Published Wednesday, July 18, 2001 in
The Miami Herald
At Castro's invitation, Aristide visits Havana
Trip offers chance to solidify ties between the two nations
HAVANA -- (AFP) -- President Jean-Bertrand Aristide of Haiti was in Cuba on
Tuesday for his first official visit here since taking power last February on a
personal invitation from President Fidel Castro, official sources said.
Aristide, accompanied by his wife and various members of his cabinet, was
welcomed Monday at José Martí International Airport by Foreign
Minister Felipe Pérez Roque.
The trip is "an opportunity to solidify the solidarity between the two
nations and explore the possibility of further bilateral cooperation,'' Aristide
told reporters here.
About 600 Cubans work in Haiti, assisting in areas that include health,
agriculture, education and fishing, under accords signed since the Caribbean
neighbors reestablished diplomatic relations in 1996.
After meetings with Castro and other top officials, Aristide will tour
hospitals and sports facilities before returning to Haiti on Thursday.
On his arrival in Havana, Aristide saluted efforts by the Organization of
American States to encourage talks among Haiti's political parties about future
elections.
"We think that dialogue is the road necessary to arrive at a
solution,'' Aristide said. "We have begun the dialogue and we are going to
keep taking steps toward a resolution through dialogue.''
Disagreements between Haiti's governing Lavalas Party and opposition parties
over elections have caused a yearlong political standoff, prompting nations to
withhold millions of dollars in foreign aid.
Aristide spoke one day after his nation's political parties agreed to hold
elections to replace local and most parliamentary seats and to continue
negotiating dates for the voting.
Sting nets suspects in Cuban migrant smuggling
BY JENNIFER BABSON. jbabson@herald.com
KEY LARGO -- In a case federal investigators say is a breakthrough in the
battle against Cuban migrant smuggling, two men, one of them an escaped federal
prisoner, were charged Tuesday with smuggling after the Florida family of a
Cuban migrant went to police when smugglers detained a relative and demanded an
$8,000 ransom payment.
Alexis Gonzalez Hernandez and Eliecer Lara Salado were arrested in Homestead
Monday night in a sting by the FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, and Immigration and
Naturalization Service -- minutes after the two men struck a deal with an
undercover agent to exchange Rogelio García, a Cuban migrant, for an
$8,000 payment.
Pretrial detention hearings for both men are scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m.
in Miami. Presently both are being held without bond in the federal detention
center in Miami. Both in the upcoming weeks may face indictments that could
include kidnapping and extortion charges. After Lara's arrest, police discovered
he is an escaped federal prisoner wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service.
"We will not tolerate those who would take advantage of the desperation
of the Cuban people by trafficking in human cargo, and endanger innocent lives
for financial gain,'' said Guy Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of
Florida.
What makes the case so extraordinary for investigators and prosecutors
familiar with the growing Cuban smuggling phenomenon is that it was the family
members of a migrant who called the police.
"This is a breakthrough,'' said Steve M. Quinones, Supervisory Special
Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol's anti-smuggling unit. "It's good for us
that we have the relatives coming forward, people coming forward and advising us
of the situation. We want this to happen, we want the cooperation, we've been
asking for the cooperation.''
García's relatives told INS investigators that the smugglers
contacted them after transporting García to the U.S. from Cuba last week,
threatening that "if the money was not paid, García would be harmed
or returned to Cuba,'' according to an affidavit by INS special agent Ralph M.
DeFelice, which accompanied Tuesday's federal complaint. During the weekend, the
panicked family, which included his brother, contacted police in Clewiston, who
then notified the FBI at about 11 p.m. Sunday. Over the next 19 hours, agents
from a number of law enforcement agencies -- from the INS to the North Miami
Beach police department to Monroe County and the U.S. Border Patrol -- joined
forces to orchestrate a rapid undercover operation that nabbed Gonzalez and Lara
by 6 p.m. Monday.
From North Miami Beach, the FBI obtained the "flash money'' an
undercover INS special agent needed to pretend to make the exchange when he met
Monday with Gonzalez.
"We were working on a fast timetable, and we had to get the money and
they were able to come through for us,'' FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said. The
bureau's C-1 squad -- which responds to kidnapping and bank robbery cases --
also enlisted the assistance of a detective from Monroe County, who helped
persuade García's family to cooperate in setting up the sting, Orihuela
said.
García's family was conflicted about going to police, Orihuela said: "They
had some questions about even going to the authorities. Half of the family was
in favor of it, half was against it.''
After flashing the cash to Gonzalez at a location in Homestead, the INS
agent waited while Gonzalez made a telephone call and instructed the person on
the phone to bring García to a second meeting location. The undercover
agent then followed Gonzalez to another site, at which point Lara drove up in a
red sports utility vehicle with García and a second male passenger.
The second man, Rafael Cuéllar, later told investigators that
Gonzalez was the captain of a boat on which he had been smuggled into the U.S.
on July 14 for $8,000.
That date is important because federal investigators contend Gonzalez and
Lara brought aliens into the country around July 14.
A speedboat in which Gonzalez was riding was actually intercepted on July 11
after it was spotted by a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft conducting routine
operations near Anguila Cay in the Bahamas. Gonzalez was aboard the boat with
another man, identified as Ramiro Reyes Ramírez. Investigators believe
they were attempting to complete a smuggling run.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 
