CUBA NEWS
The Miami Herald

Minister says Castro will return to power

From Miami Herald Wire Services. Posted on Thu, Oct. 05, 2006.

HAVANA - Cuba's foreign minister said Fidel Castro will return to his post as maximum leader of the island, though he did not say when, state-run media reported Wednesday.

''We will again have him leading the revolution,'' Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said of the ailing Fidel Castro at an outdoor event Tuesday to discuss the ill effects of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, according to the Communist Party daily newspaper Granma.

The 80-year-old Castro temporarily ceded power to younger brother Raúl Castro on July 31, saying he needed time to recover from intestinal surgery.

Pérez Roque told The Associated Press in New York last month that he expected the Cuban leader to be fully back at the helm by early December.

Newsroom philosophies differ

Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald editors disagreed Tuesday on the appropriateness of work for Radio or TV Martí.

By Christina Hoag, choag@MiamiHerald.com. Posted on Wed, Oct. 04, 2006

The editors of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald differed sharply Tuesday over whether their journalists can appear as guests on TV and Radio Martí, the U.S. anti-Castro propaganda channels.

Under no circumstances, said Miami Herald Executive Editor Tom Fiedler. ''The U.S. government is on one side,'' he said. "We really hold to the standard that we are the watchdogs of government.''

Yes, but not for money, said El Nuevo Herald Executive Editor Humberto Castelló. Cubans rely on TV and Radio Martí for information, he said: "They have no free press.''

The divergent policies for two newsrooms under the same roof lie at the crux of the resignation of Jesús Díaz Jr., publisher for both, which stunned many employees at The Miami Herald Media Co.

The contrasting opinions also illustrate differing roles of journalism in Latin America and the United States -- and how that divide plays out in South Florida. American journalism today, unlike decades ago, prizes objectivity, while Latin American journalism may advocate for change.

''What you have here is a kind of clash of ideas and values,'' said Dario Moreno, an associate professor of political science at Florida International University.

Díaz quit after grappling with fallout from his firing of two El Nuevo Herald reporters and one freelancer who were paid by TV Martí.

On Tuesday, the journalists were offered their jobs back after further inquiries by management. The investigation showed that besides the three reporters, six other El Nuevo Herald staffers had done paid work for TV Martí in the past. All but one said their arrangements had been approved by El Nuevo's previous editor, the late Carlos Castaneda.

After a thorough review of federal documents, The Miami Herald found 49 full-time journalists or contributors to local media outlets who also received payments from Radio and TV Martí from October 2001 to August 2006.

They included eight El Nuevo staffers, paid between $125 and $175,000, and 29 freelancers who contribute to El Nuevo. They received between $100 and $110,000 over a five-year period.

Thirteen other journalists at several Miami media, including Channel 41, Diario Las Americas, Univision, Telemundo, Radio Mambi and WQBA, were listed.

A 2002 article in both papers revealed paid work of fired freelancer Olga Connor, but management did not act.

''We badly mismanaged our policies over time, and that's why we're reversing ourselves,'' said David Landsberg, named publisher Tuesday.

The firings hit the heart of El Nuevo's small newsroom, on the sixth floor of 1 Herald Plaza. Many staffers there fled the Castro regime, including Castelló. Several were political prisoners.

For those who have not lived as adults under a socialist regime, understanding the passion exiles harbor for bringing democracy to Cuba can be difficult, Castelló said at an employee meeting three weeks ago. Some exiles see it as their duty to do what they can to overturn the Castro government.

''It's very normal and natural for us, for the Cuban journalists,'' he said.

That view of advocacy journalism is common in Latin America. ''The problems there are overwhelming,'' said Leonardo Ferreira, associate dean and director of graduate studies at the University of Miami's School of Communication. "Latin Americans see these types of instances as less disturbing because they feel so compelled to act. . . . They have a greater commitment to fighting for their beliefs.''

The clash between journalism styles is not unique to El Nuevo Herald. Hoy, the Spanish-language sister paper to the Chicago Tribune, ensures that its Latin American reporters know the paper has no alliances with parties or governments, often the case in their home countries, said editor-in-chief Alejandro Escalona.

Landsberg said he will enact one policy for both Miami newspapers on freelancing for Radio and TV Martí after he listens to all views. ''There will be a decision,'' he said.

Miami Herald staff writer Oscar Corral contributed to this report.

Cruz's 'Sisters' gets loving performance

With a striking set and a good cast, the Hispanic Theater Guild opened its season with a memorable production of a Nilo Cruz play.

