S. politics. ''Al-Qaeda may perceive that a large-scale attack in the United States this summer or fall could lead to similar consequences,'' he said. At the news conference, large photos of the seven suspected Al-Qaeda operatives were displayed. The suspects, all of whom have been sought for months, include Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, a Saudi native who once lived in Florida, and Aafia Siddiqui, a woman from Pakistan who studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    MEXICO SAYS CASTRO TO STAY AWAY FROM SUMMIT IN GUADALAJARA

    Cuban dictator Fidel Castro will stay away from a summit of Latin American and European leaders this week and save his host, Mexico, from embarrassment after the former allies clashed this month. Relations between the two touched their lowest point ever three weeks ago when Mexico threw out the Cuban ambassador in a spat over Mexico's close ties to the United States and Cuba's human rights record. Mexico also withdrew its envoy to Havana in the row, aggravated by a May Day speech in which Castro said Mexico's influence in the world had been "turned into ashes" by its friendship with Washington.

    Mexican officials were worried that Castro would use the summit Friday in the western city of Guadalajara to launch a new attack against Mexico's foreign policy. But Mexican foreign ministry spokesman Allan Nahum said on Wednesday that Castro's government had formally told the hosts he would not be coming. Instead, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque will attend the summit and meet with his Mexican counterpart Luis Ernesto Derbez in a bid to ease tensions between the two countries, which for many years were close allies and leading critics of U.S. policy in Latin America.

    European Union, Latin American and Caribbean leaders meeting here Friday are expected to urge greater international cooperation in resolving crises and fighting terrorism, as well as push for more trade and cooperation between their regions.

    ROGER NORIEGA: VENEZUELA MAY FACE SUSPENSION OVER REFERENDUM 

    Venezuela could face suspension from the Organization of American States if it blocks a referendum aimed at removing President Hugo Chavez, the senior U.S. diplomat for Latin America said on Wednesday. The government of Venezuela, a key oil supplier to the United States, has jeopardized democracy by trying repeatedly to prevent a recall vote against the leftist president, Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega told Reuters.

    The Organization of American States has a "democratic charter" that suspends from the 34-member body any nation where there is a breakdown of democracy. Asked in an interview if the United States could seek to apply the charter to Venezuela, Noriega said, "We think we are very close to that type of decision." "The referendum would be a very important opportunity to overcome the (country's) polarization," Noriega said. "The Venezuelan people have expressed their point of view, their expectations and hopes. ... If the government or the authorities deny the people their opportunity, then maybe we could have very serious confrontations."

    He also said if Chavez carried out a threat to stop selling oil to the United States, Washington could find new suppliers to replace the oil within days but it would take much longer for Venezuela to restructure its distribution network. "I hope the threat is rhetoric because it would be economic suicide," Noriega said.

    EXPLOSIONS DAMAGE THREE BANKS IN MEXICO -- IS THIS THE CUBAN TYRANTÍS REVENGE?

    Bombs exploded outside three banks in a central Mexican city on the night on the early morning of May 23, heavily damaging them but causing no injuries, authorities said Sunday.  The explosions occurred around midnight on Saturday in an industrial area of Jiutepec, a town near Cuernavaca about 35 miles from Mexico City. The explosions took place outside branches of Banamex, BBVA-Bancomer and Santander Serfin. Explosives left outside a HSBC bank did not go off.

    Authorities found a note near the bombing sites signed by a group calling itself the Comando Jaramillista Morelense 23 de Mayo „ in tribute to the peasant leader Ruben Jaramillo, who was murdered along with his family by state forces on May 23, 1962.  The note lashes out at President Vicente Fox and "neoliberal counter-reforms," while calling for the departure of the governor of Morelos state, where Jiutepec is located.

    "Faxism has demonstrated that under imperialistic hegemony, moral and political degradation have no limits," the statement read, without mention of the explosions. "May no honest force be surprised before this cry of protest that is the only option left to us." 

    MEXICO CONFIRMS ITALIAN COURT FROZE CUBAN ASSETS IN DEBT DISPUTE

    Officials of the government's National Bank of Foreign Commerce confirmed on Friday that it had won an Italian court order to freeze US$40 million in assets owed to Mexico by Cuba. The action is part of Mexico's effort to recover nearly US$400 million it says it is owed by Cuba. It also comes during what Cuban officials say is the worst diplomatic crisis in decades between two countries with historically close ties.   

      The director of the Mexican bank, Hector Reyes Retana, told the Mexico City daily Reforma that the sum "approximately equals 10 percent of the total debt." An official for the bank known as Bancomext confirmed the report on Friday. He said he was unsure of the date of the ruling.

    The sum embargoed by the Italian court is roughly equal to two months Cuban revenue from cigar sales, which was reportedly totaled US$240 million last year. During an earlier debt renegotiation with Mexico, Cuban officials agreed to guarantee repayments with revenues from the telephone company Etecsa, which is owned jointly by the Cuban government and an Italian company, and by the government's Telefonica Antillana. The Cuban debt amounts to nearly half the total of non-performing loans on Bancomext's books.

    LAST OF ZAPATEROÍS IRAQ TROOPS ARRIVED IN SPAIN

    The last of Spain's soldiers who served in Iraq arrived home Monday, sealing Spain's conversion from a pillar of the U.S.-led coalition into one of Washington's harshest Western critics over Iraq. A group of 227 soldiers in a chartered jet arrived at Torrejon air base outside Madrid and were greeted by Defense Minister Jose Bono and other top brass.

    Bono announced Friday that all Spanish troops had left Iraq upon crossing the border into Kuwait. Some 150 Spanish military personnel remain in Kuwait but they had never been to Iraq, the Defense Ministry said. Former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar lent unwavering support to President Bush over Iraq and sent Spanish troops there after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Aznar's Popular Party lost March elections, and Spain's new Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ordered the troops home the same day he took office in April.

    ZapateroÍs decision sent shockwaves through Europe, Washington and the Middle East because Zapatero won a surprise election days after the March 11 al Qaeda-linked train bomb attacks in Madrid that killed 191 Spaniards. Zapatero rejected charges by some U.S. officials and Aznar that the move amounted to appeasement.

    CUBA RAISES DOLLAR-PRICED GOODS AVERAGE 15 PERCENT

    Communist Cuba raised prices on everything from cooking oil to soap and clothing an average 15.4 percent Monday, blaming recent U.S. limits on the flow of Cuban-Americans and their cash to the Caribbean island. Residents must purchase everything but the most basic essentials at dollar stores and service centers where prices were already marked up a minimum 240 percent before Monday. The government had suspended the sale of all but essential consumer goods in dollar stores May 10, warning of "days of work and sacrifice" ahead.

    A government communiqué said the increases were implemented due to the "brutal measures adopted by the U.S. government to damage the country's economy."  Along with free housing, social services and subsidized utilities only the essentials and produce are available for pesos in the state-run dual economy, battered by U.S. sanctions, the collapse of former-benefactor the Soviet Union and its own inefficiencies.

    The average wage is 245 pesos per month, or around $9 at the government exchange rate of 1 dollar to 27 pesos. Items such as cooking oil, extra milk, juices, pasta, soap and detergents cost anywhere from the equivalent of a day's to a week's wage, and such "luxury" goods as decent quality clothes and household appliances anywhere from a few weeks, to months and even years of labor.

    VACLA HAVEL, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC, SENDS GREETING TO THE CUBAN PEOPLE

    Fifteen years ago the countries of central and Eastern Europe embarked on the road to democracy, road of assuming the responsibility for their own decisions. To us, the opponents to the communist régime in the then Czechoslovakia, The Velvet Revolution caught us by surprise and without being prepared to assume control from the hands of the totalitarian nomenclature that was collapsing quickly. The Cuban opposition is better prepared today because they have learned from our experiences, successes and failures. And at the same time, are reinforced by the support and solidarity from the international public opinion that is noticeable thanks to the results of the Varela Project, a constant and persistent manifesto of the unconformity with the regime and the necessity of ending the dictatorship through pacific avenues.

