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Diplomats Visit Home of Jailed Reporter

By Andrea Rodriguez, Associated Press Writer. Mon May 3, 7:32 PM ET.

HAVANA - U.S. and European diplomats visited the home of jailed Cuban reporter Raul Rivero Monday, offering support to dissidents imprisoned after last year's government crackdown on the opposition.

James Cason, chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, and officials from half a dozen European countries arrived together on the same day Rivero was awarded a press freedom prize in Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro, said Blanca Reyes, Rivero's wife.

The diplomats said they lamented the imprisonment of all 75 Cuban activists sentenced in April 2003 and called for their immediate release, according to Reyes.

Rivero was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of working with U.S. diplomats to undermine Cuba's socialist system - allegations he and Washington deny. In the crackdown, Cuba cited meetings with Cason among the evidence that some of the dissidents were working for U.S. interests.

The prize was a tribute to Rivero's "brave and long-standing commitment to independent reporting," said Koichiro Matsuura, director of the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO.

In March, Cuba protested UNESCO's decision to award Rivero the prize.

The $25,000 prize, established in 1997, is named after the Colombian journalist murdered in 1987 for denouncing his country's powerful drug barons.

On the Net:
UNESCO, www.unesco.org

Mexico, Peru pull ambassadors from Cuba

HAVANA, 4 (AFP) - Cuba did not blink after Mexico and Peru pulled their ambassadors and President Fidel Castro risked further isolation from Latin Americans who dare condemn the communist island's human rights record.

The Cuban foreign ministry rejected in a statement "this new action against Cuba and announces that these declarations inspired by arrogance, high-handedness, crassness and lies will in time be met with a response."

Both Mexico and Peru recalled their ambassadors Sunday in reaction to Castro's May Day speech Saturday condemning both countries for having voted for an April 15 resolution condemning Cuba before the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

Cuba has been increasingly isolated from Latin America and Europe since the arrests of 75 dissidents who were summarily tried and given harsh sentences a year ago. Mexico and Peru left Cuba further isolated as it contends with US pressure on countries in the region to limit trade and diplomatic ties with Havana.

Mexico, a traditional Cuban ally despite US protests, also ordered Cuba's envoy to Mexico City, Jorge Bolanos, to leave the country, saying Cuban diplomats had been involved in political activities incompatible with their duties.

Tensions had been heating up since Wednesday, when Cuba deported a Mexican businessman of Argentine origin, Carlos Ahumada, wanted in Mexico on corruption charges. Cuba contended that Ahumada's activity was of a strictly political nature, an assertion Ahumada himself denied.

Within hours of Mexico's decision Sunday, Peru attacked Cuban interference in its domestic affairs and withdrew its ambassador without breaking relations.

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez postponed a planned trip to Washington Monday to manage the controversy and meet with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, his deputy, Geronimo Gutierrez, said.

"Mexico and Peru have responded, in my judgment, properly," Powell said of their actions.

On Saturday, Castro berated Mexico for voting in favor of the UN resolution condemning Cuba. Castro said in his May Day speech that Mexico's prestige and influence in Latin America had "turned to ashes" as a result.

Castro also said: "Peru ... is an example of the level of abjection and dependence imperialism and neoliberal globalization has driven many Latin American nations."

The Peruvian Foreign ministry said in a statement in announcing the recall of its envoy that Castro's comment "will inevitably have consequences for bilateral relations."

Honduras, which introduced the UN resolution, said its relations with Cuba would not suffer.

"Everything remains the same," President Ricardo Maduro said.

Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Norman Caldera said through a spokesman that before making any decisions, "We are going to analyze what (Castro) said and how he said it."

Cuba's relations with Mexico began to deteriorate in 2000, when his longtime "revolutionary comrades" of Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party lost power after 70 years to President Vicente Fox (news - web sites), who leaned more toward the United States and was less indulgent of Cuba's politics.

Miami's anti-Castro exiles supported Mexico and Peru.

