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Czech leader supports cause for Cuba
MIAMI, 24 (AP) - Czech President Vaclav Havel, the once-jailed playwright
who became a key player in post-Soviet democratic reforms, pledged his support
for political change in Cuba.
"May all Cubans live in freedom and enjoy independence and prosperity,"
Havel said at the end of a two-day trip through South Florida.
Havel told a panel of scholars and supporters at Florida International
University that he remembered his days under Soviet rule as part of "the
community of the shaken ones."
Havel, who is retiring in January, commended Cuban dissidents for their
work.
"It is necessary to strive for the sake of the values themselves,"
he said. "Sooner or later the endeavors will bear fruit."
He said he chose Florida as his last official stop in the United States.
"I have chosen it, among other things, because it is from here that I
want to extend my greeting to all Cubans — both to those who live here and
to those who live at home, in Cuba," he said.
At Miami's Freedom Tower, once a sort of Ellis Island for Cubans arriving in
the Miami, Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas presented Havel with the key to
the county. Earlier, Havel met briefly with Gov. Jeb Bush to discuss human
rights reform in Cuba.
Mexico ousts its ambassador to Cuba
MEXICO CITY, 24 (AP) - Mexico is replacing its ambassador to Cuba, a move
that could complicate the country's already prickly relations with the communist
island.
President Vicente Fox has asked Ambassador Ricardo Pascoe to step down on
Sept. 30, the Foreign Relations Ministry said in a statement Monday. It did not
give a reason for Pascoe's dismissal but said a successor would be named at the
end of the month.
The announcement comes just weeks after officials appeared to have smoothed
over a messy public spat between Pascoe and Foreign Relations Secretary Jorge
Castaneda.
The standoff began when Pascoe canceled Mexican Independence Day
celebrations in Havana after Castaneda's office refused to pay for the
festivities.
Castaneda and Pascoe have sparred over Mexico-Cuba relations, with Pascoe
supporting Havana's communist government and Castaneda often squabbling with
Cuban officials, including President Fidel Castro.
Pascoe was recalled to Mexico this month so officials could question him
about two audits indicating he had misspent $86,000 of his budget. Castaneda's
office threatened to fire him if the expenditures were not explained.
But the trip ended with foreign relations officials saying the Cuban
ambassador had offered documents and explanations that "adequately solved"
the alleged irregularities.
Pascoe could not be reached in Havana to comment on the foreign ministry's
announcement Monday night.
Mexican-Cuban relations have reached their most-strained point in decades as
Castaneda has abandoned his leftist roots and worked hard to adhere to Fox's
pro-United States Agenda.
In April, Castaneda accused Castro of trying to blackmail Mexico into voting
against a U.N. resolution targeting Cuba's human rights record — and then,
after Mexico voted for it, trying to embarrass Fox by making public a private
conversation between the two leaders.
In the conversation, Fox prodded Castro to leave a major summit in Mexico on
March 21 — a day before President Bush was to arrive. | 