By Marta Barber, mbarber@MiamiHerald.com. Posted on Wed, Oct. 04, 2006

Hispanic Theater Guild opens its 2006-2007 season with a treat: Dos hermanas y un piano (Two Sisters and a Piano) by Nilo Cruz, the first time a Cruz play has been professionally produced in Spanish for South Florida audiences.

Sisters came before Anna in the Tropics, the play that won Cruz the 2003 Pulitzer for drama, but it carries same the lyrical beauty we have become accustomed to from the work of a writer who was born in Cuba and grew up in Miami.

Inspired by the challenges faced by Cubans, especially intellectuals, in their quest for change, the play is all about hope.

Directed by Marcos Casanova, the production matches the writing, with a striking set depicting a dilapidated Havana house and a cast that most of the time rises to the script's challenges.

The action takes place in 1991 in the home of Maria Celia (Marta Velasco) and Sofía (Grettel Trujillo) Obispo, sisters who are under house arrest. Maria Celia is an author and dissident whose political writings have landed the siblings in jail in the past.

Making periodic checks on them is Teniente Portuondo (Raúl Durán), a police lieutenant whose admiration for Maria Celia's books evolves into love. Maria Celia rejects his advances but keeps him interested for her own reasons: He is the only link to her beloved husband, who left Cuba and whose letters are opened, read and kept by the government.

As the lieutenant's visits become more frequent and his advances more insistent, Maria Celia's resolve weakens, and her mind yields to the power of the flesh.

Sofía, the younger sister, is the pianist and the one who more deeply resents the sisters' inability to leave the house.

Trujillo plays Sofía with the energy of a caged animal and the intelligence of a wise observer. Her scene with a piano tuner, played by a funny and talented Chano Isidrón, is one of the highlights of the production.

Duran is perfectly cast as the handsome and charming lieutenant, whose softness as a man in love and toughness as a police officer are both clearly defined. His scene with Velasco on the roof of the house, as he ''reads'' a letter, a la Cyrano de Bergerac, to Maria Celia, is more erotic than any graphic sex scene could be.

The role of Maria Celia is a potential tour de force for any actress, and Velasco is working toward that. She delivers irony with a straight face and good timing, which makes her funny and appealing. But her transition from loyal wife to joyous lover feels awkward and exaggerated, and she's too often stiff. Her Maria Celia needs more balancing softness, and it's likely that as the show goes on this veteran actress will achieve it.

Still, those flaws are minor in a beautiful drama unfolding on Teatro 8's stage. With words like Cruz's and a top production, Dos hermanas y un piano should not be missed.

Poll shows support for travel restrictions to Cuba

By Rui Ferreira and Casey Woods, cwoods@MiamiHerald.com. Posted on Tue, Oct. 03, 2006.

Cuban Americans in a local congressional district support travel restrictions on tourism and family visits to the island, according to a new poll exploring the views of the Cuban community in South Florida.

The poll, commissioned by U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart for his district, indicates that 89.7 percent of the 400 Cuban-American voters surveyed support retaining the U.S. restriction on tourism, while 85.2 percent back the current policy that prohibits Cuban nationals from visiting the island more than once in three years.

Among those voters, 88.5 percent also supported the economic embargo against Cuba, although those younger than 34 were less inclined to back it. The time of their arrival did not make a significant difference in attitudes towards those policies, according to the poll.

''It's impressive and admirable to see how the community is more united than ever on the position that it's necessary to remain firm in favor of democracy and against tyranny,'' Díaz-Balart said. "This shows that the Cubans have a very uniform posture in relation to Cuba policy.''

The respondents to Díaz-Balart's poll, conducted Sept. 25-30 by analyst Dario Moreno, were all registered voters and 80 percent arrived before the 1980 Mariel boatlift. They all live in Díaz-Balart's district, which encompasses portions of South Broward and Central Miami-Dade down through Palmetto Bay.

The poll's margin of error was not immediately available, according to Díaz-Balart's office.

The Díaz-Balart survey's conclusions diverge on certain points from those of another, broader poll released on Monday.

The previous poll, a Sept 14-20 survey of 600 Cubans in Miami-Dade and Broward counties by Bendixen & Associates, indicated that the time of arrival affected attitudes towards policies such as the restriction on family travel. In the Bendixen poll, most of the early waves of exiles backed such limits, while they were opposed by a majority of those who came in the 1980's and after.

