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CUBA
NEWS
The
Miami Herald
Facts on those imprisoned in Cuba on Web
By Elaine De Valle, edevalle@herald.com.
Posted on Wed, Sep. 03, 2003 in The Miami Herald.
DOCUMENTS: Sentencing documents for the 75
dissidents convicted in Cuba can be found at www.ruleoflawandcuba.fsu.edu.
Now available at a computer near you: the sentencing
documents for the 75 Cuban dissidents convicted
in a crackdown by President Fidel Castro's government
this spring.
Posted on the Internet on Tuesday by Florida
State University's Center for the Advancement
of Human Rights, the hundreds of pages -- perhaps
the first Cuban court documents to be distributed
so widely -- show a lack of basic freedoms, human
rights and justice in Cuba, Program Director Mark
Schlakman said.
''This is the most comprehensive collection of
original documentation ever released in one place,''
Schlakman said. "It gives direct access for
visitors to this site to the rule of law in Cuba
by laying out the details relating to activities
for which the dissidents were prosecuted and for
which they are now serving Draconian sentences.
''So often, issues are cast in terms of U.S.-Cuba
relations. These issues transcend U.S.-Cuba relations,''
he said in a telephone interview. "It goes
to the core of well-established rule of law. It
goes to the core of human-rights issues.''
Schlakman said the center worked with various
sources in Cuba, including the U.S. Interests
Section in Havana, to get the court records. But
the center paid for the website project with private
funds, he added.
The idea for the website, which states its aim
is to provide ''an objective examination of the
rule of law in Cuba,'' was born shortly after
Cuban courts sentenced 75 anti-government activists
to between six and 28 years in April after summary
trials -- many not lasting more than a day.
Most were accused of receiving money from the
U.S. government and working with Washington to
undermine the Castro government.
Diplomats at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington
did not return calls from The Herald, but Cuban
officials have said in the past that the trials
were necessary to protect the island from U.S.-funded
subversion.
''At the expense of the 75 political prisoners,
the Castro regime has provided the world with
an unfortunately tragic view of the state of affairs
in Cuba today,'' Schlakman said at a news conference
at the Tallahassee campus.
The documents detail Cuban government allegations
of how the defendants received money, computers,
recording equipment and other help in Havana from
the U.S. Interests Section.
Several of the court rulings make vague references
to the defendants' connections with support groups
in Miami and ''terrorists,'' such as Frank Hernández
Trujillo, president of the South Florida-based
Support Group for the Dissidence, who is accused
of sending cash to opposition members.
This report was supplemented with material from
The Associated Press.
Cuba releases Miami couple held in unusual
espionage probe
By Oscar Corral, ocorral@herald.com.
A Miami couple held for 4 ½ months in
a Cuban jail on cryptic accusations of espionage
arrived at Miami International Airport on Tuesday
morning after being freed by Cuban authorities.
Maria Cardoso and her husband Arcel Cardoso stepped
off Continental flight 2995 from Camagüey
and were immediately swarmed by reporters and
news cameras.
Maria's three children also raced across the
airport lobby to throw their arms around her,
burying their faces in her shoulders and showering
her with kisses. Trembling and crying, Maria embraced
them.
''Thank God, mami,'' said Maria's adult son,
Ruben Manso, as he gripped his mother tightly.
It was an emotional -- and happy -- end to a
saga that saw a family momentarily torn apart.
In late March, Maria Cardoso and her husband
Arcel took their two daughters, Lizandra Fernandez,
15, and Ashley Cardoso, 7, on a two-week trip
to Camagüey to visit relatives.
Toward the end of their vacation in April, Maria's
brother, Omelio Angulo, asked her to bring a letter
to Miami and she agreed, hiding it in her bra.
She said she never read it.
''I didn't want to know about the letter because
it was political,'' she said.
As she passed through metal detectors at the
airport in Camagüey on her way back to Miami
in April, Maria said metal buttons on her overalls
triggered a search of her upper body and the letter
was discovered.
Cardoso's relatives have said that the letter
may have contained information about Cuba's Armed
Forces.
REFUSED TO LEAVE
Maria was immediately taken into custody. Arcel
said the authorities told him he was free to return
to Miami with the girls, but he didn't want to
leave without Maria. When he refused to leave,
he said he was arrested at the Camagüey airport.
Omelio Angulo was also arrested and remains in
prison, according to Maria. The girls were sent
home to Miami.
Maria said Cuban authorities came to her cell
last Wednesday at the prison in Villa Marista
and told her she could go. There was no trial.
Maria Cardoso said the government did not explain
why they freed her. She said she was sick in jail
and lost much weight. While they are U.S. residents,
the Cardoso's are not citizens so the U.S. government
could not get directly involved in their case.
''There was an apology,'' Arcel Cardoso said
of the Cuban government's explanation. 'They said
'the main thing is that we were investigating
and we had to take it seriously.' They said the
delay was because of the lack of cooperation from
Maria and her brother.''
