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Cuban agents in league with Iran, Russia,
China: US spy-catcher
WASHINGTON, 16 (AFP) - The United States
is likely riddled with Cuban spies who are
sharing their intelligence with US foes
and rivals like Iran, Russia and China,
the Pentagon's top spy-catcher said Wednesday.
Scott Carmichael, the burly head of counter-intelligence
at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA),
was the lead investigator who exposed former
DIA analyst Ana Montes as a long-serving
Cuban agent in 2001.
"The ease with which they recruited
Ana Montes leads me to strongly believe
there are others," Carmichael, who
has published a book about the Montes case
called "True Believer," said at
the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
The spy-hunter said he had written the
book "because I wanted to heighten
public awareness of the threat that continues
to be posed to our national security by
the Cuban intelligence operations."
He said that Cuba "shares her information
... with countries like Iran, China, Russia,
other countries who have interests maybe
inimical to those of the United States."
Montes is serving a 25-year jail term in
Texas after being convicted of spying for
Cuba over two decades. She could have faced
the death penalty but reached a plea deal
by agreeing to cooperate with federal investigators.
After joining the DIA, the military equivalent
of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
in 1985, Montes rose to become the US intelligence
community's "queen of Cuba" with
an influential role in shaping government
policy.
But Carmichael said she had already been
recruited by Cuban intelligence in 1984.
She "never took a dime" from
her secret bosses in Havana and was a "model
employee" who for years operated with
a low profile, convinced that US policy
on Fidel Castro's regime was "dead
wrong."
Montes has received "scant attention"
in the US media "and yet she was one
of the most devastating spies of the modern
era," Carmichael said.
"She came to us with the full intention
of spying against us, and she spied against
for us for 16 years until the date of her
arrest on 21 September, 2001."
The arrest came in the chaotic aftermath
of the September 11 carnage, when anthrax
postal attacks were on the loose in US cities
and plans to invade Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
were already taking shape.
No media commentators have put Montes in
the same league as infamous spies like Robert
Hanssen, an FBI agent who spied for Russia,
or Aldrich Ames, a CIA counter-intelligence
officer who was also on Moscow's payroll.
"And yet the damage caused by Ana
Montes was exceptionally grave and equal
to the damage committed by all of those
that I've named," Carmichael said.
"We have to be concerned about the
possibility that there are additional Ana
Monteses among us," he added.
"The danger is that the information
could be shared with Iran or wherever our
fighting forces are today."
Roger Noriega, a former top State Department
official overseeing Latin America policy,
told the AEI event that Cuba was "unique
in one very extraordinarily important sense"
among nations spying on the United States.
He cited the Lourdes intelligence facility,
a Cuban-Russian site less than 100 miles
(160 kilometers) from Key West in Florida,
"which gave it a tremendous amount
of access to material from the United States."
Cuba sees population decline in 2006
HAVANA, 16 -- (AP) -- Cuba's population
fell in 2006 for the first time in 25 years,
dropping by about 4,300 inhabitants, state
media reported Wednesday.
Child births fell 14 percent, to just more
than 111,000 last year from about 129,700
in 2005, the Communist Party newspaper Granma
quoted Juan Carlos Alfonso, director of
the Center for Populations Studies and Development,
as saying. Alfonso's center is part of the
island's National Office of Statistics.
The reason for the sharp decline was not
given, although Alfonso said Cuba's over-60
population has grown, a fact that could
contribute to declining births.
The article said 2006 marked the first
population decline in a quarter century
but did not specify the exact year of the
last drop. It did not give Cuba's total
population for last year or 2005. The CIA
World Fact Book 2007 estimates it is nearly
11.4 million.
Granma reported that the average size of
Cuban families is three people, presumably
couples with just one child.
Production down 12% in Cuba's top tobacco
region
HAVANA, 16 -- (AP) -- The tobacco harvest
fell 12 percent this year compared to 2006
in Cuba's main cigar-producing province,
and officials plan to trim the number of
workers dedicated to production in the region,
state media reported Wednesday.
Exact figures on the harvest in Pinar del
Rio province were not given, but the Communist
Party newspaper Granma put the year-to-year
decline at 12 percent. It said that heavy
rainfall made it possible to harvest the
leaves of just 47,880 acres instead of the
planned 53,090 acres.
Government officials also told the newspaper
they planned to reduce the more than 11,700
workers involved in tobacco harvests, but
they did not say by how much.
Pinar del Rio in westernmost Cuba is the
island's top producer of premium cigar tobacco.
Relatives of Cuban spies plan global
support group
Posted on Wed, May. 16,
2007.
HAVANA -- (AP) -- Relatives of five Cuban
spies serving long U.S. prison sentences
said Tuesday they were forming an international
support group to press for their loved ones'
release.
