Published Monday, May 21, 2001 in the
Miami Herald
Cuban diplomat says he was kidnapped
By Mary Jordan . Washington Post Service
MEXICO CITY -- A Cuban diplomat who was mysteriously deported from Mexico in
October as he was seeking political asylum has turned up in a Havana court
saying he was kidnapped.
"I was kidnapped by force and taken illegally to Cuba,'' Pedro Riera
Escalante said in court Friday before the head of a three-judge panel ruled him
out of order.
Riera, who was the Cuban consul in Mexico City from 1986 to 1992, has been
charged with falsification of documents, illegal departure and bribery, stemming
from his decision in 1999 to leave Cuba and reenter Mexico. News agencies
reported that he pleaded guilty to leaving Cuba with a false passport and
bribing officials at the Havana airport to help him.
Riera was pleading an asylum case with Mexican intelligence officials even
as Mexican immigration officials hauled him away from a coffee shop and put him
on a plane to Cuba. Why he was deported has not been made clear. Many Mexican
commentators speculated that he had embarrassing information about Mexican
officials involved in his spying operations, which were largely directed at the
CIA.
The United States and international human rights organizations protested
Riera's deportation, saying they feared for his safety once he returned to Cuba.
Edelmiro Castellanos, a Mexico-based journalist for U.S.-funded Radio Martí,
which opposes the Cuban government, said at the time that Riera was one of the
highest-ranking Cuban intelligence officers ever to defect.
Mexican newspapers said at the time of his deportation that Riera was
carrying documents that detailed what he said was a two-decade career spying on
the CIA.
According to wire reports from Havana, there was no mention in the courtroom
on Friday of any spying activities.
Riera, 49, is one of five defendants in the case. The other four -- two
Cuban women, an officer of Cuba's Interior Ministry security force and an
immigration official -- are accused of helping him leave the island. If
convicted, Riera faces up to 12 years in prison.
Eight suspected of smuggling migrants caught off Key West
Posted at 7:27 a.m. EDT Monday, May 21, 2001
KEY WEST -- (AP) -- Eight people suspected of smuggling Cuban migrants into
the United States were arrested, Coast Guard officials said.
The eight were in three go-fast boats, which were stopped by Coast Guard
cutters, officials said. The Collier County Sheriff's Office was also involved
in one of the busts.
One cutter spotted a go-fast about 60 miles southwest of Key West early
Wednesday, heading toward Cuba. The go-fast turned around, however, and headed
north past Marquesas Key, which is just west of Key West, the Coast Guard said.
A surveillance plane followed the boat until Coast Guard and Collier
Sheriff's units intercepted the go-fast. Around the same time, the Coast Guard
boarded another vessel 60 miles south of Key West. Officials said that go-fast
had equipment used for migrant smuggling, and two people aboard were arrested.
The third go-fast was detected later in the day by another cutter 65 miles
south of Key West. The Coast Guard said it stopped the boat and took two more
suspects into custody.
The eight arrested were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol. Their names
were not immediately available, but Coast Guard officials said all have either
U.S. resident alien or parole status.
Coast Guard Ensign Jamie Frederick said calm seas and good weather during
the summer allows smugglers to transport Cuban migrants illegally into the
United States.
Old Cuba lives on at CubaNostalgia
By Keny Feijoo. mfeijoo@herald.com. Published Saturday, May
19, 2001
Men in guayaberas stroll down the street as the aroma of freshly roasted
peanuts permeates the air. Street vendors howl, announcing the contents of their
baskets: homemade boniato and coconut sweets.
It's CubaNostalgia, a three-day event at the Coconut Grove Convention Center
showcasing Cuban life and traditions from a half-century ago.
More than 40 vendors and more than 30 exhibits are part of this third annual
effort to give people a feel of the island's pre-Castro years.
Friday night, abuelos and abuelas shared stories with their grandchildren as
they strolled down the timeline into their memories.
In a corner of the convention center is Café Raúl, where
coladas and cappuccinos are being sold.
"We've tried to re-create a coffee place that was very popular in
Cuba,'' said Vilma Rodríguez, as she served colada shots. "Each shot
is tres kilos -- or three cents -- that is what they used to charge back then.''
"I feel like I'm in old Havana,'' said Dalia González, who came
to Miami four months ago. "There are so many things that are just exact.''
Others, however, were there to encounter their roots and live the stories
they had experienced second-hand.
"I'm very in tune with where I come from,'' said José Raúl
Carro, 24. "I came to see what the culture is all about, not that I don't
already know, pero, to get a look at what Cuba used to be before the
revolution.''
Some eventgoers decided to dance and sing to the beats of bongos.
"This is it. This is the Cuba of the '50s,'' Luisa Peña said. "Younger
people now can see what their parents and grandparents love so much.''
CubaNostalgia continues from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday at the Coconut Grove Convention Center, 2700 S. Bayshore Dr. Admission is
$10.
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