    However, I am aware that there is division among the Cuban opposition. It is certain that this reality can be a good beginning for the creation of a free and pluralistic society, nevertheless, at this time, and during the period previous to the taking of the power, unity and the capacity of each of the representatives and groups of the opposition to come together in a dialogue, is of the utmost importance.

    Since I left my presidential position, I have continued my fight for the respect of human rights and for freedom around the world. From my own experience I know, how important it is the support and solidarity at an international level. As important as it was for us then, who like the Cubans, were punished every time that we expressed ourselves freely. In regards to Cuba, country that reminds me so much of Czechoslovakia fifteen years ago, I have participated in several initiatives. I've had discussions with various representatives of the opposition; I have requested international support on their behalf, I proposed the creation of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba, in repeated occasions I have proposed Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas for the Nobel Peace Prize. A few days ago, a group of former Cuban political prisoners proposed to me the creation of the International Union of Former Political Prisoners, idea that I share and I am resolved to equally support. Today, on the Day of International Support to the Cuban Opposition, my solidarity with those who suffer persecution and I have hopes that soon they will decide their own future.

    MENOYO: CONFERENCE DID NOT ADDRESS DEMOCRATIC TOPICS -- REALLY! 

    A major immigration conference taking place in Havana is failing to tackle the most important issues concerning Cubans everywhere, a former exile who returned to the island last year without government approval said Saturday.

    Eloy Gutierrez-Menoyo said the topics of freedom of expression and the rights of Cubans to pursue an alternative political system should be top priority at the three-day gathering attended by more than 450 Cubans who live overseas.

    Instead, the subjects of discussion have been limited, and there is little debate as the majority of participants agree with Cuba's communist government on almost every point, he said.

    A THREE-DAY IMMIGRATION CONFERENCE BRINGS TOGETHER CUBAN OFFICIALS AND CASTRO SYMPATHIZERS LIVING ABROAD

    Cuban Foreign Minister Perez Roque called overseas Castro sympathizers for the three-day immigration conference in Havana that opened on Friday  to join their compatriots on the island in fighting U.S. efforts to squeeze the economy and push out Castro. Speaking to about 200 overseas Cubans - more than half of them living in the United States - Perez Roque said new U.S. measures against the island represent "a new and flagrant violation of our human rights."

    Fighting those measures "should be the top priority of all those who feel Cuban," the foreign minister said. Organized by the Cuban government, the Nation and Migration Conference comes as the United States cracks down on travel to the island by Cuban-Americans. But Perez said his government wants to make it easier for Cuban-born people to visit. "The economic blockade is the main obstacle today to normalizing relations between the Cubans who live in the United States and Cuba," Perez said in a speech.

    President Bush administration this month decided to tighten sanctions by limiting cash remittances and visits by Cuban Americans to their relatives in Cuba -- a move the White House said was aimed at hastening the demise of Castro's rule. Perez welcomed investment by exiles and called on retired Cuban Americans to settle in Cuba, though the embargo bars them from receiving U.S. social security payments if they move to the island. Once branded "warms and traitors" for fleeing after the 1959 revolution, Cuban exiles in Miami are now seen as a welcome source of remittances and tourist dollars for Cuba.

    SOLDIER, SON OF A PROMINENT NICARAGUAN COMMUNIST SINGER, FOUND GUILTY OF DESERTION IN IRAQ

    A U.S. soldier who said he left his unit in Iraq to protest an "oil-driven" war was convicted of desertion Friday and sentenced to a year in jail and a bad conduct discharge. A military jury met for about 20 minutes before giving the maximum sentence of one year in prison to Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, an infantry squad leader with the Florida National Guard.

    "I have no regrets. Not one," Mejia said before his sentencing. In his comments to the jury of four officers and four enlisted soldiers, Mejia said he was not afraid of going to jail. "I will take it because I will go there with my honor, knowing I have done the right thing," he said. Military prosecutors argued that Mejia abandoned his troops and didn't fulfill his duty. Mejia was led out of the courthouse by military police with his hands cuffed behind his back to a waiting patrol car.

    Mejia is the son of a prominent Nicaraguan communist singer, who wrote the line "Let's fight the Yankee, enemy of humanity" into the country's former Sandinista anthem. The line has always proved controversial, and the Sandinistas, who ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1989, later dropped it from the anthem.

    JORGE MAS SANTOS DEMANDS SUPPORT FOR DISSIDENTS

    It will be Cuba's dissidents who spark significant political change on the island, not White House policies or South Florida exiles, Jorge Mas Santos, Chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF), told about 800 people at a luncheon Thursday marking Cuba's Independence Day. ''Today, we have to help Cubans help themselves. . . . That's where our focus will be,'' Mas Santos said in speech showcasing a shift in the influential group's philosophy.

    CANF's leadership now believes that Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's reign will end through homegrown pressures, not external ones. Mas Santos added that in November, exiles should vote for the presidential candidate who includes the plight ''of the dissidents and a free Cuba'' in his platform. His statement illustrated CANF's growing political independence in an election year when the Cuban exile vote will be heavily courted. ''In the past, CANF has been aligned to a political party. We're independent and nonpartisan in our ideology,'' Mas said to loud cheers, on the day that Cubans celebrate their 1902 Independence from Spanish rule.

    ñCANF represents only the best interests of the Cuban people.'' A Cuba without Castro remains the organization's goal -- 45 years after the dictator took power. But expecting an international power -- namely the United States -- to rescue the island is a fruitless exercise, he said. ''This falls upon the shoulders of Cubans,'' Mas told the group of men and women at the JW Marriott on Brickell Avenue. ''Our message to the world is that our country is not free, and we won't rest until it is,'' Mas said. ''I'm totally convinced that the next few months will bring many changes to Cuba,'' Mas said to a standing ovation.

    ON CUBAN INDEPENDENCE DAY, THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY READ A LACONIC SOLIDARITY MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT TO THE CUBAN PEOPLE

    President Bush on Thursday marked Cuban Independence Day by reaffirming his support for democracy in the communist country ruled by Fidel Castro. "We stand firmly with the 11 million Cubans who still suffer under the repressive Castro dictatorship and who dream of a prosperous and free future," Bush said in a laconic statement read by White House press secretary Scott McClellan. "The United States is working for the day when a free Cuba will rejoin the community of democracies in the Americas," McClellan said on the 102nd anniversary of Cuban independence.

    A year ago, President Bush personally voiced solidarity with Cubans in a radio message in Spanish. However, this year, the very brief statement read to reporters by McClellan ended, partly in Spanish: "With all the people and for the good of all the people, may God bless the Cuban people." Cuban-Americans are an electoral force in U.S. presidential politics, especially in Florida, the contested state that put President Bush over the top against Democrat Al Gore in 2000. Heading into the November election, President Bush and Democrat John Kerry are tied in the state, according to a poll released Thursday by the American Research Group.

    ECONOMIC CRISIS IN CUBA BECOMES MORE CRITICAL

      A week after the government decreed changes in the way dollar stores, in many ways the lifeline of Cuban consumers, operate, the prevailing mood is still uncertainty. The heavy police presence at the stores and the slowly-cruising patrol cars reinforce the feeling of a city under siege.

    An employee at the Ultra store, in Central Havana, acknowledged that they don't know when they will reopen, and added that they have been ordered to remove all alcoholic beverages and cigarettes from the shelves. At the same time, Western Union offices, through which many here get their remittances of dollars from abroad, have been closed these last few days.

