The Miami Herald.
July 23, 2001.
Radio host disavows CANF values
Group also may be challenged on name
By Elaine De Valle. edevalle@herald.com. Published Monday,
July 23, 2001
"I couldn't be part of something I don't agree with,'' she said in her
first interview with The Herald since her resignation Thursday. She declined to
offer further details because she wants listeners to her WQBA 1140 AM program,
Ninoska a la Una, to hear her side directly from her.
The Miami radio talk show host said she will explain today on her show,
which begins at 1 p.m., her abrupt exit last week from the influential
anti-Castro lobby.
In another development, a man who recently registered the CANF name said he
will challenge the organization's right to use the title.
The juxtaposition of the events -- the high profile exit and the name
dispute -- has prompted some exiles to speculate that the foundation is
foundering -- something its leaders vehemently deny.
Pérez Castellón said she has been overwhelmed by the show of
support from the community since Thursday, when she left the organization where
she once served as spokeswoman. She also was on the board of directors and
directed La Voz de la Fundación -- The Voice of the Foundation -- the
organization's shortwave radio service beamed at Cuba.
"This has been one of the saddest and most difficult times of my
life,'' Pérez Castellón said. She was surrounded by paintings,
boxes and mementos in the living room of the Doral home she shares with her
husband, Roberto Martín Pérez, a 28-year political prisoner in
Cuba who also resigned from the foundation.
The departures, on the eve of the foundation's annual congress in Puerto
Rico this past weekend, punctuated dissent within the powerful organization over
the direction taken by chairman Jorge Más Santos, who took over after his
father, founder Jorge Más Canosa, died in 1997.
At issue is what critics call "unilateral'' decisions by Más
Santos to increase bipartisan outreach, support "independent businesses''
in Cuba -- which some veteran activists say will benefit the Castro regime --
and lobby to bring the Latin Grammy Awards to Miami.
"Now we have to show tolerance towards the government of Fidel
Castro,'' said one director who did not attend the weekend summit, which ended
Sunday. "That is not what the foundation is about. Our concern is the
freedom of Cuba.''
The Grammy issue was seen as the last straw, said former member Mario
Miranda, who was Más Canosa's bodyguard and helped to care for him until
he died.
"It is like a bucket has been filling with water and this last drop
caused it to overflow,'' said Miranda, who recently registered with the state an
organization called the Cuban American National Foundation -- and named himself
president. He acted after discovering that the group allowed ownership of the
name to lapse two years ago when Más Santos created a satellite nonprofit
called the Jorge Más Canosa Freedom Foundation.
Miranda said Sunday that his attorney would send a letter today telling Más
Santos to stop using the Cuban American National Foundation name, which he said
he had "rescued.''
"It is a dictatorship now. There is only one person and only his vote
counts,'' he said, alluding to Más Santos. "Anyone who has more
influence than him is eliminated. Like Ninoska. He saw her as a possible
successor. Everyone knows her name while his is hardly mentioned. She outshone
him.''
Some exiles have suggested that the organization may split into two: the new
CANF and the old CANF. But Miranda says he does not intend to start a splinter
group.
"I don't want to create division. I told them we have to ask for the
resignation of Jorge Más Santos,'' he said.
CANF Executive Director Joe García said the foundation will legally
fight Miranda's efforts.
Más Santos said accusations that he runs the CANF like a kingdom are "ridiculous''
and an "insult to the 150 directors'' who, he said, direct strategy.
Más Santos also dismissed any notion that the foundation is falling
apart.
"This is not a crisis,'' he said. "This is an organization that
was dealt the most serious blow when Jorge Más Canosa died. Everyone
wrote the obit for the Cuban American National Foundation back then, and what
bothers a lot of people is that we're still alive and kicking.''
U.S., Cuba weathering perilous storms together
Meteorologists team up for forecasts
By Martin Merzer. mmerzer@herald.com. Posted at 9:33 a.m.
EDT Sunday, July 22, 2001
Government contacts between Cuba and the United States are rare, but not for
hurricane forecasters employed by both countries. Quietly, attracting little
public attention, they work together when perilous storms threaten the region
they share.
Now, the relationship is deepening beyond phone calls and e-mails.
Meteorologists from both sides have exchanged visits. And just last month, Cuba
made its radar images from Havana available to U.S. forecasters and the general
public.
"This has nothing to do with politics or diplomacy,'' said Lixion
Avila, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in West
Miami-Dade County. He was born in Havana, fled Cuba in 1980 and now often serves
as an intermediary between the two countries.
"We're all meteorologists, and we don't want any disasters. My main
goal is to save people's lives. One of those lives is my mother's. She's still
in Havana.''
Saving lives is not a one-way street. Forecasters at Cuba's Institute of
Meteorology have long been admired for their expertise, and their counterparts
on this side of the Florida Straits frequently tap that experience when a storm
approaches the region.
