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The Miami
Herald, April 29, 2002.
Castro-Fox tiff cutting both ways in Latin nations
By Nancy San Martin. nsanmartin@herald.com. Posted on Mon,
Apr. 29, 2002
CARACAS - Fidel Castro sought to embarrass President Vicente Fox when he hit
the play button on a taped, private conversation with the Mexican leader -- and,
to judge by the political uproar in Mexico, Castro succeeded at least
temporarily.
But the Cuban president also widened a gap with Latin America's
democratically elected leaders -- less than a week after they voted to adopt a
resolution urging Havana to improve its human rights record.
The controversial recording over Castro's attendance appears to have boosted
his support among those Latin Americans already predisposed to sympathize with
his views, analysts said, but its release will further isolate Cuba in
diplomatic circles. For now, Castro has with only one firm friend: President
Hugo Chávez, here in oil-rich Venezuela.
Even that close relationship may now be compromised as a result of the
continuing political crisis in Venezuela following a coup and counter-coup
earlier this month.
POLITICAL MATE
If Chávez wants to make amends with opposition forces that managed to
briefly oust him from office, he will have to distance himself from his
political mate, Latin America experts said.
''It makes no sense for Chávez to hold on to a relationship that is
obviously a liability,'' said Miguel Diaz, director of the South America project
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Chávez
should be wary that Castro is untrustworthy. The release of the tape proves
Castro is an unreliable partner.''
Others said the recording, coupled with allegations that the United States
may have been involved in the recent coup attempt against Chávez, may
serve to arouse leftist sentiment in Venezuela and other Latin American nations.
Chávez still maintains popular support among the poor, leftist
guerrilla groups in neighboring Colombia continue to threaten stability there
and a left-of-center candidate, Luiz Inacio ''Lula'' da Silva, is leading in the
polls for Brazil's October elections.
''I thought some months ago that Castro was irrelevant, but I don't think so
anymore,'' said Maruja Tarre, a political science professor at Simón Bolívar
University in Caracas. "There is this Chávez phenomena, Lula in
Brazil and a rebirth of leftist ideology that is still a danger in Latin
America.''
The tape controversy stems from Castro's last-minute decision to attend a
U.N. summit, which prompted a call by Fox asking Castro to be brief with his
speech, avoid insulting the United States and leave early so as to avoid
crossing paths with President Bush.
POINTING FINGERS
Castro took issue with the request, saying the United States was behind it.
He again pointed the finger at the United States when Latin American nations,
including Mexico, for the first time supported a U.N resolution to censure Cuba.
Though the United States did not have a vote this year, Castro accused
Washington of using strong-arm tactics to get the votes from Latin American
nations, which he called puppets of the United States.
Venezuela was the only Latin American country that joined Cuba in voting
against the human rights resolution adopted April 19 by the United Nations Human
Rights Commission in Geneva.
Chávez's relationship with Castro has raised concern in Venezuela and
Washington.
As he struggles to bounce back from his brief ouster, Chávez is faced
with the task of convincing the nation and international community that he is
capable of representing all Venezuelans, not just the poor and disenfranchised.
Parading around with Castro will not allay that perception.
Some analysts said Chávez's personal ties with Castro are too strong
to be broken.
''Chávez will always be Castro's friend,'' said Aníbal Romero,
another political science professor at Simón Bolívar University. "The
more isolated Castro becomes, the more solidarity he can count on from Chávez.''
However Castro's release of the recording is viewed, the conversation does
tend to back his claim of being asked to leave the summit, providing support for
those who believe that Latin America has become too aligned with the United
States.
''There is an awful lot of things that are going on in Latin America that in
fact are fueling discontent, which in fact, might be indicative of favorable
sentiment for Fidel,'' said Eduardo Gamarra, director of the Latin American and
Caribbean Center at Florida International University.
''But from a democratic leadership perspective in Latin America, he took a
black eye,'' Gamarra said. "There will be a distancing if there was ever an
acercamiento [warming relations].''