"Havana still behaves as though we were in the Cold War and thinks it can intimidate and pressure" other governments, said Omar Lopez Montenegro, a spokesman for the Cuban American National Foundation, an anti-Castro group.

Critics See Bush Errors on Cuba Policy

By GEORGE GEDDA. Wed May 5.

WASHINGTON - President Bush is positioning himself to curry favor with conservative constituents who believe his Cuba policy, for all of the anti-Castro rhetoric, hasn't added up to much.

No one doubts that Bush has tried to make life more difficult for the Cuban leader. If not for Bush's veto threats, Congress probably would have ended a ban on recreational travel to Cuba by Americans.

Indeed, Bush has moved the policy in the opposite direction, closing a loophole four months ago that many Americans were using in violation of the travel prohibition.

Bush has decried the "chokehold" that Castro maintains on the island, but some of Bush's strongest supporters among Cuban-Americans say his actions have not gone far enough.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Cuban-born Florida Republican, sent Bush a letter last year listing 13 areas in which, she said, he has not fully implemented provisions of sanctions-tightening Cuba legislation approved in 1996.

One such example is Bush's refusal to permit Americans to sue in U.S. courts anyone profiting from property in Cuba that was confiscated by Cuban authorities after Castro took power on Jan. 1, 1959.

Ros-Lehtinen was traveling on Tuesday and was unavailable for comment on whether Bush has been responsive to her letter.

Some Democrats are unhappy as well. New Jersey Rep. Robert Menendez criticized Bush's policy toward fleeing Cuban migrants, saying 2,000 have been repatriated during the Bush era despite what he described as administration promises to welcome them to U.S. shores.

In an interview, Menendez also took aim at Bush's decision last October to form a government commission to recommend ways to hasten a transition to democracy and to provide assistance to Cuba once Castro is no longer around. He soon will be 78.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, who headed the commission, sent a 500-page report to the White House on Monday. Bush is expected to make final decisions on the recommendations shortly.

Menendez chided Bush for setting up a commission with a deadline "virtually on the eve the election. It's so politically transparent that it would be laughable except for all people who are languishing inside of Cuba."

Wayne Smith, who served as chief U.S. diplomat in Cuba 25 years ago, criticizes Bush from the left. He believes Castro was moving slowly toward more political openness early in Bush's term before cracking down last year.

Smith said Bush's policies were partly to blame, while making clear that Castro is the main culprit by far for the repression.

The former diplomat suggested that talk in Washington of "regime change" in Cuba, reminiscent of Iraq, only makes it easier for Castro to keep a opponents at bay.

Beyond that, Smith said he has no faith that a more robust anti-Castro policy, as recommended in the commission report, will have much of an impact.

He said Cuban-Americans will continue to send money to relatives in Cuba regardless of whether Bush tries to sharply reduce the legal limit of $1,200 a year.

"If they want to send money, they'll send it by courier," said Smith, who for years has advocated establishing normal relations with the island.

A senior administration official said dollar flows from the United States to Cuba could run as high as $3 billion, adding that effective measures to curb these revenues would hurt the economy and have political consequences.

Family remittances are a chief source of revenue for Cuba. There is support among some officials for eliminating them. This would deal a heavy blow to the Cuban economy but also would have a dramatic impact on families who need the money to eat.

The senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Bush probably will attempt to cut the $1,200 ceiling to a degree that the economy would feel the pain without forcing recipients to go hungry.

It's a tough balancing act. Whatever Bush decides, Castro does not envision a transition for his country.

"We had our transition in 1959," he says.

EDITOR'S NOTE - George Gedda has covered foreign affairs for The Associated Press since 1968.

Castro's Cuba running out of friends

HAVANA, 3 (AFP) - Fidel Castro's "revolutionary" style of Cuban diplomacy is running out of friends around the world after the move by Mexico and Peru to withdraw their ambassadors.

Relations with the European Union are frozen and Castro has been engaged in a Cold War struggle with the United States since he took power 45 years ago.