The key difference in the polls was that Díaz-Balart's poll only surveyed registered voters, said Joe Garcia of the nonprofit group NDN, which paid for the poll along with Bendixen & Associates.

''Cuban American registered voters tend to be older and much more conservative,'' Garcia said. "With our poll, we were trying to find out what was going on in a broader swath of the community.''

In the Bendixen poll, 57 percent of those polled arrived after 1980.

Cuban official: Embargo losses are more than $4 billion

Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told a news conference that Cuba's losses increased from July 2005 to July of this year because the Bush administration has steadily tightened the embargo.

By Vanessa Arrington, Associated Press. Posted on Tue, Oct. 03, 2006.

HAVANA - A tighter U.S. trade embargo cost Cuba more than $4 billion over the last year, a Foreign Ministry official said Monday.

Cuba's losses increased from July 2005 to July of this year because the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has steadily tightened the embargo at the same time Cuba's economy is growing and spending more money abroad, Vice Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told a news conference.

He cited tougher U.S. scrutiny of Cuban nickel exports and of Cuban use of dollars in international transactions. The government claimed a loss of $2.8 billion for the mid-2004-2005 period.

''This is a policy that causes suffering,'' he told a news conference.

U.S. officials defend the embargo -- which allows the sale of some U.S. food and medicine to Cuba -- saying unfettered trade and travel to the island would prop up the communist government.

They say Cuba's imprisonment of dissidents and restrictions on economic and political freedoms justify the policy, aimed at pushing Fidel Castro and his associates out.

But Rodriguez called it "unilateral and criminal.''

The official said that in addition to lost business with United States and other companies, Cuba also misses out on revenue from American tourists, whose visits to the island fell about 15 percent last year because of travel restrictions.

About 101,000 Americans, including Cuban Americans visiting their native country, came here last year, he said. More than 108,000 Americans visited in 2004, a dramatic decline from the 200,000 Americans who came in 2003.

TRAVEL PENALTIES

Those who defy the travel ban to come to Cuba face heavy penalties. Rodriguez said that last year the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control fined 487 Americans some $530 million for unauthorized travel here.

''These fines are illegal . . . and violate the rights of Americans,'' he said.

The typical fine for first-time offenders who travel to Cuba is $7,500 each, according to Treasury Department figures.

Ahead of an upcoming vote on the embargo at the United Nations, Rodriguez released a report outlining the damages Cuba says the policy has caused to the country's economy, foreign trade, and health, education and cultural sectors.

The U.N. General Assembly has condemned the embargo for 14 straight years, urging the United States to end it. Last year's U.N. resolution was approved by a 182-4 vote, with Micronesia abstaining and only the United States, Israel, Marshall Islands and Palau opposed.

Cuba says it has lost $86 billion in trade -- an average of about $1.8 billion a year -- since the first U.S. sanctions were imposed in 1960, a year after the Cuban revolution thrust Castro into power.

President John F. Kennedy strengthened the sanctions during the Cold War with the aim of isolating the Cuban government.

OUTDATED TACTIC

Critics say the embargo is outdated and has not worked, given that Castro's government remains in power. They also say the United States trades with other communist countries, such as China and Vietnam.

Democrats and free-trade Republicans in the U.S. Congress have pushed for easing the sanctions, but they have yet to make headway against an administration determined to keep up the pressure.

Miami Cubans: Fidel era over

A poll of Cuban exiles and Cuban Americans shows optimism about a transition to democracy on the communist island and an openness to U.S. negotiations with a new Cuban government.

By Oscar Corral, ocorral@MiamiHerald.com. Posted on Tue, Oct. 03, 2006

An overwhelming majority of Cuban Americans and Cuban exiles think that an ailing Fidel Castro will never return to power and that a transition could take hold within four years, according to a new poll examining the attitudes of South Florida's Cuban community.

Those are among several findings in a poll of 600 Cuban and Cuban American adults in Miami-Dade and Broward counties conducted Sept. 14-20 by Bendixen & Associates. The poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

Seventy-four percent of Cuban Americans believe Fidel Castro is terminally ill, and 14 percent think he will recover from illness but never return to power.

With Cuba's Defense Minister Raúl Castro now in charge of the communist island, 55 percent of Cubans surveyed think a ''major transition towards democracy'' is a major probability, and 30 percent believe it's a minor probability.

''Fidel Castro is politically dead, and for all intents and purposes a relic for the history books,'' said Fernand Amandi, executive vice president of Bendixen & Associates.