"It's in our best interest to have their data,'' Avila said. "If a
hurricane hits Cuba, the chances are it will end up in the United States. So we
need their information. That's the selfish interest.''
During those tense times, Cuban and U.S. forecasters call each other over
direct-dial lines. If Avila is on duty, he handles that task, speaking in
Spanish. If not, an English-speaking forecaster in Havana consults with
forecasters in Miami-Dade.
If phone lines are blocked by politics or jammed by excessive use, the
meteorologists send e-mails.
One way or another, they exchange data and impressions of the storm, and
they consult about the extent of hurricane watches and warnings. Cuba is
responsible for posting its own alerts, but the warnings also are included in
advisories issued by the National Hurricane Center.
"We are the organization that coordinates all the warnings,'' Avila
said. "We want to avoid disasters in every country we're responsible for.''
LARGE AREA
That's another little-known facet of international relations and
meteorology.
The World Meteorological Organization, a unit of the United Nations, has
deputized the National Hurricane Center to coordinate all tropical weather
warnings from Africa through the Atlantic and into the Pacific nearly as far as
Hawaii.
The sweeping region encompasses the Caribbean and every nation there,
regardless of its political system. That, of course, includes Cuba.
"Weather data is an international commodity that has always been freely
exchanged,'' said Ed Rappaport, the hurricane center's deputy director. "We
aim for an open relationship with everyone.''
Under those international guidelines, José Rubiera, who supervises
Cuba's hurricane forecasters, and other Cuban meteorologists have traveled to
the United States, visited the hurricane center in Miami-Dade and consulted with
U.S. meteorologists during conferences in third countries.
And forecasters from Miami-Dade, including Avila, have visited their Cuban
colleagues. Two years ago, they stopped in Havana during their annual Caribbean
Hurricane Awareness Tour, which promotes pre-storm preparation.
For Avila, it was a homecoming.
Now 50, he grew up in Havana and dreamed of becoming a top hurricane
forecaster.
He trained as a meteorologist at the University of Havana and, after
immigrating to Miami, earned advanced degrees at the University of Miami.
In 1982, he began working at the National Hurricane Center. He became a
full-time forecaster in 1987. Two years later, Avila became one of the center's
six hurricane specialists, a group generally regarded as the world's top
tropical weather experts.
"Why did I come to the United States? I always wanted to be a hurricane
specialist and I had difficulties with the Cuban government,'' he said.
"I came for freedom. I have different political views [than Cuban
authorities].''
But that, he said, seemed immaterial during his visit to the Institute of
Meteorology, which is in what he called "a very beautiful, dilapidated
building'' on Havana's coast. He worked in that building from 1968 to 1979, and
he remains impressed by the people still there.
They may not have high-flying satellites and super-powerful computers, but
they have analytical minds, keen instincts and abundant experience, he said.
HIGH REGARD
"They have a group of scientists there that I consider very, very
highly,'' Avila said. "They are extremely efficient in terms of theoretical
meteorology. They have developed their own numerical models. They have developed
seasonal forecasts.''
Moreover, he said, Cuba's hurricane forecasters appear to have based their
pre-storm awareness and warning programs on those designed by U.S. forecasters.
"Despite our differences in politics, they follow our policies of
coordinating with the media and with emergency managers,'' he said. "That's
very interesting.''
Avila, who briefs South Florida's Spanish-language media during storm crises
and has become popular in the community, said he does not believe that his high
regard for -- and close contacts with -- Cuban meteorologists should arouse
passions.
"This is science,'' he said. "This is not politics. We don't treat
Cuba less or more than any other Caribbean country. I think most Cuban Americans
think this is a very legitimate thing to do. Who doesn't have a relative down
there? Do you want a relative to be killed in a hurricane?''
Foundation riven by dissent among Miami Cubans
By Cynthia Corzo, Elaine de Valle and Tim Johnson.
tjohnson@krwashington.com. Published Saturday, July 21, 2001
Following the resignation of one of its most recognizable leaders, the Cuban
American National Foundation begins its annual congress today in Puerto Rico
facing the most serious internal rift since its founding 20 years ago.
The division, reflected in a threat by several directors to boycott today's
meeting, centers on the leadership of Jorge Mas Santos. He is the young business
magnate who took the reins of the foundation after the 1997 death of his father,
Jorge Mas Canosa, the charismatic and powerful founder of CANF.
The younger Mas has tried to soften the foundation's image and broaden its
appeal to increase bipartisan support. That has alienated some longtime
directors who see no need to deal with the issue of Cuba with anything less than
steely resolve.
Unhappiness over the leadership of Mas Santos emerged on Thursday with the
abrupt resignations of longtime foundation spokeswoman Ninoska Pérez
Castellón, a popular radio talk-show host, and her husband, Roberto Martín
Pérez, a longtime political prisoner in Cuba.