Two weeks after Cuba lost a vote of condemnation at the UN Human Rights Commission by one vote, the communist government responded with anger to the move by Peru, and particularly Mexico.

"The Foreign Ministry rejects this new act against Cuba and announces that these declarations inspired by high-handedness, arrogance, foolishness and lies will receive their due response," said an official statement.

The Mexican decision was a particular blow for Cuba. The two have had relations for 102 years and Mexico resisted US pressure to break relations after Castro's 1959 war.

But the 77-year-old Cuban leader infuriated the Mexican and Peruvian governments when he gave a May Day speech Saturday castigating them for voting for the UN resolution.

Castro said Mexico's influence in Latin America had "turned to ashes." He added that Peru's president Alejandro Toledo was so unpopular he could no longer govern.

"It is a slap in the face" for Cuba, said a European diplomat.

While Cuba may have some prestige among Latin America's intellectual and political left wing, its main remaining diplomatic allies are reduced to Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.

Brazil and Argentina abstained at the UN human rights commission vote, which has become toughest point of the year for Cuban diplomats.

Outrage caused by voting against Cuba's record has already led to the withdrawal of the Argentine ambassador in 2001 -- who returned last year -- and Uruguay in 2002.

"The targets change each year but Havana's aggressive rhetoric remains the same, this is their way of conducting diplomacy," said a South American diplomat.

Cuban-style "revolutionary diplomacy" has always concentrated on the Third World -- where it has sent thousands of doctors and experts -- and broaches no criticism from other governments.

But this tactic has not prevented a steady slide into isolation, worsened by denunciations by the European Union of a crackdown on Cuban dissidents last year.

The Cuban authorities detained and quickly jailed 75 dissidents for terms of up to 28 years in April 2003.

Europe is the main investor in Cuba, but following the attacks, Castro used his speech on the day of an extra 10 countries joining the EU to call European leaders a "mafia."

Relations with the United States have hit a new low under President George W. Bush's administration.

Cuba has scored some points by securing agricultural deals with US concerns. But a special White House task force on Cuba is about to announce a list of recommendations that could include a new attempts to limit US contacts with Cuba.

Democratic presidential contender John Kerry (news - web sites) has not yet announced his policy position on Cuba.

But the dispute with Mexico "was just the last straw" for Castro, said the European diplomat.

Relations have been going downhill for sometime. Castro was angry after being made to leave a summit in Mexico two years ago to avoid being at the meeting at the same time as Bush.

Cuba last week expelled a Mexican-Argentine businessman, Carlos Ahumada, implicated in a bribery scandal concerning Mexican leftist politicians.

"Mexico would surely have prefered that Cuba keep him in prison to avoid new revelations," said the diplomat.

Report May Dramatically Effect Cuba Travel, Money

Tue May 4. WPLG Click10.com

An explosive new report has made its way to the President George W. Bush's desk -- and it could have broad-reaching implications for Cuban-Americans.

Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba has turned in its 500-page report making recommendations to the White House. If Bush accepts them, it could affect who travels to Cuba, how often they will be allowed to make the trip, and how much money they'll be able to spend there.

Criticized by hard-liners for not doing enough to bring down Castro, last October Bush announced the creation of the commission and set a May 1 deadline for completion of a report.

Some recommendations are controversial, such as limiting trips by Cuban exiles to only immediate family members, and limiting the amount of money they can spend on the island.

U.S. travelers to Cuba would be limited to 40 pounds of luggage, eliminating profitable overweight fees charged by the Castro regime, and travelers returning from Cuba would no longer be able to bring back $100 worth of cigars and rum.

Currently, U.S. visitors can legally spend up to $164 a day, but the report says that should be cut significantly -- maybe in half.

Current regulations also set a $1,200-a-year limit on money exiles can send to relatives still in Cuba.

It's estimated that exiles send $1 billion in cash to Cuba annually, making it the single largest source of dollars for the Castro government.