It is the first major poll of Cuban Americans to be released since Fidel Castro had intestinal surgery for an undisclosed illness and transferred power to his brother, Raúl, at the end of July. Amandi said the poll was paid for by his company and by NDN, a nonprofit group formerly known as the New Democrat Network, which supports Democratic Party candidates.

NDN executive Joe Garcia said the poll shows that Cuban Americans and exiles are optimistic about the future, but perhaps frustrated with President Bush's handling of U.S.-Cuba policy in the wake of Fidel Castro's transfer of power.

Of the 600 polled, two-thirds said they were registered to vote, and of those, 72 percent identified themselves as Republican.

Asked if they approve or disapprove of the way Bush ''has managed the situation in Cuba since Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother,'' 51 percent approved, while 28 percent disapproved and 21 percent didn't know or didn't answer.

''All he [Bush] has promoted is the status quo in Cuba,'' Garcia said. "When you realize the president has only 51 percent approval, it shows you that his numbers are tremendously weak.''

DISPUTES CLAIM

Ana Carbonell, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, disputed Garcia's claim that the president's support is slipping in the Cuban-American community.

''The Cuban-American community has full confidence in the administration's commitment to bringing about a full transition in Cuba,'' said Carbonell. "The president has reiterated what U.S. policy is, which is that the U.S. will not engage the government of the Castro brothers.''

The results of one question in particular may catch the attention of Washington and of Raúl Castro's temporary government in Cuba. Seventy-two percent said the United States should ''negotiate'' with a ''new Cuban government [if it] shows an interest in a gradual improvement of relations with the exile community and with the United States.'' Only 20 percent said it should not negotiate.

''That to me was one of the most startling numbers,'' Amandi said. "You hear all of this talk about how dialogue is almost a four-letter word in the exile community . . . but this number speaks to the open-mindedness of the exile community.''

Several Cuban exile leaders have long said that dialogue is possible with anyone but the Castro brothers.

Sergio Bendixen acknowledged that he believes fewer people would have voiced support for negotiation if the question had named Raúl Castro by name as a leader of a new Cuban government.

Like previous polls of the exile community, this one illustrates the different political attitudes among exiles who arrived in the United States before 1980, and those who came during the 1980 Mariel boatlift and afterward.

TIME FACTOR

Most of the early waves of exiles support travel and remittance restrictions imposed by Bush in 2004, which limited trips to visit family to once every three years and capped the amount of money exiles can send people in Cuba to $100 a month. The restrictions were opposed by a majority of Cubans who came in the 1980s and after.

One issue that exiles tend to agree on is the belief that property in Cuba now belongs to the people living there. Only 20 percent of those polled believe that residential properties in Cuba ''should belong to those who have title to that predating Fidel Castro's revolution.'' Sixty-seven percent said the properties belong to those who live in them now.

Florida International University professor Antonio Jorge said he believed some of the questions were loaded and may have led to skewed answers. For example, the question that asks about the probability of a ''major transition toward democracy in Cuba'' doesn't explain what is meant by transition.

OPTIMISM

''It does illustrate optimism, but it's not a properly worded question,'' Jorge said.

He also took issue with the wording of the question that asked about negotiating with a new Cuban government. To many exiles, he said, ''gradual improvement of relations'' means taking steps toward democracy and a free-market economy -- changes that the current Cuban government has not expressed an interest in pursuing.

Miami Herald staff writer Casey Woods contributed to this report.

Herald publisher resigns

The publisher of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald stepped down today and reversed recent firings of writers at El Nuevo Herald.

By Martin Merzer, Merzer@Miamiherald.com. Posted on Tue, Oct. 03, 2006.

Jesús Díaz Jr. resigned today as president of the Miami Herald Media Co. and publisher of The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald.

The action came amid a widening controversy over payments accepted by some El Nuevo Herald journalists for participating in U.S.-government broadcasts on Radio Martí and TV Martí.

The move, which ends a challenging and sometimes tumultuous 14 months as head of one of South Florida's most visible and influential institutions, was effective immediately. David Landsberg, who served as general manager, took over today as company president and publisher of both newspapers.

In a letter to readers, Díaz said the company is reversing course and will grant ''amnesty'' to two El Nuevo Herald reporters and a freelance contributor who were dismissed Sept. 7 when The Miami Herald reported that they received payments under contracts with Radio Martí and TV Martí.

He also said that an internal probe determined that six other employees of the Spanish-language El Nuevo Herald received payments from Radio Martí and TV Martí during the past five years. No disciplinary action will be taken against them.