Uruguay already has gone a step further: It broke diplomatic relations with
Cuba last week, citing insults by the Castro government because of the U.N.
resolution, which Uruguay sponsored.
But it is unlikely other Latin American nations will take the same action,
preferring instead to avoid a public confrontation with Castro, analysts said.
''Why bother?'' Romero said. "Why look for trouble for nothing?''
With all the griping over being kicked out of Mexico, it turns out Castro
did not follow the rules he and Fox agreed to. According to his own ''political
declaration'' on the matter, Castro went back to his hotel in Monterrey where he
met with Chávez. The two dined ''for hours'' and their encounter was so
''fraternal and relaxed,'' Castro stated, "I completely forgot about the
time and the order to leave''
According to Castro's declaration, published in the online edition of the
Communist Party's daily Granma, he also crossed paths with President Bush on his
way to the airport.
''In the end,'' Castro stated, "we were within meters of each other in
Monterrey.''
Miami expects presidential visit
Event may be linked to Cuban holiday
By Carol Rosenberg. crosenberg@herald.com. Posted on Fri,
Apr. 26, 2002
President Bush is expected in Miami for a Republican fundraiser May 20 --
Cuba's 100th Independence Day -- and White House image-makers are considering
presidential stops ranging from a Little Havana rice-and-beans lunch to an
anti-Castro rally.
Officially, the White House is mum on the visit.
''We haven't made any announcements about May 20th,'' spokeswoman Jeanie
Mamo said this week, in keeping with long-standing policy of not divulging plans
too early. Secret Service concerns or world events could derail them.
Behind the scenes, however, politicians and exile activists being consulted
by the White House say that a big Cuba event is expected.
A key staff concern: how much the visit should resemble President Ronald
Reagan's trip, on May 20, 1983, to Little Havana, a dramatic display of
Cuban-American clout on the 81st anniversary of the Cuban Republic.
Meantime, Miami Cubans have been vying with competing offers:
• A visit to Our Lady of Charity Shrine that evening for a community
celebration that will include the arrival of a torch from Key West, Afro-Cuban
music and a speech by Bishop Agustín Román. Armando Cobelo,
chairman of a Centennial Celebration Committee, sent an official invitation
weeks ago.
• Lunch at the Versailles Restaurant on Southwest Eighth Street, a
popular tourist and political shop-talk spot owned by a member of the Cuban
American National Foundation's executive committee.
• A walk down Eighth Street, which has been significantly spruced up to
lure tourists to Little Havana since the Reagan presidency.
• An appearance at an afternoon rally at Miami-Dade County Auditorium,
promoted by Spanish-language radio to fill the 2,429-seat hall with wall-to-wall
opposition to Fidel Castro's 43-year grip on power in Cuba.
• A stop at an invitation-only, cocktail dedication of Casa Bacardi, a
cultural center at the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and
Cuban-American Studies. The school has sent an invitation.
Although the celebration at the shrine is the only community-based event
firmly scheduled for the day so far, it is probably the least likely idea to be
accepted. The shrine is on Biscayne Bay, presenting an extraordinary challenge
to the Secret Service.
Reagan's visit made history, and not just because he stopped in at La
Esquina de Tejas restaurant to sample authentic Little Havana fare. Wrapped in
anti-communist Reaganism, the visit signaled national recognition of Cuban
exiles' clout.
CANF founder Jorge Mas Canosa introduced the president at the Dade County
Auditorium, the same location that is booked for May 20.
This time, people involved in discussion of the events say, Florida Gov. Jeb
Bush likely would introduce his older brother.
Firmly on the schedule, so far, is an evening fundraiser at the home of
one-time Jeb Bush business partner Armando Codina, a developer, who was
unavailable for comment Thursday.
Funds will go to the Republican Party of Florida, not the governor's
reelection campaign directly, in what is being characterized as the president's
first fundraiser for his brother in South Florida.
The president already has done a similar event in Tampa.