Powell welcomes move by Mexico, Peru to pull envoys to Cuba

WASHINGTON, 3 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) welcomed the decision by Mexico and Peru to pull their ambassadors from Cuba.

"Mexico and Peru have responded, in my judgment, properly," Powell said at an economic development seminar organized by the US State Department.

Within hours of each other Sunday, Mexico and Peru announced they were withdrawing their ambassadors to Cuba, citing the communist island's unwillingness to respect their sovereignty.

Mexico also has ordered Cuba's envoy to Mexico City, Jorge Bolanos, to leave the country.

"Actions by the Cuban government represent direct intervention in matters that concern only Mexicans," the Mexican government said in a statement Sunday.

The Mexican government took offense at a visit to Mexico last month by three high-level Cuban officials who were accused of taking part in "unacceptable" activities.

Tensions have been on the rise since last Wednesday, when Cuba, in a surprise move, announced the deportation of Mexican businessman of Argentine origin, Carlos Ahumada.

On Saturday, Cuban President Fidel Castro berated Mexico for voting in favor of a resolution condemning Cuba at the UN Human Rights Commission.

Castro said in his May Day speech that Mexico's prestige and influence in Latin America had "turned to ashes" as a result.

Mexico Defends Curbing Ties With Cuba

By LISA J. ADAMS, Associated Press Writer. Tue May 4,10:25 PM ET

MEXICO CITY - Mexico offered Fidel Castro's government an olive branch Tuesday, even as it defended a decision to scale back ties with the communist-run island and sent Cuba's ambassador packing.

Also on Tuesday, Honduras and Nicaragua publicly criticized Cuba in what has become a growing regional outspokenness against Castro.

As Cuban Ambassador Jorge Bolanos returned home, Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez sent a letter to Cuba suggesting officials from both countries work together to improve their strained relationship.

Derbez sent the diplomatic "with the clear aim of getting relations between Mexico and Cuba back on track, at least in diplomatic terms," he wrote to his Cuban counterpart, Felipe Perez Roque. "I declare my absolute believe that by re-establishing trust and dialogue between the two of us we can arrive at a relationship equal to our mutual needs."

Since announcing it was sending Cuba's ambassador home, Mexico has been quick to clarify it wasn't breaking off diplomatic relations completely. Derbez said his letter was the first step toward improving things.

Mexico announced late Sunday that it was recalling its ambassador, Roberta Lajous, from Cuba and giving Bolanos 48 hours to leave the country after what it said was Cuba's inappropriate meddling in its affairs.

Peru also recalled its ambassador to Cuba late Sunday after Castro insulted President Alejandro Toledo and harshly rebuked the South American country for its support of a U.N. resolution critical of Cuba's human rights record.

Fox made his first public comments referring to the conflict, although he didn't mention the issue directly.

In a morning speech to a labor union, the president said Mexico "will continue to have as our guide the constitutional mandate of monitoring and ensuring fulfillment of the law."

"We defend Mexico's sovereignty and dignity in whatever forum and everywhere in the world," he said, to loud applause and cries of "Mexico! Mexico!" from the audience.

Mexico said the decision to scale back relations was based on Castro's ongoing criticism of Mexico's foreign policy, including its support for the U.N. resolution; Cuba's comments about a political scandal in Mexico; and the alleged unauthorized activities of Cuban Communist Party members in Mexico.

Like Mexico, Peru stopped short of severing diplomatic relations completely with Cuba, choosing instead to simply reduce bilateral ties to the level of charges d'affaires.

Honduras, the sponsor of this year's U.S.-backed resolution, restored ties with Cuba in 2002, but never appointed an ambassador. On Tuesday, President Ricardo Maduro told The Associated Press in an interview that "for the moment" he would not do so.

Maduro also told the AP that he had denied a request from Cuba to support a separate U.N. resolution asking for an investigation into prisoner treatment at Guantanamo Bay.