None of the nine or anyone else at the company can accept money from the U.S. government-run broadcasters in the future, Díaz said, and conflict-of-interest policies will be strengthened throughout the company.

REVERSED ORDERS

The internal probe, he said, suggested that the circumstances surrounding the journalists' actions were less definitive than he and other managers originally believed. That, he said, required a reversal in the company's response.

''While I still believe that the acceptance of such payments by the nine journalists was a breach of widely accepted principles of journalistic ethics that violated the trust of our readers, our policies prohibiting such behavior may have been ambiguously communicated, inconsistently applied and widely misunderstood over many years in the El Nuevo Herald newsroom,'' Díaz wrote.

''It has been determined that in fairness we should extend an amnesty to all involved and enforce our policies more forcefully and consistently in the future,'' he wrote.

Four of the six newly identified El Nuevo Herald employees said their activities at Radio Martí and TV Martí -- broadcast operations that attempt to undermine the Cuban communist government of Fidel Castro -- had been approved by Carlos Castañeda, an executive editor of El Nuevo Herald who died in 2002.

The two employees who already were terminated said some supervisors knew of their work for the government broadcasters, though the two did not recall specifically discussing payments. It could not be determined Monday night if they would accept the invitations to return.

Díaz indicated that he believed the series of events, which have roiled the newsrooms of both newspapers and ignited heated debate in the Cuban-American community, left him in an untenable position.

''I realize and regret that the events of the past three weeks have created an environment that no longer allows me to lead our newspapers in a manner most beneficial for our newspapers, our readers and our community,'' Díaz wrote. "Therefore, I informed our parent company of my intention to resign as soon as my replacement could be found.''

Díaz, 45, was not in his office Monday, though he made his letter available in advance for preparation of this article. The full text of the letter is being published today in The Miami Herald and in El Nuevo Herald.

This article was assigned and edited by Miami Herald Executive Editor Tom Fiedler. It was not seen by Díaz in advance.

Two top executives of The McClatchy Co., which owns El Nuevo Herald and The Miami Herald, flew to South Florida on Monday and plan to meet with employees today.

''We hope that people recognize that this is an opportunity for a new start that, among other things, will provide a clear enunciation of a very clear policy that absolutely will be applied going forward,'' said Howard Weaver, McClatchy's vice president, news.

McClatchy, based in Sacramento, Calif., acquired the two Miami papers in June, when it bought their parent company, Knight Ridder Inc. Weaver was accompanied on the trip by Frank Whittaker, McClatchy's vice president, operations.

'We were sorry to accept Jesús' resignation, but we respect his decision and understand that he wishes to move his professional life in a different direction,'' Whittaker said.

''We felt ourselves very fortunate to have David Landsberg available to step in as publisher,'' he said. "He's an extremely talented executive with a deep affection for and knowledge of Miami and South Florida.''

Still, the latest development seemed certain to trigger another stage of a controversy that has embroiled the newspapers in journalistic, ethical and -- in some cases -- cultural disputes.

It began about three weeks ago when The Miami Herald reported that several South Florida journalists -- including two veteran writers for El Nuevo Herald, Pablo Alfonso and Wilfredo Cancio Isla, who often write about Cuba, and freelance reporter Olga Connor -- accepted regular payments from the U.S. government-run broadcasters over the past five years.

The Miami Herald reported that since 2001 Alfonso was paid about $179,000, Connor received about $71,000 and Cancio received almost $15,000. Díaz swiftly dismissed the two El Nuevo Herald writers and severed the company's relationship with Connor.

That decision triggered outrage among many in the Cuban-American community who responded by canceling subscriptions, urging an advertiser boycott and attacking Díaz, Miami Herald journalists and the newspapers' editors in letters, e-mails and on other media.

Many critics, including some in the El Nuevo Herald newsroom, contended that the actions taken by Díaz were too harsh and too hasty, especially considering the public nature of the journalists' broadcast work and a style of advocacy journalism sometimes practiced by Spanish-language newspapers.

El Nuevo Herald later reported that some journalists for U.S. news organizations also were paid by another U.S. government agency, the Voice of America, and quoted a government spokesman suggesting that a double standard was being applied to those working for Radio Martí and TV Martí.

Some in The Miami Herald newsroom and several journalism ethicists quoted in the original story supported the terminations and said the actions of the El Nuevo Herald writers violated commonly accepted standards guiding journalists in avoiding conflicts of interest.