''Being in jail is not easy'' Maria Cardoso added,
with her arm around her daughter Lizandra and
her son, Manso. "I never lost hope of coming
home. I just want to be with my family.''
The Cardoso family's story does have an odd twist:
Public records show that in February, two months
before they left for Cuba, Arcel married a woman
named Nilsa Elena Salazar. She could not be reached
for comment on Tuesday. The Herald could not locate
any records establishing that Arcel is legally
married to Maria.
Asked about the apparent marriage, Arcel did
not deny it. He told a reporter, "I'll explain
it another day.''
Maria could not be reached later Tuesday. After
leaving Miami International Airport with her children,
she went to church then to lunch at a restaurant.
Arcel was not with them.
At the airport, several relatives said the couple
had been having marital problems. Arcel appeared
in the lobby several minutes after Maria and kept
a distance, standing silently with a stoic face.
He was not swarmed by the children.
When it was time to leave the airport, Maria's
brother, Enrique Angulo, asked Arcel if he needed
a ride. Arcel told him he'd find another way home.
''They've been having problems with the marriage,''
Angulo said as he left the airport. "He started
it.''
Arcel declined to talk about any problems between
him and Maria.
Asked whether the Cuban government would allow
her back into Cuba, Maria said it depended on
her behavior upon her arrival in Miami.
''They will monitor the press to make sure I
don't exaggerate this,'' Maria said.
Maria and Arcel said they were not mistreated
by Cuban authorities, but neither of them was
willing to give full accounts of their incarceration.
''I can't give details,'' Arcel said. "They
never mistreated me. They were very professional.
We always had food, even snacks.''
SEVEN IN CELL
Maria Cardoso said her jail cell consisted of
a room and a bathroom that she shared with six
other people.
She said that she got sick with high blood pressure
and lost weight.
Arcel said he was in a cell not far from Maria's
and that the couple was able to speak to each
other through the bars in their cells.
Phone calls to the State Department's Cuba Desk
were not returned Tuesday. The Cuban Interests
Section in Washington could not be reached for
comment.
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who was contacted
by the Cardoso family for help at the beginning
of the ordeal, said she had her own reservations
about the Cardosos' story.
''The family has not been forthcoming to us about
the anti-Castro letter she was supposedly bringing,''
Ros-Lehtinen said.
But she said she was glad to see the family reunited.
''This is a cautionary tale for all potential
travelers to the island of Cuba,'' she said, "visiting
a country where they have no rights whatsoever.''
Herald staff writer Elaine De Valle contributed
to this report.
Cuba releases Miami couple held in unusual
espionage probe
By Oscar Corral, ocorral@herald.com.
A Miami couple held for 4 ½ months in
a Cuban jail on cryptic accusations of espionage
arrived at Miami International Airport on Tuesday
morning after being freed by Cuban authorities.
Maria Cardoso and her husband Arcel Cardoso stepped
off Continental flight 2995 from Camagüey
and were immediately swarmed by reporters and
news cameras.
Maria's three children also raced across the
airport lobby to throw their arms around her,
burying their faces in her shoulders and showering
her with kisses. Trembling and crying, Maria embraced
them.
''Thank God, mami,'' said Maria's adult son,
Ruben Manso, as he gripped his mother tightly.
It was an emotional -- and happy -- end to a
saga that saw a family momentarily torn apart.
In late March, Maria Cardoso and her husband
Arcel took their two daughters, Lizandra Fernandez,
15, and Ashley Cardoso, 7, on a two-week trip
to Camagüey to visit relatives.
Toward the end of their vacation in April, Maria's
brother, Omelio Angulo, asked her to bring a letter
to Miami and she agreed, hiding it in her bra.
She said she never read it.
''I didn't want to know about the letter because
it was political,'' she said.
As she passed through metal detectors at the
airport in Camagüey on her way back to Miami
in April, Maria said metal buttons on her overalls
triggered a search of her upper body and the letter
was discovered.
Cardoso's relatives have said that the letter
may have contained information about Cuba's Armed
Forces.
REFUSED TO LEAVE
Maria was immediately taken into custody. Arcel
said the authorities told him he was free to return
to Miami with the girls, but he didn't want to
leave without Maria. When he refused to leave,
he said he was arrested at the Camagüey airport.
Omelio Angulo was also arrested and remains in
prison, according to Maria. The girls were sent
home to Miami.
Maria said Cuban authorities came to her cell
last Wednesday at the prison in Villa Marista
and told her she could go. There was no trial.
Maria Cardoso said the government did not explain
why they freed her. She said she was sick in jail
and lost much weight. While they are U.S. residents,
the Cardoso's are not citizens so the U.S. government
could not get directly involved in their case.
''There was an apology,'' Arcel Cardoso said
of the Cuban government's explanation. 'They said
'the main thing is that we were investigating
and we had to take it seriously.' They said the
delay was because of the lack of cooperation from
Maria and her brother.''