"If Cuba didn't comply with a U.N. resolution then they can't make a similar request," the president said. "And Cuba lacks the standing to make such a proposal."

Cuba has called Honduras and other Latin American nations that supported the human rights resolution "toadies" of the United States. Other supporters included Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala.

Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Norman Caldera, meanwhile, said his country will file a formal complaint with the Cuban government after Castro criticized the country for sending troops to Iraq.

AP correspondents Freddy Cuevas of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Filadelfo Aleman of Managua, Nicaragua, contributed to this report.

Iraq, Cuba, worst places to be a reporter

Read the report: World's Worst Places to be a Journalist

PARIS, 3 (AFP) - War has made Iraq the most dangerous country for a reporter to work in, but Cuba, followed closely by China, jailed most journalists for doing their job last year, according to reports issued to mark World Press Freedom Day.

The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists said up to 25 journalists had been killed at work in Iraq since March 2003, when a US-led invasion aimed at toppling the government of Saddam Hussein was launched.

"More than a year after the war in Iraq began, the country remains the most dangerous place in the world to work as a journalist," it said Monday.

It said that at least six Iraqi media workers had been murdered and several others had received threats, while armed groups had abducted at least eight journalists so far this year.

At least seven -- and possibly as many as nine -- journalists had been killed by gunfire from US forces, while other journalists, mostly Arab or Iraqi, had been detained and suffered mistreatment at the hands of US forces, it said.

The Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders (known as RSF, its initials in French) said in its annual report that Cuba led the list of countries repressing journalists, 29 of whom were in jail for "acts against the state".

President Fidel Castro had "consolidated the government's news monopoly" by cracking down on dissent and in doing do had "decimated Cubas fledgling independent press," it said.

Imprisoned journalists and their families "have denounced inadequate medical attention, have been placed in solitary confinement, and have complained about receiving foul-smelling and rotten food," the report said.

The most dangerous country for a reporter in Latin America was, however, Colombia, where five journalists were killed in 2003 and "threats, assaults and kidnappings are still the daily lot of journalists," RSF said.

"Throughout the continent, legislative reforms are still needed to ensure there is complete press freedom," it said.

Asia was, however, the "world's biggest prison for the press," RSF said, with more than 200 journalists jailed last year, three sentenced to death and at least 16 murdered.

China topped the dismal regional ranking, with 27 journalists in prison and another 61 citizens jailed for posting their views on the Internet out of a global total of 73, it said, adding:

"The Internet has become a battleground between the democratic opposition and Beijing, and repression is rampant."

On a positive note, RSF said Chinese journalists "pushed back the limits of censorship" as never before last year, but it was still "strictly forbidden to publicly criticise the (one-party) system."

In Myanmar, 11 journalists were imprisoned last year and Zaw Thet Htwe, the editor of a football magazine, was condemned to death "on the trumped-up charge of 'attempted assassination of military junta leaders'," RSF said.

Of the 16 journalists killed in the region, seven were murdered by contract killers in the Philippines, mainly in the troubled southern island of Mindanao.

The report said at least 600 Asian journalists were physically attacked or threatened in 2003.

It singled out Bangladesh, which saw "more than 200 cases of physical attacks or death threats against journalists by political activists, especially from the ruling party, or criminals."

The Middle East and North Africa made up "the region with least press freedom," RSF said, noting "it had few independent media and journalists in several countries strictly censored themselves."

Eight former Soviet bloc nations which joined the European Union (news - web sites) on May 1 largely respected press freedom during 2003, "but in most of them, laws punishing defamation and perceived insults frequently hampered journalists in their work and gave undue protection to the authorities," RSF said.

But further east in Europe and in Russia, conditions were deteriorating and 85 journalists were detained or arrested and some 200 were attacked for doing their job, it said.

Turkmenistan -- a gas-rich Central Asian country run with an iron fist by Separmurad Niyazov -- "is the most repressive of the former Soviet republics and its media are totally censored," RSF said.

But the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan were also included on its media "predator" list.

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