McClatchy executives Weaver and Whittaker said the decisions to fire the staffers, offer amnesty and take no new action against the El Nuevo Herald staffers were made by Díaz and his local management team, though McClatchy corporate managers were supportive along the way.

'It is a sign of solid leadership when someone is able to look at new information and say, 'We have to change our minds,' '' Weaver said. "I would applaud Jesús and his senior team in reaching these decisions.''

During his relatively brief tenure, Díaz shepherded the company's employees through the transition from Knight Ridder to McClatchy and through several hurricanes that wreaked havoc on personal lives and on newspaper production schedules.

Like publishers of nearly all big-city newspapers, he also struggled with fundamental and rapid changes in the business that are driving readers and advertisers away from newsprint and toward the Internet -- challenges that now will confront Landsberg.

SCHOOLED IN DADE

Landsberg, 44, has served as the Miami Herald Media Co.'s general manager since July 2005. He previously served as vice president of advertising, as chief financial officer and in other financial roles since 1984. Raised in Coral Gables, he has a master's degree in business administration from the University of Miami, is married and has three young daughters.

''For me, being able to help lead these great papers and our media company into the next era is the challenge and the opportunity of a lifetime,'' Landsberg said in a news release prepared by McClatchy.

Díaz, in response to an e-mailed question about his plans, wrote: "I plan to seek an opportunity that will present me with the prospect of achieving my professional aspiration of becoming the CEO of a company.''

Born in Havana, he grew up in Atlanta, worked as an accountant, joined The Miami Herald in 1993 as vice president and chief financial officer, left three years later, then returned as general manager in 2002 and succeeded Alberto Ibargüen as publisher in July 2005. He is married and has one daughter.

''We did some outstanding journalistic work over the last year and I will dearly miss the ability to encourage and support such work directly,'' Díaz wrote at the close of his letter.

''I wish our employees well as they continue to serve the South Florida community through the difficult task of putting out two world-class newspapers,'' he wrote. "It has been an honor to serve you.''

Cuban national's widow is granted U.S. residency

In a case that could open doors for Cuban nationals' spouses, a widow whose husband had a heart attack during an immigration interview was issued a green card.

By Casey Woods, cwoods@MiamiHerald.com. Posted on Fri, Sep. 29, 2006.

The widow of a Cuban man who had a heart attack during an interview with a Miami immigration officer was granted U.S. residency on Thursday, based on a broad interpretation of new legislation that may affect hundreds of spouses of Cuban nationals in the future.

''I'm happy in one way because I have my residency, but at the same time I'm sad for the death of my husband,'' said Maritza Hernández, 53, the widow of Juan Hernández, who had a heart attack during an Aug. 10 immigration interview. "That's always there.''

In that interview, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials were trying to determine whether the marriage between Maritza, from the Dominican Republic, and Juan, a Cuban immigrant with a green card, was legitimate.

Juan, 50, suffered a heart attack when the immigration officer asked him when he proposed to Maritza, but he couldn't remember. He lost consciousness and was pronounced dead later at a hospital.

Because Juan had obtained his green card under the Cuban Adjustment Act, Maritza would be eligible for a green card, too, if the marriage were deemed legitimate.

Thursday's ruling on Maritza's case was based on a recently modified section of the Cuban Adjustment Act, a change that came from the Violence Against Women Act.

In the decision, immigration officials cited a passage that states the spouse of a deceased Cuban resident retains spousal rights for two years after the person dies. Until Thursday's decision, it was unclear whether that section applied only to the spouses of Cuban nationals who had suffered domestic abuse in their marriage, said Maritza's lawyer, Jorge Rivera.

''After Maritza's case, many widows of Cuban nationals will be able to request residency,'' Rivera said. "This is a precedent-setting case.''

Rivera had requested Maritza's residency on other grounds. He argued that immigration officials were poised to give her a green card that would say she was admitted for residence in 2001, when she arrived as a tourist and overstayed her visa -- so her husband's death shouldn't matter for her green card.

Rivera said he had been planning to use the new provision about the spouses of Cuban nationals if his initial argument was denied by immigration officials.

Ira Kurzban, an authority on immigration law, had previously told The Miami Herald that he believed Maritza could obtain residence because of that provision.

''This is a significant decision that is one of the first interpretations of a very new law,'' Kurzban said.

Maritza came to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 2001 on a tourist visa, but she overstayed and became undocumented. She married Juan in 2004.

His body will be sent to Cuba for burial on Wednesday.

''I miss him so much, but I know he is happy, because this is what he wanted,'' Maritza said.

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