U.S. federal prosecutors failed to prove
the men obtained any U.S. secrets but were
successful in arguing for sentences ranging
from 10 years to life for Gerardo Hernandez,
Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerrero
and Fernando Gonzalez.
The men said they were gathering information
that might prevent violent attacks on the
island.
All five were convicted of being unregistered
foreign agents, and three also were found
guilty of espionage conspiracy for failed
efforts to obtain military secrets. Hernandez
also was convicted of murder conspiracy
in the deaths of four Miami-based pilots
whose small planes were shot down on Feb.
24, 1996, by a Cuban MiG in international
waters off Cuba's northern coast.
They continue to appeal last year's decision
by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Atlanta to reinstate their convictions.
Cuba Stocks US Brands Despite Embargo
AP, 15 - The golden arches are nowhere
to be found. There's not a single Starbucks
or Wal-Mart, and no way to buy a Budweiser,
a Corvette or a Dell. But even in Cuba,
you can get a Coke.
Despite the U.S. Trading With the Enemy
Act, which governs Washington's 45-year-old
embargo, sales on Fidel Castro's island
are lining the pockets of corporate America.
Nikes, Colgate and Marlboros, Gillette
Series shaving cream and Jordache jeans
_ all are easy to find. Cubans who wear
contact lenses can buy Bausch & Lomb.
Parents can surprise the kids with a Mickey
Mouse fire truck.
Dozens of American brands are on sale here
_ and not in some black-market back alley.
They're in the lobbies of gleaming government-run
hotels and in crowded supermarkets and pharmacies
that answer to the communist government.
The companies say they have no direct knowledge
of sales in Cuba, and that the amounts involved
are small and would be impractical to stop.
But it's hard to deny that a portion of
the transactions wind up back in the United
States.
"We try and do what we can to police
... but in a globalized economy, it's impossible
to catch everything," said Vada Manager,
director of global issues management for
Nike Inc.
Trade sanctions bar American tourists
from visiting Cuba and allow exports only
of U.S. food and farm products, medical
supplies and some telecommunications equipment.
But wholesalers and distributors in Europe,
Asia, Latin America and Canada routinely
sell some of America's most recognizable
brands to Cuban importers.
Cuba has for years sought out American
goods as a way of thumbing its nose at the
embargo. Officials at three foreign-owned
import companies operating in Havana, who
refused to have their names published for
fear of economic repercussions, said the
communist government itself still imports
the vast majority of American goods.
Christopher Padilla, U.S. assistant secretary
of commerce for export administration, said
from Washington that Cuba even sends delegations
on "buying missions," hunting
for specific American products in third
countries for resale back home. Cuban press
authorities did not make relevant officials
available to discuss the practice.
In a country where tourism is the leading
revenue source, stocking American brands
helps reassure visitors, according to Daniel
Erikson, a Cuban economy expert at the Inter-American
Dialogue in Washington.
"People, average Cubans included,
would rather have Coca-Cola than a no-name
generic soda they're not familiar with.
That means the government can charge more,"
Erikson said. "And obviously for the
tourist industry it's important for the
foreigners who visit Cuba to see products
that they know and trust."
All American products are sold in Cuban
convertible pesos, considered foreign currency
and worth $1.08 apiece _ about 25 times
the island's regular peso. Although government
salaries have increased in recent years,
the average monthly pay is still around
$15, meaning few Cubans can afford U.S.
goods.
But last month, Economy Minister Jose Luis
Rodriguez said 57 percent of the population
has access to hard currency _ dollars or
convertible pesos _ either through jobs
in tourism or money from relatives abroad.
A 2004 report by the U.S. Commission for
Assistance to a Free Cuba estimated that
remittances from the United States alone
total $1 billion a year.
The influx of American brands began in
earnest in 1993, when Cuba scrapped laws
that had made it illegal for its citizens
to possess dollars. Cubans know the products,
despite an almost complete lack of advertising
on the island. Angel Hernandez, a 62-year-old
retiree, didn't hesitate when presented
with a pair of "Air Jordans."
"That swoosh. That's Nike," he
said. Like most Cubans, he pronounces the
company name with a silent "e"
as in "Mike."
Made in China, brick-red Nike Air Max 90
sneakers sell for 129.40 convertible Cuban
pesos _ about $140 _ at a store off Havana's
Central Park. High-priced fakes also abound.
Several stores, including one inside the
Havana Libre Hotel _ the Havana Hilton before
Castro's 1959 revolution _ offer authentic-looking
Max Air 80s, but Nike makes no such product.
At the Comodoro Hotel, a boutique wants
$40 for assorted small gym bags with pastel
or silver swooshes. Their tags read "Made
in Indonesia" in Spanish and "Nike
de Mexico," providing a hint of their
route to Cuba.
Manager said all Nike products for sale
in Cuba are probably knockoffs. He conceded,
however, that legitimate distributors outside
the U.S. could be selling products to Cuban
importers _ and that Nike could make money
off such sales.
