NewsMax.com. July 25, 2000
Castro Envoy Told He Can't Roam U.S.
Neither fish nor fowl, Cuban diplomats in the United States do not enjoy all the privileges of ambassadors from countries with diplomatic relations.
The State Department drove that point home Monday when it curtly advised Communist Cuba's ambassador to the United Nations that he could not travel to California, where he wished to attend a Town Hall of Los Angeles Forum.
Because Cuba and the United States have no formal diplomatic relations, delegates from Fidel Castro's country must obtain U.S. governmental approval before they may travel farther than 25 miles from the U.N. headquarters in New York City.
According to the Associated Press:
When Cuban Ambassador Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla sought permission for the trip to Los Angeles, the State Department said no.
Whereupon, Havana said the denial was made "arbitrarily and for political motives."
In response, Robert C. Moller, the U.S. counselor in charge of host-country affairs, said members of the Cuban delegation to the United Nations already enjoy have all the privileges required to enable them to carry out their U.N. duties.
"The United States, however, has no legal obligation to permit unrestricted travel outside the United Nations Headquarters district for personal reasons or for work not related to the United Nations," he said.
"The United States looks forward to the time when national-security concerns are abated and such restrictions on personal travel will no longer be necessary."
The U.N. General Assembly has adopted a resolution urging the Clinton-Gore administration to consider removing those restrictions applied to Cuba.
Cuban Agents Infiltrating Venezuela, Alleged Defector Says
NewsMax.com. Monday, July 24, 2000
Cuba is using a small army of covert agents to brainwash Venezuelans into re-electing the Castro-supporting president, charges a defector who claims to be a former Cuban intelligence operative.
According to Juan Alvaro Rosabal Gonzalez, Cuba’s DGI intelligence agency has sent 1,500 agents to infiltrate Venezuelan society and "brainwash" people into supporting President Hugo Chavez, a friend and supporter of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, in next week’s presidential
election.
Chavez opponent Francisco Arias has won the backing of Venezuela’s middle and upper classes by denouncing Chavez's ties to the communist leader, while Chavez has the support of the poor and leads in polls by a strong 15 percent.
Last year, Chavez described Cuba as "a sea of happiness" after visiting the island.
In a TV interview Rosabal said Friday he was one of 1,500 agents sent by Castro to "brainwash" Venezuelans.
"We're conducting an ideological job to infiltrate the universities and the country's most humble sectors to make them see that Venezuela must change," he said.
Both Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel and the Cuban government have denied Rosabal’s charges.
"It doesn't worry me, because it's false. ... It's his word against mine," Rangel said of Rosabal's claims.
Said Alberto Cabrero, a representative of the Cuban Embassy, "This is a setup to negatively influence the good bilateral relations between Venezuela and Cuba."
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