    CUBAN DISSIDENTS HELD FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AT U.S. GUANTANAMO BASE 

    More than two dozen Cuban human rights activists being held at a U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be granted political asylum in the United States, Cuban exile groups in Miami said Wednesday. The dissidents were stopped at sea as they fled their communist-led Caribbean homeland after a crackdown on dissidents by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's government, the groups said.

    Cubans intercepted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard while trying to reach Florida are routinely sent back to Cuba. But in rare cases, those who persuade U.S. immigration agents they could face persecution are taken to Guantanamo while their immigration status is sorted out. The Cubans at Guantanamo left Cuba after a March 2003 roundup of dissidents that left Castro's pro-democracy opposition in disarray. Seventy-five of those arrested were convicted in summary trials and imprisoned for up to 28 years. The Guantanamo group includes four women and four children.

    They are being held at the same U.S. naval base where the United States set up a prison to detain hundreds of "enemy combatants," most of whom are suspected al Qaeda and Taliban fighters captured during the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The exile groups called on the Bush administration to immediately review the activists' immigration status. The prison camp for the suspected enemy fighters is run by the U.S. military and the detention center for the Cubans is under the jurisdiction of U.S. immigration officials.

    CHAVEZ: WÍLL HAND POWER TO ANOTHER REVOLUTIONARY

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his foes will fail to secure a referendum against him and he is confident he will hand over the world's No. 5 oil exporter to another "revolutionary" government when he steps down. Left-winger Chavez said in an interview late on Monday he is beefing up the military and reservist ranks to defend the nation he said was "without doubt under threat" after authorities denounced a plot to assassinate him.

    In the opposition's final chance to secure a recall against the populist leader this year, from May 27 to 31 electoral authorities will allow voters to reconfirm pro-referendum signatures set aside because of doubts over their validity. "In truth, the opposition disappointed me, because I had wanted the whole referendum process to occur and I honestly thought they were going to collect the signatures," Chavez said at his private office at the Miraflores Presidential Palace. "I have serious doubts they will manage to reconfirm them, but let them try," he said. Chavez  says he is a "pre-candidate" for the presidency through 2013.

     Electoral officials have so far ruled the opposition collected only 1.9 million valid signatures, short of the minimum 2.4 million required to trigger a vote. They need to revalidate 525,000 out of the 1.2 million disputed signatures to secure an Aug. 8 poll. Opponents charge the president's confidence is rooted in his manipulation of key institutions such as the electoral council and the supreme court to block a vote and steadily inch Venezuela toward Cuba-style communism.

    CUBAN DISSIDENTS JAILED IN THIRD TRIAL IN A MONTH

    Three Cuban dissidents were sentenced to prison on Tuesday in the third trial of opponents of Cuba's communist government in a month, a human rights group said. Orlando Zapata, Raul Arencibia and Virgilio Marante were convicted of contempt for authority, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, the Cuban Human Rights Commission said.

    "They were sentenced to three years in jail," said veteran activist Elizardo Sanchez, the head of the rights commission. The three men had been arrested on Dec. 6, 2002, when they gathered to study the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at a house in a Havana suburb. Only relatives were allowed to attend Tuesday's trial at a municipal court. Police cordoned off the block to keep the public and reporters away.

    Another 10 dissidents who had been arrested more than two years ago were sentenced up to seven years in jail in a one-day trial in the central Cuban town of Ciego de Avila. They had been arrested on March 4, 2002, for shouting "Down with Fidel" at a hospital where they had gone to see a dissident journalist who had been beaten by police. The U.N. Human Rights Commission condemned the "disproportionate severity" of sentences given to dissidents who were "peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, opinion, association and assembly." 

     VENEZUELA OPPOSITION DENOUNCES CHAVEZÍS MILITIA

    Venezuela's opposition denounced President Hugo Chavez's plan to give civilians military training as a thinly disguised attempt to create pro-government militias. Chavez announced the new civil defense force during a speech Sunday, saying "imperialists" in the United States plan to invade Venezuela to take over its abundant oil reserves.

    He pointed to the arrests near Caracas last week of more than 100 alleged Colombia paramilitaries. Chavez claims his opponents enlisted the Colombian forces in a conspiracy to overthrow his leftist government. Opposition leaders denied involvement in any such plot and said Chavez's plan to train civilians amounts to an intimidation campaign directed at foes pushing for a presidential recall vote.

   "The plan is aimed at organizing and legalizing pro-government militias at the service of the state," Jose Farias, a congressman belonging to the Solidarity opposition party, said Monday. Chavez said active military officers, reserve troops and retired soldiers would begin organizing civilians "so they can defend the fatherland." He did not say whether training would be obligatory or offered only to volunteers. "Each citizens should considered himself a soldier," the former lieutenant colonel emphasized.

   HUGO CHAVEZ REJECTS OPEC OUTPUT INCREASE

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday he did not think oil cartel OPEC should increase production to help lower oil prices. "When we compare prices, we can see that the price of oil has been very low in the last 20 years. We maintain the position ... that it is not necessary to increase production," Chavez said at a press conference.

    Prices for U.S. oil futures on Monday settled at $42 a barrel, an all-time high in the 21-year history of the New York Mercantile Exchange. OPEC is scheduled to next meet on June 3 to decide on production policy. Some members, including top producer Saudi Arabia, have called for the cartel's output quotas to be raised to help cool prices that could hurt the economies of consumer nations.

    But Chavez blamed current prices on the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush. "The rise in prices is not OPEC's fault. If there was no war in Iraq the price of oil would not be $40 a barrel," Chavez said. Relations between Washington and Caracas have been strained since Chavez took office in 1999 and strengthened ties with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

    HUGO CHAVEZ ANNOUNCES THE CREATION OF MILITIAS SIMILAR TO THOSE OF CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO

    President Hugo Chávez announced his new concept of national, popular defense and urged the Venezuelan people to fully participate in it. "As Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, I began to introduce the guidelines to open the paths for a popular, massive participation in the national defense," Chávez said. "Each citizen must consider himself/herself  a soldier," he added.

    The president said that retired officers are being called to work in the organization of people's participation in the defense of the country. "In each place where there is a groups of patriots they must be organizing the defense." He also announced that the number of officers of the National Armed Forces is to be increased, allocating more than VEB 20 billion (about $10 million) for this project.

    U.S. STOPS BLACK-MARKET CUBAN TELEVISION 

    The U.S. government believes Cubans should see more of America on television, and for years, Cubans have been happily complying - cobbling together clandestine satellite systems to pick up everything from the World Series to soap operas. No longer. Most of these systems have been silenced - not by Fidel Castro but by an American company's war on TV piracy.

    îWe're sad because we cannot reach our people with so much happiness,'' said Crystal In late April, DirecTV, based in El Segundo, Calif., changed its decoder cards to halt widespread piracy in the United States. By chance, it knocked out most of Cuba's pirates too. îWe have an obligation to our legitimate customers and programming partners to target and take off-line anyone who is using an illegally modified access card,'' he said.

    The U.S. government's Office of Cuba Broadcasting targets the island with its own station, Television Marti, but its broadcasts are jammed by Castro's regime. It tried the satellite route, but few Cubans can pick up its signals, which use a different technology and satellite from those used by DirecTV. On May 6, President Bush promised $18 million to transmit TV Marti from a U.S. military aircraft - a measure that a commentator on Cuban state television described as a ñprologue to war."

    THE PRESIDENT OF IRAQI GOVERNING COUNCIL KILLED IN BAGHDAD

    The president of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed early Monday in a huge explosion set off by a suicide bomber outside the headquarters of the U.S.-led occupation authority here.  At least 10 Iraqis were killed and six were wounded, and two U.S. soldiers were slightly injured, in a devastating attack on Iraq's political leaders six weeks before the scheduled handover of limited political power to a new Iraqi government.

