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CUBA
NEWS
The
Miami Herald
GOP Will Keep Cuba Travel Ban Intact
Lolita C. Baldor, Associated
Press. Posted on Wed, Oct. 29, 2003 in The
Miami Herald.
WASHINGTON - Legislation that would relax
the ban on travel to Cuba is headed for
failure even though it passed both the House
and Senate.
Lawmakers said Wednesday that Republican
leaders probably would strip the provision
from a transportation funding bill during
House and Senate negotiations so President
Bush would not have to veto an important
appropriations bill.
Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., a key negotiator
who will help craft the final bill, wants
the travel ban enforced and said, "Everyone
is very aware of the veto threat."
While declining to admit defeat, Sen. Max
Baucus, D-Mont., said "A veto would
create too much of a firestorm. They (Republican
leaders) will find some other way to finesse
it."
The widely expected result is that when
the House and Senate conferees meet to iron
out differences in the two transportation
bills, the Cuba provision will be quietly
dropped or changed to render it impossible
to enact.
That prospect angered lawmakers who said
Wednesday that using travel restrictions
to isolate Cuba has not worked in 40 years,
and only more exposure to Americans will
help promote Democracy in the communist
country.
They also argued that deleting a provision
passed in both chambers erodes the democratic
process.
"Congress clearly has spoken,"
said Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass. "If
Republican leaders take this out it really
abrogates the independence of the first
branch of government."
It is an awkward issue for Bush and the
GOP.
"If he vetoes this over the Cuba language
it makes him look like a captive of conservative
Cuban Americans in south Florida,"
said William Leogrande, a Cuba scholar and
dean of the Public Affairs School at American
University. "And if the language is
just dropped, it looks like the Republicans
are manipulating the process to ignore the
majority will of both houses."
According to polls and recent votes in
Congress, support has grown for more interaction
with Cuba. In parts of the Midwest there
is increasing interest in agricultural trade
with Cuba.
But in Florida, a state that delivered
the presidency to Bush in 2000 and is politically
critical for his re-election bid in 2004,
conservative Cuban Americans staunchly oppose
relaxing sanctions against Fidel Castro.
Shelby said it is "vital to American
interests that we maintain a resolute policy
toward Cuba." And Lincoln Diaz-Balart,
R-Fla., said backers of the travel ban will
"fight to strip the language that increases
revenues for the Cuban dictatorship."
The legislation would prohibit the use
of federal funds to enforce the travel ban.
Argentine president's absence stirs
debate
There were rumors that Néstor
Kirchner was afraid to come to Miami for
the Americas Conference. But Argentine officials
insist that isn't true.
By Alejandro Landes, alandes@herald.com.
Posted on Thu, Oct. 30, 2003
Why did Argentine President Néstor
Kirchner cancel his participation at the
Americas Conference and send Vice President
Daniel Scioli in his place?
Some Argentine media reports said Kirchner,
who has been improving relations with Cuba,
wanted to avoid any incidents with anti-Castro
protesters.
Others said he feared the presidential
plane, Tango 1, would be seized by international
creditors angered by Argentina's decision
in 2001 to suspend payments on its foreign
debt.
''That's childish talk,'' Argentine Secretary
of Trade Martín Redrado said.
The official reason: Kirchner underwent
a foot operation late last week, and is
still hurting.
CONCERNING BOLIVIA
At the opening remarks of the conference
Tuesday, White House Special Envoy for Western
Hemisphere Affairs Otto Reich raised eyebrows
when he said, "There are people in
Bolivia who do not believe in democracy,
and we cannot allow them to take over.''
Asked what he meant, Reich said he was
not suggesting the United States should
intervene unilaterally in Bolivia. 'I was
referring to the Organization of American
States' democratic charter,'' he said. That
is the regional treaty committing the member
nations to the collective defense of democracy.
ELEVATOR WOES
Argentina's Redrado made a heroic effort
to attend Tuesday's luncheon address by
Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutiérrez:
He got stuck in the elevator with several
members of Gutiérrez's 31-member
entourage, witnesses said, but he pried
the elevator doors open and jumped out to
make sure he would not be late.
The president's entourage remained in the
elevator a few more minutes, until Biltmore
Hotel workers got them out.
NO SHORTAGE
Venezuelan opposition leader Américo
Martín, a former leftist guerrilla,
did not seem very concerned that Venezuela
may be lacking a leader who can unite the
opposition against populist President Hugo
Chávez.
''I don't see why people are having trouble
coming up with names to replace Chávez.
The phone book is full of people who could
easily replace him,'' he said.
COME HOME
At a panel titled Who Will Be Venezuela's
Next Leaders? the mayor of the Venezuelan
municipality of Baruta, Henrique Capriles,
called on Venezuelans living in Miami to
return to their homeland.
Capriles said more than 200,000 Venezuelans
have moved to South Florida since Chávez
took power in 1999.
Those who have educated and prepared themselves
are leaving Venezuela,'' Capriles said.
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