Mas Santos denied that the high-profile resignations had any effect on the
organization. "For us, it's business as usual,'' he said, adding that the
group had not lost sight of its foremost mission.
"The foundation has the same goals and objectives as it has always had,
which is freedom and democracy for the people of Cuba.'' But he did acknowledge
that the foundation had undergone change to keep up with the times.
"That connotes some staff changes, but the foundation during this past
year has taken significant steps,'' Mas Santos said. "A lot of people said
the Cuban exile community and the foundation were dead a little over a year ago
after Elián González, but I think we're still powerful and making
more noise than ever.''
Disputes within the foundation are also fueled by generational and
personality issues, tactical differences, and finger-pointing over the
foundation's failure to stem growing demands by conservative Republicans that
the U.S. embargo of Cuba be loosened or lifted, said legislators, experts and
observers.
At least a dozen foundation directors are expected to boycott the congress
in San Juan. The resignations of Pérez Castellón and her husband
triggered a rump meeting of several longtime directors Thursday night.
"Many of the directors will not be [at the congress],'' said one
veteran director, a businessman who asked that his name not be used. "A lot
of the people who started with Jorge Mas Canosa in 1981 will not attend this
meeting.''
BROAD SUPPORT
The director insisted that an outright split was not in the offing. "We
are not going to allow the foundation to be destroyed,'' he said. "The
Cuban American National Foundation will recover. None of the old directors have
resigned and we will not resign, but there are going to be a series of
changes.''
Mas Santos said there were 153 directors -- including board members,
trustees and associates -- and that between 25 percent and 40 percent of those
were new, younger members. He said a majority supported him and he expected most
of them to be at the conference in Puerto Rico.
"I'm looking forward to the congress. I have over 100 directors and
friends of the foundation coming to approve all our plans for the upcoming
year,'' said Mas Santos.
Among them is Kirk Reagan Menéndez, 38, who said the foundation would
survive any internal conflicts: "The foundation is as strong today as it
has always been.''
Pérez Castellón could not be reached for comment Friday.
Members of her family said she could be expected to explain her side of the
story on her WQBA 1140 AM radio program, Ninoska a la Una, on Monday beginning
at 1 p.m.
The foundation faces a perception in Washington that its clout has lessened.
Three Cuban-American lawmakers -- including Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and
Lincoln Díaz-Balart of Miami -- are forging identities independent of the
foundation.
DECLINE OF INFLUENCE
The White House reportedly bears some resentment for what it sees as the
foundation's less than full-hearted support in last year's presidential campaign
as it hedged its bets in the close race.
Critics also say the foundation has failed to corral dozens of disparate
initiatives on Capitol Hill and ensure that a well-defined agenda is heeded.
One legislative staff veteran, who requested anonymity, contrasted the
foundation's current internal rifts with the discipline and vigor that Jorge Mas
Canosa brought to his lobbying.
"He was very in-your-face. He didn't give quarter to anyone in pursuit
of his objectives,'' the staffer said. "Jorge Jr. has more of a soft touch,
more of a diplomatic approach.''
In recent years, as the foundation spread campaign money to Democrats as
well as Republicans, reflecting the desire of Mas Santos to become more
bipartisan, it lost the unconditional support of some conservative Republicans,
who want to allow food exports to Cuba from America's heartland.
"The Republicans are no longer solidly behind them,'' the staffer said.
Dennis Hays, a former U.S. diplomat hired recently as the foundation's
executive vice president in Washington, said part of his mandate is to avoid
further erosion of support.
"This idea of Cuba becoming an agricultural consumer [of U.S. grains]
has great resonance out there. Some great damage has been done,'' he said.
The only Cuban-American Democrat in the House, Rep. Bob Menendez of New
Jersey, said he thinks Mas's bipartisan approach may help the foundation in the
long run.
"The advocacy of Jorge Mas Jr. is much more effective,'' Menendez said.
The cost has been high, though, straining relations between foundation
leaders and the staffs of Díaz-Balart and Ros-Lehtinen, as various
personalities jockey for recognition of actions to pressure Cuba.
The foundation has been rife with discontent for about a year, since Mas
Santos began making what many in the organization consider "unilateral''
decisions on hiring, policy, expenditures and other activities.
"He just won't listen,'' said the longtime director.
Mas's position on lobbying for the Latin Grammy Awards to be held in Miami
did not sit well with many in the foundation, who oppose holding the Grammys in
Miami because Cuban artists from the island may perform or be present to claim
prizes.
For many, the Grammy issue was the final straw, said former member Mario
Miranda, Mas Canosa's bodyguard, who stayed by the late leader's side even when
he fell ill, bringing him Holy Communion daily until the founder died in 1997.
"It is like a bucket has been filling with water and this last drop
caused it to overflow,'' Miranda said.
"This is not the democratic organization that Jorge Mas Canosa intended
it to be,'' he said, referring to Mas Santos.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 