    The explosion killed Izzedine Salim, who had held the rotating presidency of the Governing Council since May 1 and was a leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, one of the most influential Shiite Muslim political factions in Iraq.  The council said it selected Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, a Sunni Muslim civil engineer from the northern city of Mosul, to replace Saleem. Al-Yawer will serve as head of the U.S.-appointed council until the transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis on June 30.

    CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO LEADS PROTEST AGAINST U.S. EMBARGO

    Hundreds of thousands of red-clad Cubans marched with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro past the U.S. diplomatic mission Friday, chanting support for the revolution while depicting President George W. Bush as Hitler for moving to tighten the embargo of the communist state. Castro launched the demonstration with denunciations and ridicule of President Bush, saying he was fraudulently elected and trying to impose "world tyranny." Castro insisted that the American president had "no morality nor any right at all to speak of liberty, democracy and human rights" and he said of President Bush's 2000 election victory, "all the world knows it was fraudulent."

    Castro led the crowd shouting "Long live free Cuba! Fascist Bush!." The government-organized demonstration lasted just over six hours; as it ended, officials announced 1.2 million people had taken part. The number could not be confirmed. While past state-organized demonstrations have compared other world leaders to Adolf Hitler, Friday's march brought the level of hostility toward Bush to a new level. Scores of printed posters - distributed by the march's organizers - bore swastikas and portrayed Bush in a Nazi uniform with a mustache similar to Hitler's.

    The 77-year-old Cuban dictator, dressed in his usual green military uniform and field cap, appeared to walk with some difficulty, sometimes waving a small Cuban flag made of paper. Castro said the march was "an act of indignant protest and a denunciation of the brutal, merciless and cruel measures" aimed at squeezing the island's economy and pushing out the Cuban leader.  "This country could be exterminated ... erased from the face of the earth," Castro told the crowd. But he said it would never fall into "the humiliating condition of a neo-colony of the United States." He said that if conflict comes, "I will be in the first line of defense, ready to die in defense of my people"-- As Saddam died in Iraq.

    ASK POPEÍS PARDON FOR IRAQ WAR, CHAVEZ TELLS PRESIDENT BUSH

    U.S. President George W. Bush should kneel before Pope John Paul and ask for forgiveness for abuses committed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday. In his latest jibe against the U.S. leader, the outspoken left-wing Venezuelan president urged President Bush to use his planned visit to the Vatican on June 4 to announce the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

    "Even though he's not a Catholic ... he should ask God's forgiveness at the Vatican ... go down on his knees in front of the Pope and ask for the forgiveness of the world, not just the Iraqi people," Chavez told a news conference in Caracas. Chávez made the comments after noting that senior Vatican officials had criticized the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American soldiers. Over the last few months, Chavez has repeatedly condemned President Bush for waging the war in Iraq. He called the U.S. president a "jerk" earlier this year and accuses his administration of seeking to topple him, a charge denied by Washington.

    CNE THREATENS TO EXPEL FOREIGN ELECTION OBSERVES

    Venezuela threatened to expel foreign elections observers Thursday, escalating a political crisis sparked by the alleged discovery of a plot to kill President Hugo Chavez. The developments could derail a possible recall referendum against Chavez and deepen political polarization in Venezuela, a top supplier of oil to the United States.

    Venezuela's National Elections Council accused observers from the Organization of American States and the U.S.-based Carter Center of sympathizing with the opposition's drive for a presidential recall. It said the observers betrayed neutrality by declaring on Wednesday that people who signed presidential recall petitions cannot withdraw their signatures during an upcoming "repair" process.

    The OAS and the Carter Center said Wednesday that "the act of petition signing - the same as the act of voting - is a singular expression of will that cannot be subsequently changed." They also said they were "deeply concerned by reports of intimidation of signers." Council director Jorge Rodriguez accused the OAS and Carter Center of "losing any sort of impartial authority." He said election officials would not meet with the two groups unless they retracted their statements.

    CUBAÍS SUGAR HARVEST WILL NOT REACH ESTABLISHED GOALS

    Cuba's worst sugar harvest in 70 years appeared all but over this week after gathering around 2 million tonnes of raw sugar, as moderate to heavy rain made cane cutting impossible and closed mills across much of the country, sources said. Local analysts forecast the harvest would be called off in many areas, as it was too costly to resume for just a few days or weeks.

    "The Sugar Ministry will look at the situation on a province to province basis to see if it is worth reopening the mills," a government economist said. "Ministry officials have told me that in many cases they do not think it will be," he added, asking that his name not be used. Cuba's sugar harvest, which normally runs from December through April, can continue into May and sometimes June, when production drops rapidly as heat, humidity and rain lower yields and hamper harvesting.

    The Summer rains began late last week and continued off-and-on into Tuesday, covering most of the Caribbean island. The Sugar Ministry has not commented on the situation. Similar precipitation earlier this year closed mills for a week to 10 days. Fifteen of 79 mills had already closed for the year before the rain hit, according to state-run radio. Analysts said Cuba would have to import hundreds of thousands of tonnes to meet domestic needs, or not fulfill export commitments, which were mainly to Russia and China.

    CAPTURED COLOMBIAN SAYS RECRUITED 'TO VOTE FOR CHAVEZ' 

    One of a group of Colombians arrested by Venezuelan police as suspected paramilitaries seeking to topple President Hugo Chavez said Thursday he was recruited with a promise he would be given a Venezuelan identity card to "vote for Chavez." His sobbing confession, broadcast by private television channels, cast further confusion over who had brought the Colombians to a farm near Caracas. More than 100 of them have been detained since Sunday by Venezuelan security forces.

    Left-winger Chavez says the group is a "terrorist" paramilitary force organized by enemies in Venezuela, Colombia and Miami, which was being trained to overthrow or kill him. But some opposition leaders believe the Colombians may have been brought to Caracas by government agents mounting a "sting" operation aimed at discrediting them by linking them with violent efforts to topple the populist president.

    As he was led away, reporters questioned him about how, and by whom, he had been brought to Venezuela. The man, his head masked by a green shirt, did not identify his recruiters. "They said, 'Do you want to work?' and I said 'Yes'," he said. They said "we would come here ... and they would give us a Venezuelan identity card and we were going to vote for Chavez," he said, adding he came from Cucuta in Colombia. Security forces said they found only one pistol among the Colombians captured, most of whom were initially presented wearing Venezuelan army uniforms.

    VENEZUELA ASKS U.S. MILITARY TO EVACUATE THEIR OFFICES AT FUERTE TIUNA

    Venezuela has asked the U.S. military mission to leave liaison offices at armed forces bases in the country, U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro said Wednesday. The request appeared to signal a further downgrading of military links between the two countries, whose relations have become strained under the government of left-wing President Hugo Chavez. The request  was sent to the U.S. Embassy Friday by Defense Minister Gen. Jorge Garcia.

    U.S. defense attaché staff members were asked to leave offices at Fuerte Tiuna armed forces headquarters in Caracas and at other military installations, Shapiro said. That would mean they would have to work from the embassy or other rented premises. Shapiro declined to say how the move would affect U.S. military cooperation with Venezuela, which has decreased since Chavez took office in early 1999. Washington has criticized the Venezuelan leader's close alliance with Cuba's communist dictator, Fidel Castro. Chavez has condemned the criticism as meddling.

     CUBAÍS SUSPENSION OF DOLLAR SALES HAS CREATED PANIC ON THE ISLAND

     Cubans awoke Tuesday to shuttered stores that sell goods in U.S. dollars after a government announcement that sales of nonessentials in greenbacks would be suspended indefinitely. The government blamed the new measure, first announced on television Monday night, on the Bush administration's decision last week to tighten trips and cash remittances to the island. Notices posted on many government-owned stores that do business only in dollars all said the same thing: ñClosed for Inventory.''