The trip also might coincide with what Cuba policy-watchers in the region
and in Washington expect to be the latest installment of hard-line anti-Castro
White House policy. No big changes are predicted, neither an increase in
isolation nor any effort toward engagement. And sources were predicting this
week that there could be slippage in the proclamation of new policy, in part,
because of a behind-the-scenes tug of war on where it will go.
As of Thursday, a staffer involved in the process said the Bush
administration was leaning toward issuing guidelines that "reinforce that
the United States is not a friend of Castro and he needs to take democratic
steps in order to change.''
ASTA exec's Cuba plan raises anger
By Ina Paiva Cordle. icordle@herald.com. Posted on Sat,
Apr. 27, 2002
The president of the American Society of Travel Agents has landed in hot
water with some South Florida members after dining in Cuba with a ''charming''
Fidel Castro and announcing plans to train travel agents to sell the island
someday as a destination.
Richard Copland, the New York-based president of ASTA, traveled to Cuba
earlier this month in a ''legally sanctioned'' trip paid for by a tourism
supplier.
He and his wife and two other ASTA executives spent six days on the island
visiting Havana and various tourist areas, flying through Jamaica.
''It's not a political organization -- it's an organization that promotes
tourism and we have a belief and motto that the American traveling public should
be allowed to travel freely around the world -- it's almost a constitutional
right,'' Copland said.
''Cuba is a sensitive issue and I fully empathize with the Cuban people --
not just in the U.S. but all over the world,'' he said. "I totally
understand if somebody took my business and killed my family and took all my
rights, I would be very angry. But freedom to travel takes precedence.''
During his stay, Copland and his group were guests of Castro and several
other high ranking government officials at a four-hour dinner that lasted until
the wee hours. Copland said Castro, dressed in his military uniform, looked
''extremely healthy,'' and Copland found him "extremely personable.''
''I thought he was a very charming person,'' Copland said.
Castro spoke nearly nonstop during the dinner, telling stories and
discussing social concerns in Cuba, including education, healthcare and family
life, Copland said. They ate salad, fish and pork, washed down with wine, and
followed it with ice cream.
Impressed with the beauty and tourism opportunities in Cuba, Copland said he
planned to launch a Cuba ''destination specialist program,'' which would teach
agents to sell the island's attractions if -- and when -- travel opens up. Other
specialist programs focus on such areas as mature adults and North American rail
travel.
The current trade embargo limits travel to the island by banning most
Americans from spending money in Cuba. Exiles, journalists and those on
cultural, fact-finding or educational missions are allowed, however, under
certain circumstances.
''There is enormous value in Cuba -- quality hotels at half the rate of
other islands in the Caribbean, and there is something about the Cuban people
that makes it special,'' Copland said.
But his plans have outraged some South Florida agents.
''The sentiment is running quite high not to do this -- not to pursue this
program,'' said Doris Green, area director of ASTA for Florida, Puerto Rico and
the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Perhaps most vocal of all is Jack R. Guiteras, president of Coral
Gables-based Lorraine Travel. Guiteras, who founded the agency in Havana in
1948, moved to Miami in 1960 to escape Castro's regime.
Reading a CNN.com article quoting Copland as calling Castro ''the most
gracious and pleasant man I have ever met,'' and hearing about the proposed
specialist program, Guiteras fired off "an open letter to ASTA.''
''No matter how he tries to cleanse himself of the bloody smear of Castro's
handshake, Copland will never rid himself of the stigma of collaborating with
the most oppressive ruler ever to subjugate this hemisphere,'' Guiteras wrote.
''We have no business dealing with a regime that did away with our class,
and ever since then, in 43 years, there has not been an independent travel agent
in Cuba,'' Guiteras said this week. He said he has received support from other
agents -- he doesn't know how many -- and feels there is a consensus among those
members to oppose Copland's candidacy for reelection unless he changes his
views.
Copland emphasizes that his organization does not condone Castro's
government. He has apologized to Guiteras, and he said he is sorry if he
offended anyone.
''We do not condone what goes on in Cuba -- we think it is wrong,'' Copland
said. "But that doesn't stop us from going there.'' | 