"But what you're talking about is
such a small volume there," he said.
"And if we are able to detect where
... the products came from, that distributor
or retailer runs the risk of having their
account discontinued with us."
John Kavulich, senior policy adviser for
the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council
Inc. in New York, said "in no way should
it be said that this is an end run by U.S.
business around U.S. restrictions, because
it's not."
"It's almost impossible for American
companies to stop," Kavulich said.
"Of course, at some point in the transaction,
at the very beginning when the legitimate
distributor bought the product from Nike,
or any company, money went to the U.S."
Kavulich estimated the value of U.S. brands
sold in Cuba as "probably $20 million
or less on an annual basis," but noted
that less than 5 percent of that amount
likely represents combined profit for American
companies, given all the layers of transactions
the products go through to get to the island.
Decades-old Walt Disney cartoons air on
state television every afternoon and stores
have Mickey Mouse toys and wrapping paper
and Snoopy products.
In Havana's Vedado district, fishing supply
store DSY offers goods made by U.S. supplier
Seachoice Products. A "Heavy Duty Waterproof
Flashlight" from the company proudly
proclaims "Made in USA."
Saleswoman Dayne Barrios said the products
were shipped from Florida to a Mexico distributor,
which sent them to Cuba through a government
importer. Calls to Seachoice offices in
Pompano Beach, Fla., were not returned.
At least two Havana clothing stores call
themselves Jordache, one even using the
company's horse head logo on its marquee.
The shelves inside are crammed with jeans,
shirts and blouses with Jordache labels.
Steven Nakash, director of licensing for
Jordache Enterprises in New York, said the
company heard about unauthorized use of
its brand in Cuba several years ago but
took no action because "an American
company dealing with a foreign territory
and battling it out on foreign soil is very,
very hard."
Nakash, a member of Jordache's founding
family, said the company has international
distributors but also licenses its brand
to manufacturers, including one in Mexico.
He said he was unsure where the products
in Cuba came from.
"Is any of the revenue from Cuba coming
back to me? Certainly not," Nakash
said.
Even after Castro took over, more than
100 U.S. corporations _ including Ford Motor
Co. _ obtained licenses to operate here
through foreign subsidiaries.
The U.S. Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 made
such third-country transactions illegal,
while also authorizing the export of U.S.
medicines. Eight years later, the U.S. Congress
allowed direct sales to Cuba of food and
farm goods, everything from rice, ice cream
and livestock to wood products, down feathers
and cigarettes.
Since then, Heinz ketchup, Tabasco Sauce
and Tyson's chicken have been sporadically
available at Cuban government supermarkets,
and the United States has become the island's
leading supplier of food and farm products.
Prices can be about twice as much as in
U.S. stories. Tubes of Colgate toothpaste
start at $4.85. You can also find products
including shampoo, conditioner and anti-bacterial
soap from New York-based Colgate-Palmolive
Co. A shaving "mousse" from Gillette
Series, distributed by Procter & Gamble
Zurich, costs $4.80 a bottle.
Could those items be considered medical
supplies? Not likely, say U.S. officials.
But pinpointing whether any American product
is in Cuba legally is difficult because
the U.S. Treasury Department does not disclose
who secures export licenses, citing trade
secrets acts.
No American brand is more prevalent in
Cuba than Coke, but the Atlanta, Georgia-based
Coca-Cola Co. has not sought Cuban export
licenses _ even though its product would
qualify as food.
Bottled mostly in Mexico, Coke goes for
$1 at stores _ about the same price as at
a U.S. convenience store _ and up to four
times that at touristy restaurants.
Charles Sutlive, a Coca-Cola spokesman
in Atlanta, said the company has not authorized
any bottler to sell or distribute any of
its finished products in Cuba. But he added
that the company "does not have the
authority to prevent these type of activities
in countries where Cuban import-export companies
are free to operate."
Indeed, distributors of American goods
operating in other countries often insist
they are doing nothing wrong _ and can even
be fined by their own governments for refusing
to export to Cuba.
Mexico fined the Sheraton Maria Isabel
Hotel in Mexico City in 2005 after it bowed
to U.S. Treasury Department pressure and
evicted Cuban officials staying there. In
January, a Norwegian hotel owned by Hilton
Hotel Corp. sparked an uproar when it refused
to book rooms for a Cuban delegation, citing
the American embargo.
The Commerce Department's Padilla said
the U.S. sanctions have international reach,
applying to American products anywhere in
the world.
"If companies knowingly sold to a
Cuban importer, they can be prosecuted,"
he said. "Willful blindness is not
an excuse to violate the law in these matters."
Despite potential legal hot water, Nakash
confessed a certain pride that his brand
has cracked Havana.
"I can very much appreciate seeing
a Jordache shop there," he said. "I,
as an American, can't go to a country like
Cuba. But our brand can."
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