     Possession of dollars in Cuba was legalized in 1993 amid a grinding economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the loss of about $5 billion a year in Moscow subsidies. It has since evolved into the backbone of an economy sustained by family remittances from abroad and the millions of foreign tourists who flock to Cuba each year. The  communist government opened the dollar stores in large part to capture those dollars.

     Roger Noriega, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, defended the tightened rules on Cuba. U.S. policy, he said, ñcan't be based on the psychosis of Fidel Castro or any petty dictator. We have to do what we think is a smart policy, and that's what we've done.'' 

    IRAQI TERRORISTS BEHEADED AN AMERICAN HOSTAGE

    An al Qaeda-linked Web site posted video Tuesday of an American man in Iraq speaking briefly before being beheaded by his masked captors. The captors also issued a direct statement to President Bush: "The worst is coming and, God willing, the tough days are still to come. You and your soldiers will regret the day that you touched the ground of Iraq."

    In the video, a man identifies himself as Nicholas Berg, 26, of Pennsylvania and is shown sitting in an orange jumpsuit in front of five armed, hooded men. The one standing directly behind Berg reads a statement identifying himself, and then Berg is pushed to the floor. Berg is heard screaming as his throat is cut. One of the captors then holds up his severed head.

    "For the mothers and wives of American soldiers, we tell you that we offered the U.S. administration to exchange this hostage for some of the detainees in Abu Ghraib and they refused," the hooded man standing behind the American said just before the killing. "Coffins will be arriving to you one after the other, slaughtered just like this."  White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the United States will vigorously pursue those who carried out the killing.

    HOMES OF CARLOS ANDRÉS PÉREZ AND GUSTAVO CISNEROS SEARCHED

   Venezuelan Security forces searched the homes of a former president Carlos Andrés Pérez and Gustavo Cisneros, a media magnate, in connection with the arrests of some 90 alleged Colombians accused of plotting to overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. The raids Monday night came as government and security officials promised more arrests and searches, possibly involving top opposition figures. Media reports said arrest warrants were also issued for at least 10 active and retired Venezuelan military officers.

    The leftist Chávez has charged that the Colombians arrested are right-wing paramilitaries hired as mercenaries by his opponents here to topple him. Many Colombian paramilitaries, who fight leftist guerrillas, are veterans of the military. Chávez government officials have accused Washington along with Venezuelan and Cuban exiles of being behind the alleged plot, but the U.S. government has denied any involvement.

    In Bogotá, Colombian intelligence sources and a commander of the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a paramilitary group known as AUC, dismissed the Venezuelan allegations as a ''pure show'' by Chávez.

   CUBA FREEZES MOST SALES AT DOLLAR STORES

    Officials suddenly halted most of the dollar sales that Cubans have come to count on and warned of higher dollar prices for food and gasoline. They blamed new U.S. measures meant to undermine the island's communist government. Dollar stores all across the Cuban capital were closed Tuesday morning, many displaying identical ñclosed for inventory'' notices.

    Scores of agitated people lined up for last-minute purchases at late-night variety stores after the official declaration was read on Cuban state television shortly before 8 p.m. Monday night. The measure could have dramatic effect on everyday life in Cuba, where hard-currency stores offer plentiful goods - from soap to spark plugs - that are available in scant quantities, if at all, at highly subsidized prices in Cuban pesos.

    Cuba blamed the measure on ñthe brutal and cruel'' measures adopted last week by President Bush to strengthen the embargo of Cuba and to hasten the end of the communist government here. The announcement said the U.S. proposals ñare directly aimed at strangling our development and reducing to a minimum the resources in hard currency that are essential for the necessities of food, medical and educational services and other essentials.''

    FEDERAL RESERVE FINES SWISS BANK, UBS, $100 MILLION FOR DELIVERING DOLLARS TO CUBA

    The Federal Reserve fined Switzerland's largest bank, $100 million Monday for allegedly sending dollars to Cuba, Libya, Iran and Yugoslavia in violation of U.S. sanctions against those countries. UBS operated a trading center for dollars in its Zurich headquarters under contract with the Federal Reserve of New York, to help the circulation of new U.S. notes and the retirement of old ones. A condition for the Swiss bank was not to deliver or accept dollar notes through the depot to or from banks in countries under U.S. trade sanctions.

    In an announcement, the Fed said that UBS had violated the agreement and that some former officers and employees of the bank, whom it did not name, intentionally concealed the transactions by falsifying UBS' monthly reports to the U.S. central bank. The individuals were not part of the order issued Monday by the Fed, in which UBS agreed to pay a $100 million civil fine without admitting to the allegations.

    The bank said Monday that some employees have been dismissed and disciplinary measures were taken against others employees. "UBS recognizes that very serious mistakes were made, accepts the sanctions and expresses its regret," the bank said in a statement. "It has already instituted corrective and disciplinary measures and has decided to exit the international banknote trading business." The New York Fed terminated its contract with UBS last October.

    NEW  POSTERS CALLING FOR THE OVERTHROW OF THE CUBAN DICTATOR APPEARED IN HAVANA

   Several posters saying "Oust Fidel" and "Long Live Liberty, appeared in different locations in the Capital on May 6, reported sources of the independent press. According with sources in the municipality Centro Havana, the signs were painted in the portal of a medical post located in the street Arbol Seco between Sitios y Peñalver and in the indoor walls of the well known Finca de Los Molinos, in the Avenue  Carlos III between Calzada de Infanta and Avenida de Boyeros.

    In the well-known "Square of the Revolution", the posters appeared in the bathrooms of the Heladería Copelia, located in the corner of  23 and L , and in the external walls of the Hospital Calixto García, highlighted the source.

    In accordance with a report of the Democratic Party November  30, several posters with anti-Castro signs appeared on April 20th, in the bridge of the central highway and another in the national freeway in adjacent territories of the municipalities of San Miguel del Padrón, Cotorro and Guanabacoa.

    PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS SECRETARY RUMSFELD IS ñDOING A SUPERB JOBî

    President Bush issued a strong endorsement of embattled Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld on Monday, telling him, ''You are doing a superb job.''  President Bush's comments at the Pentagon appeared designed to head off rising speculation that Secretary Rumsfeld would resign as both men braced for the anticipated release of more pictures and video images.

    The president emphasized that the controversy over Iraqi prisoners came while ''our troops continue to face serious danger. And this government is giving them every means of protecting themselves and every means necessary to gain victory.''

    With Secretary Rumsfeld at his side, the President said his Cabinet officer was ''courageously leading our nation in our war against terror. ... You are a strong secretary of defense and our nation owes you a debt of gratitude.'' Facing indications of waning public confidence in his senior military ranks and declining credibility abroad, President Bush went to the Defense Department for what officials said was a previously scheduled briefing.

    CHAVEZ ACCUSES U.S. AS A "TERRORIST STATE" BECAUSE OF ITS POLICY AGAINST CUBA 

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Sunday condemned the United States as a "terrorist state" for toughening sanctions against Cuba and he said his government would increase its trade and cooperation with the Communist-ruled island. In a television broadcast, the left-wing Venezuelan leader attacked U.S. measures announced Thursday to reduce the flow of dollars to cash-strapped Cuba and to increase support for internal opponents of President Fidel Castro.

    Since he was elected in 1998, Chavez has angered the United States by forging a close relationship with Cuba, the target of a long-running U.S. trade embargo. Venezuela is Cuba's biggest trade partner, sending cheap oil to Havana, while more than 15,000 advisors in Venezuela. Under a 2000 energy accord, Venezuela ships at least 53,000 barrels per day of oil to Cuba.

