CUBA
NEWS
Yahoo!
Suspect Stirs Memories of Attack in
Cuba
By Vanessa Arrington, Associated
Press Writer. Mon May 2, 2005.
HAVANA, 2 - In the decades since terrorists
blew up a Cuban airliner over the Caribbean
Sea, Carlos Cremata has alternated between
sadness, anger and even hope that his father
had somehow survived. Eventually he came
to terms with his hatred of the attackers.
Now all the old feelings are rushing back
as Luis Posada Carriles, the man Cuba accuses
of masterminding the 1976 bombing that killed
73 people, including Cremata's father, seeks
asylum in the United States.
The Cuban-born Posada, who left the island
after the 1959 revolution and has spent
much of his life trying to overthrow President
Fidel Castro, sneaked across the Mexican
border in March to request asylum, according
to his lawyer, Eduardo Soto.
Castro has launched a marathon of speeches
on the case, demanding that the United States
extradite Posada to Venezuela, where he
holds citizenship and is wanted in the bombing.
Alternately, Cuba would like to see him
handed over to an international tribunal
in a neutral country.
Speaking to a May Day gathering of hundreds
of thousands of Cubans on Sunday, Castro
called Posada "the most famous and
cruel terrorist of the western hemisphere."
He said the case "shows the world the
immense hypocrisy, the lies, the immoralities
and the cynicism" of the U.S. government,
which labels Cuba a terrorist state.
He, and many Cubans, question how a country
that beefed up border controls after the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could let Posada
slip through, and how a U.S. president who
built his platform on fighting terrorism
could remain silent on the militant's reported
presence in Florida.
The U.S. government has not commented publicly
on the Posada case. An official who refused
to be identified said the government would
likely want to detain him and try to deport
him.
For Cremata, the politics have brought
back old feelings. He said it was "a
slap in the face" last year when former
Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso pardoned
Posada, then serving a sentence for his
role in an alleged plot to kill Castro at
a summit in Panama.
Posada has denied involvement in the airline
explosion, and was acquitted twice in Venezuela
in connection with the attack. But he escaped
from prison in 1985 while awaiting a prosecutor's
appeal. He once acknowledged - and later
denied - overseeing the bombings of Cuban
hotels in 1997.
Cremata has little doubt that Posada is
responsible for the airliner attack, and
he wants justice.
"It's simply for him to be tried,
and the terrorist acts condemned, so that
no other person has to go through this most
terrible suffering," Cremata said.
Cremata said his father, who was a navigator
for Cubana airlines, was a hardworking yet
playful man deeply devoted to his wife and
three sons.
"My father had no idea - he wasn't
in a war, holding a weapon," Cremata
said. "It's exactly the same as the
worker who went out on Sept. 11. My father
was just going to work, a peaceful employee
of an airline."
Cremata, who was just 16 when the bombing
occurred, remembers hearing someone speak
of "seven survivors." That has
fueled a fantasy that his father isn't really
dead, but instead has taken on a secret
identity fighting terrorism aimed at toppling
the Cuban government.
"They never found his body,"
Cremata said. "Just his identity card,
and his keys."
Along with Carlos Cremata Sr., the passengers
aboard the airliner that exploded off Barbados
included several dozen young Cubans returning
to Havana after sweeping a regional fencing
competition, as well as some Koreans and
other foreigners.
"We have never been able to understand
the reason for the attack," Cremata
said. "Those who did this are not human."
Cremata has dedicated his life to children,
founding and directing a theater group that
embraces shy as well as handicapped youths.
"In my heart there is hate, but I
am not multiplying it," Cremata said.
"I live among children, and the only
thing we do on stage is spread love, optimism
and happiness."
Toby Keith Entertains Troops on a USO
Tour to Cuba, Germany, Belgium and the Persian
Gulf
WASHINGTON, May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Country
music superstar and winner of the "Hottest
Video of the Year" at last month's
CMT Video Music awards ceremony, Toby Keith
is set to embark on his third USO tour to
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Germany; Belgium and
the Persian Gulf. Once there, two-time consecutive
winner of the "Academy of Country Music
Entertainer of the Year" will perform
free shows, "meet and greet" service
men and women, tour a variety of job posts
and provide a break from the daily grind
for the troops.
A strong supporter of our troops, the native
Oklahoman has traveled to Kuwait, Afghanistan,
Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Italy, Germany
and Iraq on previous USO trips. Keith's
devotion becomes even clearer when listening
to some of his most popular tracks including
"American Soldier," which chronicles
the trials and tribulations of members of
the armed forces. This chart- topping single
is up for "Song of the Year" at
this year's Academy of Country Music awards
ceremony.
With a passion for music from a young age,
the former semi-professional football player
spent his young adulthood as the lead singer
for the Easy Money Band. The group played
local honky-tonks and bars, and the hard
work paid off. In 1993, the singer/songwriter/producer
released his self-titled debut album. The
double platinum record enjoyed three #1
songs including "A Little Less Talk
and a Lot More Action," "Should've
Been a Cowboy" and "Wish I Didn't
Know Now."
Over the next decade, Keith wrote many
hit songs and released several more successful
albums. Selling more than 20 million records,
he toured the world bringing his down-home
blend of country to a devoted fan base.
Also during this time, he was showered with
numerous awards and accolades, including
honors from the Academy of Country Music,
the Country Music Association, the American
Music Awards and the Billboard Music Awards.
His latest effort, "Honkytonk University,"
is scheduled to be released May 17. The
album contains the smash, autobiographical
hit "Honkytonk U." and his brand
new single, "As Good As I Once Was."
For more than 64 years, the USO (United
Service Organizations) has been providing
morale and recreation-type services to U.S.
military personnel and their families. The
USO is a nonprofit, charitable organization,
relying on the generosity of the American
people to support its programs and services.
The USO is supported by World Partners Avon
Products, Inc., AT&T Corporation, BAE
SYSTEMS, Bass Pro Shops, Build-A-Bear Workshop,
Clear Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola
Company, Computer Systems Center, Inc.,
Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies,
Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Military
Channel, Morgan Stanley, National Football
League, Northwest Airlines, Inc., Reader's
Digest, Sara Lee, S & K Sales Company,
TriWest Healthcare Alliance and The Walt
Disney Company. Other organizations, including
the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign
(CFC-0600), have joined thousands of individual
donors to support the USO. For more information
on the USO, please visit our Web site at
http://www.uso.org
Agent's Ex-Wife to Get Frozen Cuban
Funds
WASHINGTON, Apr 29 (AP) - President Bush
on Friday directed the Treasury Department
to seize $198,000 in frozen Cuban government
funds and give them to the unwitting ex-wife
of an alleged Cuban double agent.
Invoking a federal anti-terrorism law,
Ana Margarita Martinez won a $27.1 million
settlement against the Cuban government
in 2001 after she claimed she was used as
a political pawn by her ex-husband, Juan
Pablo Roque, and the Cuban government.
Roque, a former Cuban Air Force major,
staged a defection in 1992 by swimming from
Cuba to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo
Bay in Cuba. Once in Miami, he romanced
and married Martinez, allegedly as part
of his cover while he infiltrated Miami
groups opposed to President Fidel Castro's
rule in Cuba. Later, Roque slipped out of
Miami and returned to Cuba; he has since
been indicted in absentia in the United
States as part of a Cuban spy ring.
The Miami woman has been trying to collect
the entire settlement from Cuban assets
frozen in the United States.
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