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By EVAN PEREZ
.c The Associated Press
IN THE FLORIDA
STRAITS (AP) - Four exiles headed for Cuba Saturday aboard a fishing boat,
battling engine problems, choppy seas and hearing reports of military patrols
along the communist island's coast.
Ramon Saul Sanchez, leader of the Miami-based exile group The Democracy
Movement, said his journey to Cuba during the visit of Pope John Paul II was
going much slower than planned.
He said the fishing boat broke down in 7-foot seas, but was up and running
again by Saturday afternoon. Sanchez expected to come ashore in Cuba aboard the
35-foot trawler late Saturday or early Sunday.
"We pray, we talk about Cuba, we talk about things,'' Sanchez told The
Associated Press by cellular phone. "And we repair things that are
broken.''
The 43-year-old exile leader believes he should be able to visit his
homeland during the Pope's visit.
Another group of about 40 exiles arrived at the edge of Cuban territorial
waters Saturday morning on a separate boat. They held a prayer ceremony for
Cuban political prisoners and dropped flowers before turning around. About a
dozen small planes from Florida flew over the ceremony.
Sanchez, who left for Cuba Friday night from an unknown port, said he has no
plans to turn back and is seeking the best way to avoid Cuban boats, which his
sources say are patrolling for him.
The U.S. Coast Guard says it may not have authority to prevent Sanchez from
entering Cuba and is no longer actively searching for him.
Exile groups have had violent run-ins with the Cuban military during some of
the previous 12 flotillas the group has made.
In 1996, Cuban gunboats rammed the lead boat in a flotilla protest organized
by the Democracy group, injuring several people.
Also that year, Cuban MiGs shot down two small planes carrying members of
the group Brothers to the Rescue. Four people died.
Sanchez acknowledged that the Cubans might try to board his boat if he makes
it to Cuban waters, or confront him at shore.
"That is a possibility,'' he said. "We will not resist. We will
surrender and have them apprehend us. If the Cuban government uses violence, we
are totally unarmed, this is a peaceful claim of our rights.''
AP-NY-01-24-98 1818EST |