    "The Washington government says it has a list of evil terrorists, of terrorist states. Well, you in the U.S. terrorist government should put yourselves top of the list," he said in the broadcast lasting more than five hours. Chavez rejected U.S. calls for Cuba's neighbors to reduce contacts and trade with Castro's government. He said he had ordered the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to study the possibility of investing in an idle Soviet-built refinery at Cienfuegos on Cuba's south-central coast.

    MOTHERS, WIVES AND SISTERS OF JAILED CUBAN DISSIDENTS ASK FOR THEIR RELEASE

    Thirty-three female relatives of imprisoned Cuban dissidents marched for half an hour on Sunday, the island's Mother's Day, and then rallied in an upscale area of Havana to demand release of their loved ones. The protest, while small, was unusual for communist-run Cuba, where demonstrating often results in arrest and imprisonment.

    The women have staged other actions since their relatives were jailed in a crackdown on dissent last year. "We haven't received even a kiss this Mother's Day," Laura Pollon, the wife of one dissident, told the rally. The mothers, wives and sisters, all dressed in white and holding pink gladiolas, filed out of a church in the district of Miramar after mass then marched 14 blocks down posh 5th avenue, before returning and rallying in a nearby park.

    The women read aloud the names of 336 people they said were political prisoners, including 75 jailed for average 19-year terms last year. They shouted "libertad," or freedom, after each name. The Cuban government insists there are no political prisoners on the Caribbean island, just U.S.-paid "mercenaries" caught plotting to overthrow President Fidel Castro.

    COLIN POWELLÍS CHIEF OF STAFF BLASTS PRESIDENT BUSHÍS POLICY ON CUBA

    As President George W. Bush last week put his stamp of approval on a range of more restrictive actions against Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Secretary of State Colin PowellÍs chief of staff, retired army colonel Larry Wilkerson, called the decades old-standoff against the Cuban tyrant, the ñdumbest policy on the face of the Earth.'' The remarks will appear in the June issue of GQ magazine.

    In the article Wilkerson, PowellÍs close friend and speechwriter, is described as having a ''mind meld'' with the Secretary. The two have worked together for 15 years. Wilkerson said of Powell: "HeÍs tired. Mentally and physically," and criticizes some administration officials as ñhawkish,î citing a lack of interest in negotiations. ñIt's crazy.''  ''When all you use is a stick, you're not going to get very far,'' Wilkerson said. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters last week that the remarks were ñnot the Secretary's words.'' ''The Secretary,'' Boucher said, ñhas expressed himself on the subject of Cuba many times. 

    Indeed, on April 25, 2001, just one day after Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, upset for another defeat in Geneva, assailed Latin American democratic governments and President Bush, Powell expressed himself very clearly. The Secretary, known as the most liberal member of President Bush's foreign-policy team said that the communist tyrant, who has crushed human rights on his island prison for almost a Century, has "done some good things for his people." "He is no longer the threat he was before." Powell praised Castro in response to questions at a House subcommittee hearing chaired by Rep. Jose E. Serrano, D-N.Y., who continuously attacks the President of the United States and his policy on Havana.

    MÉXICO ASKS CUBA TO PAY ITS DEBT OF $450 MILLION

    The Mexican government Thursday reminded Cuba of its debt of $450 million owed to the National Bank of Foreign Business, known as Bancomext. The reminder came in the wake of a diplomatic rupture between the two governments. Mexico and Peru decided last week to withdraw their ambassadors from Cuba following comments by Cuban President Fidel Castro criticizing both nations for supporting a recent U.N. resolution condemning Cuba's human rights record.

    "This money will have to be paid," Fernando Canales Clariond, the Mexican secretary of the economy, said, according to the Mexican news agency Notimex. The Mexican official added that the trade relations with Cuba can be normalized if Cuba accepts that for diverse reasons bilateral trade between Mexico and Cuba has been reduced. Canales said that at the end of 2003, Cuba's trade deficit with Mexico was $122 million.

     CUBAN DICTATOR FIDEL CASTRO DENOUNCES ñBRUTALî PRESIDENT BUSH MEASURES

     Cuba's communist government on Friday denounced U.S. President George W. Bush's plans to hasten its demise as "brutal" interference in another country's affairs. President Bush took measures on Thursday to reduce the flow of dollars to cash-strapped Cuba while stepping up propaganda broadcasts and support for opponents of President Fidel Castro, in power since a 1959 revolution.

     Visits by Cuban-American relatives, whose remittances inject about $1 billion in badly needed cash into the island's economy, will be limited to one trip every three years to deny resources to what Bush called a "tyranny." The ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma reported the U.S. decisions under a banner headline: "Brutal economic and political measures against our country and against Cubans residing in the United States."

    "The solid support for the Revolution by almost all of the population makes it invulnerable to Mr. Bush's rotten ideology," Granma said. Havana charged that White House plans to deploy a C-130 military plane to beam television signals into Cuba and counter Cuban jamming of the U.S. funded TV Marti were a violation of international broadcast rules.

    PRESIDENT BUSH PROMISED TO INCREASE THE PRESSURE AGAINST FIDEL CASTRO

    President George W. Bush, declaring "we are working for the day of freedom in Cuba," took steps Thursday to end jamming of U.S. broadcasts to the island as part of a tough new strategy to hasten the demise of communist rule. The President decided to order deployment of military aircraft to transmit signals of the Miami-based Radio Marti and TV, an effort to end Cuba's jamming of U.S. government broadcasts. The measure was one of a number of recommendations in a report prepared by a government commission on Cuba headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

    "We are working for the day of freedom in Cuba," said President Bush, speaking during a meeting with commission members in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. The President said he also will try to prevent the Cuban regime from exploiting the hard currency of tourists to prop up the government. The commission's mandate was to propose steps to hasten an end to communist rule in Cuba and to provide ideas on ways to assist a post-Castro government.

    The commission urged increased support for Cuban dissidents and families of political prisoners. In addition, it called for measures to encourage foreign governments to distance themselves from the Cuban regime. The Cuba commission was set up last October with a May 1 deadline for making its recommendations to President Bush.

    AS SUSPECTED: AMBASSADOR OTTO REICH RESIGNS FRUSTRATED BY U.S. CUBA POLICY

    Ambassador Otto Reich, the White House special envoy to the Americas, announced on Tuesday that he will leave his post in June to rejoin the private sector. Reich, who was born in Cuba, told reporters there that he wished he ''could have accelerated the end of the Cuban dictatorship'' and helped Venezuelans to oppose leftist President Hugo Chávez. ''A dictatorship still doesn't exist in Venezuela, but one has to be very careful,'' Reich said.

    The former lobbyist and ambassador to Venezuela joined the White House in late 2002 after Senate Democrats refused to confirm him as the State Department's head of Latin American affairs. But without the authority of the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs -- a position now held by Roger Noriega -- his role as a spokesman for the administration on regional issues was diminished, if not severely undermined.  

    CUBAN AMBASSADOR LEAVES MEXICO

    Cuba's ambassador to Mexico left the country Tuesday, hours before the deadline given him by the Mexican government after it decided to scale back diplomatic relations with President Fidel Castro. "I trust in the friendship between the Cuban and Mexican people. They will be the judges," Jorge Bolaños said as he boarded a Cuba de Aviación flight in Mexico City.

    Mexico announced Sunday evening that it was recalling its ambassador, Roberta Lajous, from Cuba and giving Bolaños 48 hours to leave the country after what it said was Cuba's inappropriate meddling in its internal affairs. Mexico also cited the unauthorized activities of Cuban Communist Party members in Mexico. For his alleged involvement in those activities, the Cuban Embassy's political affairs adviser, Orlando Silva, was declared a "persona non grata" and left the country early Monday. 