''Being in jail is not easy'' Maria Cardoso added,
with her arm around her daughter Lizandra and
her son, Manso. "I never lost hope of coming
home. I just want to be with my family.''
The Cardoso family's story does have an odd twist:
Public records show that in February, two months
before they left for Cuba, Arcel married a woman
named Nilsa Elena Salazar. She could not be reached
for comment on Tuesday. The Herald could not locate
any records establishing that Arcel is legally
married to Maria.
Asked about the apparent marriage, Arcel did
not deny it. He told a reporter, "I'll explain
it another day.''
Maria could not be reached later Tuesday. After
leaving Miami International Airport with her children,
she went to church then to lunch at a restaurant.
Arcel was not with them.
At the airport, several relatives said the couple
had been having marital problems. Arcel appeared
in the lobby several minutes after Maria and kept
a distance, standing silently with a stoic face.
He was not swarmed by the children.
When it was time to leave the airport, Maria's
brother, Enrique Angulo, asked Arcel if he needed
a ride. Arcel told him he'd find another way home.
''They've been having problems with the marriage,''
Angulo said as he left the airport. "He started
it.''
Arcel declined to talk about any problems between
him and Maria.
Asked whether the Cuban government would allow
her back into Cuba, Maria said it depended on
her behavior upon her arrival in Miami.
''They will monitor the press to make sure I
don't exaggerate this,'' Maria said.
Maria and Arcel said they were not mistreated
by Cuban authorities, but neither of them was
willing to give full accounts of their incarceration.
''I can't give details,'' Arcel said. "They
never mistreated me. They were very professional.
We always had food, even snacks.''
SEVEN IN CELL
Maria Cardoso said her jail cell consisted of
a room and a bathroom that she shared with six
other people.
She said that she got sick with high blood pressure
and lost weight.
Arcel said he was in a cell not far from Maria's
and that the couple was able to speak to each
other through the bars in their cells.
Phone calls to the State Department's Cuba Desk
were not returned Tuesday. The Cuban Interests
Section in Washington could not be reached for
comment.
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who was contacted
by the Cardoso family for help at the beginning
of the ordeal, said she had her own reservations
about the Cardosos' story.
''The family has not been forthcoming to us about
the anti-Castro letter she was supposedly bringing,''
Ros-Lehtinen said.
But she said she was glad to see the family reunited.
''This is a cautionary tale for all potential
travelers to the island of Cuba,'' she said, "visiting
a country where they have no rights whatsoever.''
Herald staff writer Elaine De Valle contributed
to this report.
Cubans wait for visas for Latin Grammys
Lisa J. Adams, Associated Press.
HAVANA - Cuban musicians nominated for the Latin
Grammy awards in Miami held little hope of receiving
U.S. visas in time for the ceremony, a problem
that Cubans said was due to politics but American
officials attributed to red tape.
Twelve Cuban acts - including singer Ibrahim
Ferrer of the Buena Vista Social Club, pianist
Chucho Valdes and the popular group Los Van Van
- have been nominated for the awards, to be presented
Wednesday night in a nationally televised ceremony.
Since Cuba is classified by the U.S. government
as a state sponsor of terrorism, more extensive
background checks are required for citizens of
the communist island who apply for visas. The
process can take from eight to 10 weeks.
Officials in Cuba's Culture Ministry said earlier
this month that they began the process of seeking
approvals for nominees on Aug. 2. No one could
be reached for comment Tuesday at the Cuban Music
Institute, which operates under the Culture Ministry.
Officials from Cuba's foreign relations ministry
did not respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. Interests Section received seven visa
applications three weeks ago, on Aug. 12, a U.S.
government official said Tuesday, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Three of the seven applications have been denied,
and four others are still pending, the official
said. The identities of those who were denied
is confidential information. But a State Department
official in Washington, who also spoke on condition
of anonymity, told The Associated Press that no
visa applications had even been received from
Ferrer and Valdes.
A similar situation arose last year when none
of 22 nominated musicians received U.S. visas
in time to attend the ceremony.
Fueling the suspicions of Grammy nominees and
their supporters in Cuba are the yearly protests
of Cuban exiles in Miami who oppose President
Fidel Castro's government and the Grammy nominations
of Cuban musicians.
The reason the Cuban musicians probably won't
appear at the Grammys "is very simple: They
were deliberately excluded," said an article
on the Web site of the Communist Party newspaper
Granma. The paper charged that anti-Cuban activists
conspired to prevent them from coming.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said
Tuesday the primary reason four Cuban nominees
still haven't heard if they can travel to Miami
is that they applied late.
"Everybody knows ... that it can take six
to eight weeks to process applications,"
he said.
While some held out last-minute hopes the visas
would come through, others seemed resigned to
celebrating the awards ceremonies from afar.
"It's a shame that they're depriving Miami
of something I'm sure the community wanted to
see and hear," Cuban performer Eliades Ochoa,
nominated for a Grammy for the Best Traditional
Tropical Album, said on Cuba's state-run television
news Tuesday night. "But if we don't have
visas, well then we just can't go."
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