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Posted on Tue, Jun. 24, 2003 in
The Miami Herald.
Court backs sentence of Cuban journalist
By Andrea Rodriguez. Associated Press
HAVANA - Cuba's high court has upheld the 20-year sentence of well-known
independent journalist Raúl Rivero, who was among 75 Cubans given long
prison terms in a crackdown on the opposition this year, Rivero's wife said
Monday.
Blanca Reyes said her husband's defense attorney told her Monday that her
husband's appeal had been rejected by the Supreme Tribunal, the island's court
of last resort.
''I always thought that this would be the unfair decision,'' Reyes said
after receiving a copy of the ruling. The tribunal also upheld the 20-year
sentence of fellow independent journalist Ricardo González, who was tried
with Rivero.
Among other prominent opponents of the government whose convictions were
upheld Monday were Oscar Espinosa Chepe (20 years), Martha Beatriz Roque (20
years), Héctor Palacios (25 years) and Osvaldo Alfonso Valdés (18
years), according to AFP.
A large number of the 75 sentences have been appealed, and so far all have
been upheld by Cuba's high court. Rivero is among the best known of the
defendants, particularly among press groups in the region, and has written for
several American newspapers.
Cuban prosecutors accused the independent journalists, opposition party
leaders, democracy activists and other dissidents of working with and receiving
money from the U.S. government to undermine Fidel Castro's communist government.
The activists and American officials have denied the charges.
The arrests and heavy prison terms, ranging from six to 28 years, have been
condemned by governments and rights organization around the globe. The Cuban
government, meanwhile, has defended the crackdown as a necessary defense against
U.S. attempts to change the island's socialist system.
Reyes said she has not given up on her husband's case and is working to
gather evidence that none of the money that Rivero received for his work came
from the U.S. government.
''I am now planning to revise the ruling, and call all the newspapers that
Raúl worked for to ask them they where they got their money from, how
much they paid Raúl for this work,'' Reyes said.
During their trial, prosecutors insisted that Rivero and González --
editor of an independent magazine that published only two monthly issues -- were
being financed by the Washington through the U.S. Interests Section.
Reyes said she last visited her husband on July 11 at the prison in the
central province of Ciego de Avila.
Outlook grim for Cuba sugar harvest
HAVANA - (AP) -- Cuba's current sugar harvest, already expected to be the
smallest in decades, drags on because of problems with finances and the weather,
Sugar Minister Ulises Rosales del Toro said in comments published Monday.
Although figures for the island's key sugar harvest are usually public by
early June, Rosales del Toro told sugar workers in comments published Monday in
the weekly newspaper Trabajadores that a precise figure was still unavailable.
The sugar minister blamed the delay on heavy rains in some areas, along with
a lack of financing and problems associated with last year's restructuring of
the sugar industry.
Sugar industry sources have said they do not expect the yield from the
2002-2003 harvest now winding up to pass two million metric tons -- by far the
lowest figure in decades. The last two annual harvests on the island ranged
between 3.5 million and 3.6 million metric tons.
20 Cuban migrants come ashore in Biscayne National Park
By Herald Staff
Twenty Cuban migrants landed on an island in Biscayne National Park early
Tuesday and were turned over to immigration officials, a Coast Guard spokeswoman
said.
The 15 men and five women landed at Boca Chita Key at about 8:30 a.m. and
appeared to be in good condition, said Anastasia Burns, a Miami-based Coast
Guard spokeswoman.
Located in the northern part of the park, Boca Chita is a popular location
that includes a campground and a 65-foot lighthouse. | 
