New York Times Service. Published Saturday, October 20,
2001. The Miami Herald
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has restricted the movements of Cuban
diplomats in Washington three weeks after federal authorities charged a top
Defense Department intelligence analyst with spying for the Havana government.
The administration's decision, which took effect Tuesday and was announced
Friday, would confine Cuban envoys to an area roughly one-fifth the size of
their previous range, officials said, mirroring Cuban restrictions on American
diplomats in Havana.
Law enforcement authorities privately voice frustration that Cuban officials
have refused to cooperate in the investigation into the activities of Ana Belen
Montes, an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency who was arrested Sept. 21
on espionage charges.
Authorities have been unable to identify Cubans in the United States with
whom Montes allegedly had contact, according to people briefed on the
investigation, and no Cuban diplomats have been expelled since her arrest.
Montes, who is being held without bond, is to appear Nov. 5 in U.S. District
Court.
Under the restrictions, Cuban diplomats would be confined to an area
circumscribed by the capital Beltway, the freeway that rings Washington, and a
corridor that leads to Dulles Airport in Virginia. For travel beyond that, they
would be required to notify the State Department 72 hours in advance.
Until this week, Cuban officials were allowed to roam within a 25-mile
radius of the White House, an area of about 1,960 square miles. The new area is
about 273 square miles.
After Montes' arrest, the administration decided that Cuban diplomats should
be restricted as American officials are in Cuba, said Philip Reeker, the State
Department spokesman.
Officials at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington declined to comment.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 