    NICARAGUA ACCUSES CUBA OF MEDDLING IN ITS INTERNAL AFFAIRS 

    Nicaragua President Enrique Bolaños sent Cuba a note of protest on Tuesday over Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's May Day speech in Havana that has strained Cuba's relations with at least two other countries.

    CUBA, ONE OF THE MOST PERILOUS COUNTRIES FOR JOURNALISTS 

    According to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a report  Cuba and Iraq are the world's worst place for journalists. Cuba and Iraqi are among the 10 worst places to be a journalist, according to a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists. The report lists the 10 countries where freedom of the press is most threatened. Cuba is called the most hazardous place to practice journalism in the Western Hemisphere, followed by Haiti. Cuba was outranked only by Iraq in the group's list.

    In Cuba, 29 independent journalists who were imprisoned last year after a crackdown are being harassed and exposed to psychological torture and inhumane conditions, the report said. Jailed journalists have complained of receiving bad medical attention and rotten food and of being kept in solitary confinement. ñIt is a country outside the concept of freedom of expressionƒThe simple fact of writing news in an environment where the government can send you to jail is not common.'' The CPJ report said journalists who remain free are intimidated by state authorities, who have warned them to stop writing.

    SECRETARY POWELL GIVES PRESIDENT BUSH HIS RECOMMENDATIONS ON CUBA

    Secretary of State Colin Powell presented recommendations to President  George W. Bush on Monday to end communist rule in Cuba. A government commission headed by Powell urged Bush to exert economic pressure mainly by curbing money flows to the island from the United States, an administration official said.

    President Bush's decision to ask Powell to report on options for Cuba policy appeared aimed, in part, at persuading Cuban-Americans in Florida to support his re-election bid. Had he not had the Cuban- AmericansÍ support in 2,000, Democrat Al Gore would have been president now.

    Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has been awaiting the commission's recommendations with intense interest, warning his people that U.S. military action could not be ruled out. In his May Day speech, Castro said Cuba would defend itself "to the last drop of blood" against U.S. aggression. Administration officials should be "calmer, more sensible, wiser and more intelligent" than they have been in the past in their policy toward Cuba, Castro emphasized.

    CUBA PAYS IN SERVICES FOR VENEZUELAN OIL

   Cubans are noticing more Venezuelan students in the island lately. The students range from middle school to university, and are one way the Cuban government has found to pay for the up to 53,000 daily barrels of crude the Venezuelan government sends to the island.

   Other foreign students pay anywhere from 5 to 15 thousand dollars to study at a Cuban university, depending on length and the specific field, but Venezuelans don't. There is also reported a growing number of Venezuelan patients being treated in Cuban medical facilities, in particular one medical facility in Havana called La Pradera.

    At the other end, Cuba has a veritable civilian army in Venezuela; reportedly more than 12 thousand physicians, 5 thousand sports trainers and coaches, and hundreds of experts in other areas such as agriculture and information technology.

    VERY BAD NEWS FOR A "CUBA LIBRE:"  AMBASSADOR OTTO REICH RESIGNS TO HIS WHITE HOUSE POSITION

    Fort Washington, February 25, 2002 .-  ñRecently, the White House, tried to justify President George W. BushÍs second waiver of the Helms-Burton Title III and  explain why the president was not enforcing the laws on Cuba, as promised during his presidential campaign, by distributing a fact sheet that at the end states: ñThe recent appointment of Otto Reich as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs completes the PresidentÍs foreign policy team (Mel Martinez, Otto Reich and Emilio Gonzalez--THEY ALL HAVE RESIGNED). With it, a full review of the tools we are using to achieve our policy goal in Cuba is now appropriate.î I personally know that Ambassador Reich is an outstanding professionals and I do not question  his democratic values. However, due to my 30 years of experience in Washington, I am sorry to say that the task assigned to him in this Hemisphere, to make possible a democratic transition in Cuba, is going to be very difficult to accomplish if changes are not implemented soon. In my dealings with many of  his past and present colleagues, I have found out that many of them (at the State Department) have always been afraid of directly interfering with CubaÍs dictatorship and have been opposed to supporting the Cuban-Americans who are peacefully struggling for a free, civic and democratic Cuba." 

     Maj. Gen. (DCNG) Retired Erneido A. Oliva (CAMCO Chairman)

    MEXICO WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR FROM CUBA

    Mexico Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez accused Cuba of interfering in his country's internal affairs and withdrew ambassador Roberta Lajous from Havana Sunday. "Mexico does not and will not tolerate under any circumstance any foreign government trying to affect our decisions on foreign or domestic policy," Derbez told a news conference. "The president of the republic has decided to withdraw our ambassador in Havana and ask the Cuban government to pull its ambassador in Mexico within 48 hours," Derbez emphasized.

    Mexican-Cuban relations deteriorated sharply last month when Mexico voted to censure Cuba at a U.N. rights body. Then on Saturday, in a May Day speech, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro harshly criticized Mexico for the vote, saying Mexico's prestige in the world had "turned into ashes". Derbez indicated that this situation resulted over comments made by the Cuban government about a corruption scandal in Mexico. "The Foreign Ministry reports that it decided today to modify the bilateral relationship with Cuba, maintaining it at the level of Chargé d'affaires," a statement on the Foreign Ministry's Web site said. "This does not signify a break in the diplomatic relationship between Mexico and Cuba."

   PERU WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR FROM CUBA

     President Alejandro Toledo who criticized the Communist island's rights record, withdrew his ambassador Juan Alvarez Vita  on Sunday after harsh criticism from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro at a May Day speech in Havana on Saturday. Castro lashed out at Lima, saying Peru was an example of the "wretchedness and dependency" left by neo-liberal economic policies. He slammed President Toledo as a man who "does not and cannot direct anything." 

    Peru's Exterior Minister Jose Manuel Rodriguez said Castro's criticisms of Lima's foreign policy was offensive to the Peruvian government and announced that Peru was downgrading its diplomatic representation to a business attaché. It is the second time Toledo's government has pulled out its envoy.

    MEXICO DECLARES TWO CUBAN DIPLOMATS "PERSONA NON GRATA" 

    Mexico's Interior Minister Santiago Creel said two members of the Cuban Communist Party's central committee had been "carrying out activities incompatible with their status" in Mexico. That term is often used by governments to denote spying but Creel added that the pair had dabbled in "affairs which should be dealt with by diplomatic channels in the relevant institutions," suggesting they had become involved in Mexican politics.

    The pair spent several days in Mexico in April and entered the country on diplomatic passports, he said. Creel also said Mexico had declared Orlando Silva, a diplomat at the Cuban Embassy, "persona non grata," meaning he had to leave the country immediately.

   CASTRO VOWS CUBAN SOCIALISM TO SURVIVE PRESIDENT BUSH

    Cuban dictator Fidel Castro said Saturday that the country would defend itself "to the last drop of blood," declaring Cuba unafraid of a U.S. measures to change the island's four-decade-old socialist system. The 77-year-old Cuban leader, dressed in military fatigues, spoke for almost two hours before hundreds of thousands of people during the island's annual May Day celebration in Havana's Revolution Square, Castro warned U.S. officials to be "calmer, more sensible, wiser and more intelligent" before the expected release of a report by the U.S. government's Commission for a Free Cuba.

    Alluding to the upcoming report, Castro said plans were under way to "affect the economy and destabilize the country." He dismissed President Bush administration plans to speed up political change in Cuba and said his government -- in power since 1959 -- will continue building a socialist society at the U.S. doorstep. Castro said Cuba had survived the antagonism of the world's most powerful nation for 45 years and will continue to resist. "This revolution will leave a lasting mark in world history and has nothing to be ashamed of," Castro said at a massive May Day.

