Senior Intelligence Official Takes Over For Ousted Envoy in Washington
WASHINGTON, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Less than two weeks after one of its diplomats was expelled from Washington on charges of espionage, the Cuban government has posted another high-ranking intelligence official to its diplomatic mission here. Fernando Garcia Bielsa, once a senior official with
Cuba's notorious America Department (now defunct), replaced expelled envoy Jose Imperatori on March 6th. The America Department coordinated Cuba's ties to guerrilla and terrorist groups throughout the hemisphere.
"It is patently outrageous that only days after one Cuban official is expelled from the U.S. for spying, the door is again being thrown open to another Cuban intelligence operative," said CANF Chairman Jorge Mas. "Castro again makes a mockery out of established international
norms, but what's worse, is that our government allows him to get away with it."
Mas said, "One would have to be blind not to see the connection between Castro's desire to see one of his top operatives posted in Washington and the current aggressive campaign to unilaterally lift economic sanctions against the Cuban dictator. But that probably dovetails with the agenda
of some in Washington as well."
Garcia Bielsa's posting comes amid a dramatic increase in Cuban espionage in the United States, particularly in Washington and Miami. Jose Imperatori was expelled on February 26th for maintaining improper contacts with a senior U.S. immigration official in Miami. In late 1998, 10 Cubans were
charged with espionage in South Florida. In recent years, another 12 Cuban officials have been expelled from their U.N. mission in New York.
Cuba's attempt to assign Garcia Bielsa to Washington was initially opposed by the FBI, but Clinton Administration officials weighed in to approve the posting. Last September, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations, Jesse Helms (R-NC), also raised his concerns in a letter to Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright, saying, "The American people will be outraged if and when they learn that a Cuban spymaster, known for his support of terrorism and espionage, is allowed to set up shop in Washington."
Garcia Bielsa is particularly known for his ties to violent Puerto Rican "nationalists," 16 of who were granted clemency by the Clinton Administration last year. The Cuban official is reported to have visited Puerto Rico as recently as 1998 to consult with leaders of one of the
terrorist groups, Los Macheteros. One Machetero, Victor Manuel Herrera, is on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List of fugitives, but lives in Cuba under the protection of the Castro regime.
SOURCE Cuban American National Foundation
CO: Cuban American National Foundation
ST: District of Columbia, Florida, Cuba
IN:
SU: LEG EXE
03/14/2000 10:13 EST http://www.prnewswire.com |