| CUBA
NEWS
The
Miami Herald
Castro rebuffs aid despite rising death
toll, damage
Cuba's damages and deaths
from Hurricane Dennis keep rising -- and
so does its government's resolve not to
accept any help from Washington.
By Frances Robles. frobles@herald.com.
Posted on Wed, Jul. 13, 2005.
Hurricane Dennis caused about $1.4 billion
in damage and killed 16 people in Cuba,
but the government there will refuse any
aid from Washington or Europe, Fidel Castro
has announced.
Castro's decision to rebuff aid came as
reports of Dennis' mayhem in the Caribbean
kept climbing. Four days after the Category
4 storm pummeled the islands, a total of
41 people are now confirmed dead -- 16 in
Cuba and 25 in Haiti.
But Castro says he turned down a U.S. offer
of $50,000, and would spurn even $1 billion
-- if it came from Uncle Sam. ''Cuba will
not accept humanitarian aid from the United
States, which imposes a criminal blockade,
or from any of the European governments
that took aid away under the pretext of
human rights violations,'' the Communist
Party daily Granma reported in a story paraphrasing
Castro's comments.
The Cuban leader made the announcement
on a late-night TV news show that started
Monday and dragged on for seven hours. The
story made reference to a 2003 move by the
EU -- now suspended -- to cut off aid after
Cuba's crackdown on dissidents.
EXILES' ROLE
Exile groups meanwhile jumped into the
fray, some collecting funds for dissident
groups on the island, others pushing to
lift strict Bush administration limits on
visits to Cuba -- underscoring once again
the politicized and deeply divided nature
of Cuban politics, even in times of tragedy.
''Castro is rejecting aid for his people,''
said Sylvia Iriondo, of Mothers Against
Repression. "That shows the last thing
on his mind is the welfare of the Cuban
people.''
On Monday, Mothers Against Repression used
its license to send financial support to
Cuba to remit $3,000 to the Assembly to
Promote Civil Society in Cuba, she said.
Members of the Cuban Commission for Family
Rights traveled to Washington Monday to
lobby for changes in U.S. rules that limit
travel and remittances. ''They've suggested
donating through certain groups,'' said
Alvaro Fernández, the group's representative.
'I say, 'Go for it,' but these groups are
talking about giving it to dissidents. So,
OK, we're going to help only dissidents?
There are a lot of people in Cuba who are
not part of the dissident movement.''
The United Nations announced it sent $50,000
worth of aid. U.S. State Department spokesman
Tom Casey said Washington will continue
working with the nongovernmental groups
to send money to Cuba, despite Castro's
stance.
Ironically, a similar snub from Havana
after Hurricane Michelle in 2001 led to
a boom in U.S. exports to Cuba.
Since that storm, Havana has purchased
several hundred million dollars' worth of
foodstuffs in groundbreaking deals with
U.S. exporters. CANF has asked the companies
that profit from those sales to donate rice
to Cuba this time -- for free.
DEFENSE OF AID
The foundation defended handing out its
Cuba Relief Fund donations through dissidents,
saying it was the only way to guarantee
aid gets to Cubans and not Castro.
''Look, this money is not coming with a
condition to only give it to people who
are vocal against the government,'' said
CANF director Camila Ruiz. "It's that
these are trusted individuals would would
give it to people who most need it.''
Saudy Peña contributed to this report.
DAMAGE REPORT
Posted on Wed, Jul. 13,
2005.
o 120,000 homes strongly damaged. Among
them, 15,000 were destroyed, 24,000 lost
their roofs and 60,000 lost parts of their
roofs.
o At least 73,000 birds died in Jaguey
Grande.
o 1,025 electrical poles fell, leaving
21 cities without power.
o Only 5 percent of Cienfuegos has power,
and Matanzas 15 percent.
o 2.5 million have no water.
o 21 hotels damaged.
Two diplomats will swap posts
By Pablo Bachelet, pbachelet@herald.com.
Posted on Wed, Jul. 13, 2005.
WASHINGTON - The head of the State Department's
Cuba desk in Washington since 2002 will
swap jobs with the No. 2 man at the U.S.
Embassy in Venezuela in a move that one
analyst said shows the administration sees
the ''same dynamic'' at play in Havana and
Caracas .
Meanwhile, the top American diplomat in
Havana will become ambassador to Paraguay,
officials confirmed Tueday.
Kevin Whitaker, the coordinator of the
Department's office of Cuban affairs, will
become deputy chief of mission in Caracas
in September. He will be replaced by Stephen
McFarland, a career diplomat specializing
in Latin America.
The swap, confirmed by a State Department
spokesperson, comes soon after State Department
officials confirmed that James Cason, the
top U.S. envoy to Havana, will be leaving
to become U.S. ambassador to Paraguay. Cason
is to be replaced by Michael Parmly, a career
diplomat and a specialist in European affairs,
according to Cuba observers.
The diplomatic postings are some of the
most sensitive for the Bush administration.
Cuba and Venezuela are close allies and
sharp critics of Washington. Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez has repeatedly
accused Washington of plotting to topple
him, and U.S. officials have suggested that
Chávez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro
have cooperated to destabilize governments
in Latin America.
Whitaker is the first point of contact
when the U.S. and Cuban governments engage
in any official dialogue, dealing directly
with Dagoberto Rodríguez Barrera,
chief of the Cuban Interests Section in
Washington.
Frank Calzon, executive director of the
Center for a Free Cuba, said the administration
was recognizing that the ''same dynamic''
was at play in Cuba and Venezuela by keeping
diplomats familiar with both nations in
top posts. ''Chávez without Castro
would have been very different indeed,''
he said.
Herald staff writer Nancy San Martin contributed
to this report.
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