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The Miami
Herald, July 29, 2002.
Jury to decide torture case next week
By Jacqueline Charles. jcharles@herald.com. Posted on Fri,
Jul. 26, 2002.
The fate of accused Cuban torturer Eriberto Mederos could be decided as
early as next week when the jury returns on Tuesday to hear closing arguments.
Both sides rested their case Thursday after six days of testimony and 16
witnesses -- the majority of whom were former Cuban political prisoners who
accuse Mederos of torturing them at a Havana psychiatric hospital between 1968
and 1978.
Mederos, 79, is accused of lying on his U.S. citizenship application about
the allegations and his affiliation with Cuba's Communist Party. If convicted,
he could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. The Immigration and
Naturalization Service would then seek to deport him.
Mederos' attorney David Rothman called only three witnesses: Mederos'
son-in-law, Noel Perez; grandson Abner Perez; and longtime friend Domingo
Pascual, a retired nurse who worked with Mederos in Cuba at Mazorra, the Havana
psychiatric hospital. All three testified about Mederos' moral character, with
Abner Perez, describing his grandfather as "an outstanding citizen.''
Mederos, 79, did not take the stand in his own defense. Instead, Rothman
attempted to show through witnesses' testimony and Mederos' own INS file that he
was not a supporter of Fidel Castro's regime and did not attempt to conceal his
background from the U.S. goverment.
''We all wanted to leave the country. We were not happy with a communist
country at all,'' Noel Perez said.
Among the items in Mederos' INS file: newspaper clippings and a 1990
statement Mederos made to the FBI about his work at Mazarro. He applied for
citizenship in 1992. In interviews with The Herald when the allegations surfaced
in 1992, Mederos acknowledged that he administered electroshock treatment but
only when medically prescribed by doctors.
Cuban pilgrims hail pope in Canada
Posted on Sat, Jul. 27, 2002
TORONTO - (AP) -- The largest contingent of Cubans ever
allowed by the communist
government to travel to a foreign religious event celebrated with enthusiasm as
they welcomed Pope John Paul II to World Youth Day festivities in Toronto.
Dressed in yellow and white World Youth Day T-shirts and waving Cuban flags,
the 200 pilgrims listened to the pontiff's opening address Thursday and
cheerfully greeted curious visitors from other nations.
''Viva el Papa!'' shouted Aileen Lorenzo Del Rio, 19, as the pope finished
his speech. The psychology student from Havana said she was excited to see how
religion is treated in Canada and to meet Catholics from other cultures.
''This is a great experience for Cuban youth,'' said Wilfredo Leiter, 23, a
seminary student from Santa Clara, Cuba. "It's a very rare opportunity to
be here as a Christian meeting the pope. It really validates your faith.''
Most of the Cuban pilgrims visiting Toronto had never been outside their
country, said Bishop Carlos Baladron of the Guantánamo-Baracoa Diocese.
''Young people in Cuba haven't had opportunities to participate in events
like this,'' he said. "They don't know the outside world.''
About 60 percent of Cubans are nominally Catholic, Baladron said, but fewer
than 4 percent worship actively. He said President Fidel Castro's stance on
organized religion has softened since John Paul visited in January 1998.
''We were surprised by Castro's demeanor when the pope was there,'' Baladron
said. "He was full of reverence. There was a renewal of the Catholic
faith.''
The communist government is far more tolerant of Catholics than it used to
be, but open worship is still discouraged, pilgrims said. Catholics who pray in
church basements can celebrate Mass. But limits remain.
''You need a permit from the state for any public Mass or celebration,''
Leiter said.
Traveling to Canada meant months of planning. Baladron and his colleagues
had to organize exit and entry visas and raise money through church collections.
Their main sponsors were Canadian organizers and the Vatican's Pontifical
Council for the Laity, which coordinates World Youth Days.
During their weeklong stay in Toronto, the young Cubans joined the 200,000
other pilgrims for catechism classes and a Mass with the pope.
Camp will get 204 more cells
Herald Staff Report. Posted on Sat, Jul. 27, 2002
The Pentagon on Friday awarded a $9.7 million contract to a Halliburton
subsidiary to build 204 more cells at the international detention center for
terrorism suspects at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The 204 new steel cells are to measure the same as the existing 612 cells
and include toilets and hand basins. The cells -- measuring 6 feet 8 inches by 8
feet -- should be ready for prisoners in October.
A Pentagon announcement said three firms bid on the work and the Navy
awarded the job to Brown & Root Services -- a subsidiary of Halliburton,
which Vice President Dick Cheney ran until his election. Camp Delta, as the
prison is called, now has 564 prisoners.
The expansion to accommodate 816 suggests Pentagon planners expect U.S.
forces to capture more suspected members of al Qaeda. | 