    Castro accused the United States of committing "genocide" and said peace in Iraq was not possible until American troops withdrew. Castro said the Bush administration was threatening steps to undermine Cuba's economy and destabilize the country. "To those who persist in destroying the Revolution, in the name of the immense multitude gathered here, I truly say to them, as at other decisive moments of our struggle: 'Long Live Socialism', 'Fatherland or Death,' 'Venceremos' (We shall overcome)," Castro said in closing his speech.

    REPORT TO OFFER U.S. ñGUIDANCEî ON CUBA POLICY

    A 500-page report prepared by the State Department on U.S. policy toward Cuba due at the White House on Monday recommends limiting Cuban-Americans' visits to the island, significantly cutting remittances and drastically reducing the money that U.S. visitors can spend there, activists familiar with the document said.

    The report from the panel, headed by Secretary of State Colin Powell, was the result of meetings with some 60 people and included suggestions from Cubans on the island who sent their contributions via e-mail. State Department officials have been tight-lipped about the contents of the report, which Bush requested by Saturday but is not expected at his desk until Monday.

    The White House announcement on which of the report's recommendations President Bush will embrace is expected late this week. Washington and Miami activists familiar with the document said it recommends putting ''more teeth'' into U.S. sanctions on Cuba but doesn't present any major new initiatives. ''Is there anything out of the box, that will blow people away? Not really,'' said a Washington official who spoke on condition of anonymity. ''I think a lot of people in Miami are going to jump up and down and applaud, but then the issue becomes: Are they really going to follow through?'' the official said of the administration.

    MEXICO AND CUBA CLASH ON RETURN OF CARLOS AHUMADA

    Former allies Mexico and Cuba trade insults after Cuba returns a Mexican businessman Carlos Ahumada who had been videotaped passing out cash to Mexico City politicians. Cuba's extradition of a Mexican businessman videotaped passing large wads of cash to Mexico City government officials turned into a diplomatic clash Friday because of a contention by Havana that the case had a ñpolitical connotation.''

    Carlos Ahumada was turned over to Mexican authorities on Wednesday as Cuba's Foreign Ministry issued a statement that irked the Mexican government. Cuba's investigation ñshows that the events linked to [Ahumada] and the public scandal unleashed have an unquestionable political connotation.'' The statement, implying a political persecution of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), which governs Mexico City, caused the administration of conservative President Vicente Fox to fire off its own criticism of Cuba.

    Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said Mexico expected a ''clear and concise'' response from Cuba on its reason for making such a judgment. Mexican Energy Minister Felipe Calderón said Fidel Castro's government lacks the credibility and moral authority to have an opinion. He said the Cuban government falls ''short on confidence'' because it has jailed dozens of dissidents and then ``gives itself the luxury of stepping on the liberty and dignity of so many people.''

    NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PROVIDES CHAVEZ WITH CONTROL OF THE SUPREME COURT

    Venezuela's National Assembly approved a law Friday to restructure the Supreme Court, a move that opponents condemned as an attempt to stack the court with government-friendly justices who could help impede a recall referendum against President Hugo Chávez.

    The law, which was approved before dawn after hours of debate, requires the appointment of 12 new justices to the Supreme Court, which currently has 20 magistrates. The legislation also allows the National Assembly to appoint justices with a simple majority instead of the previously required two-thirds majority.

    Chávez's party, the Fifth Republic Movement, controls just over half of the 165 seats in the unicameral National Assembly. The Supreme Court said Thursday that it would rule within a month on the validity of more than 870,000 disputed signatures on a petition for the recall vote.

    STATE DEPARTMENT: CUBA SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

    According to a State Department Report entitled ñOverview of State-Sponsored Terrorism,î although several of the seven designated state sponsors of Terrorism -- most notably Libya and Sudan -- took significant steps to cooperate in the global war on terrorism. Nevertheless, the other state sponsors -- Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria -- did not take all the necessary take all the necessary actions to disassociate themselves fully from their ties to terrorism in 2003.

    The performances of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria showed little change from previous years. Cuba remained opposed to the US-led Coalition prosecuting the global war on terrorism and continued to provide support to designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations and to host several terrorists and dozens of fugitives from US state and federal justice. Cuba allowed Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) members to reside in the country and provided support and safe haven to members of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).  With respect to domestic terrorism, the Government in April 2003 executed three Cubans who attempted to hijack a ferry to the United States.

    SENATOR BILL NELSON: PRESIDENT BUSH HAS NOT BEEN ñSEVEREî ENOUGH WITH HUGO CHÁVEZ

    Democrat Senator Bill Nelson said that U.S. president George W. Bush has not been "severe" enough with Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez and that the former maintains "close links" with his Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro and Colombian FARC guerrilla, news agency DPA reported. "President Bush has not been severe with president Chávez, who has been doing whatever he wants," Nelson told to Colombian radio station La W-FM, in declarations translated from English into Spanish by the radio.

    Nelson criticized President Bush attitude towards Chávez and attributed it to the fact that most of Venezuelan oil is refined in Texas, but he rejected that Bush' family (former governor of Texas) is involved in this situation. The U.S. senator reiterated his claims that Chávez maintains close links with Colombian FARC. He based his allegation on reports by a Washington intelligence agency that he preferred not to mention.

    He added that Chávez has permitted the forgery of passport so that irregular groups can freely move in Venezuela. In an eventual rule by John Kerry, U.S.-Venezuela relationships would have to be analyzed taking into account the mutual needs of both countries, Nelson said.

    SADDAMÍS GENERALS ñRECRUITEDî BY PRESIDENT BUSH ADMINISTRATION

    The return of Saddam's generals. U.S. Marines negotiated a "tentative" agreement Thursday to pull back forces from Fallujah, a deal that would lift a nearly month long siege and allow an Iraqi force led by a former Saddam Hussein-era general to handle security. U.S. military commanders met with former Iraqi generals Thursday to hammer out the details of the Fallujah agreement, Marine Capt. James Edge said. A Marine commander said a deal was reached but later said "fine points" needed to be fixed. The commander of the new force was identified as General Jassim Nohamed Saleh, a former division commander under Saddam.

    The tentative deal for the Iraqi force outlined a surprising new way to find an "Iraqi solution to an Iraqi problem," said Marine Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne. It envisions a force of some 1,100 members called the Fallujah Protective Army. The force, which would replace the Marine cordon and move into the city as U.S. troops pull back, would be led by a leading general from Saddam's army and include Iraqis with "military experience" from the Fallujah region, It could even include gunmen who fought with guerrillas against the Americans - particularly ex-soldiers disgruntled over losing their jobs when the United States disbanded the old Iraqi army, another Marine officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

    LINA RON: THE BOLIVARIAN CIRCLES ARE ARMED ñUP TO THE TEETHî

    Irregular militias called Bolivarian Circles, which back president Hugo Chávez, are armed "UP TO THE TEETH," according to "Comandante Lina Ron." In an interview in what she calls "the bunker" in Caracas, she said that her followers have weapons nearby. "Any time the fascists lift a finger against the poor they will be punished by our popular militias," Lina said.

    Chávez' opponents have claimed that the Bolivarian Circles are the regime's armed wing and blamed them for violence in the anti-government demonstrations, which have ended with a number of people dead or wounded. "People say we are the ugly face of this revolution. But in fact we are the beautiful part, the honest part, the part that won't sell out," she said.

    Chávez' government has said that it does not fund these militias, but a Miami Herald's reporter commented that Lina and her followers have resources, travel all over Venezuela and publish a full-color weekly with no advertising. Lina said that she became "chavista" on 1992, when Chávez led a failed coup d'etat, and since then he has been her "Messiah." Chávez  "is the love of my heart," she emphasized.