|
CUBA
NEWS
The
Miami Herald
Dangers in Cuba policy shift seen
By Andres Oppenheimer. Aoppenheimer@Herald.Com
Suggesting that the Bush administration is unlikely
to make major changes in its Cuban refugee policy,
new State Department chief of Latin American affairs
Roger F. Noriega said Wednesday that any dramatic
policy shift could invite a massive stampede from
the island and a humanitarian tragedy.
Noriega, a Kansas-born diplomat of Mexican descent
who last week took office as the first Senate-confirmed
assistant secretary of state for Western hemisphere
affairs since 1999, also said in a wide-ranging
interview with The Herald that his first official
trip will be to Argentina, as a way to signal
U.S. support for that country's new government.
He added that one of his top priorities will
also be to create a bipartisan, bicameral group
in the U.S. Congress to help set the U.S. agenda
toward Latin America and make it easier for the
Bush administration to implement it.
''I intend to reach out to folks across the aisle,
in both houses, to coordinate our efforts in promoting
that bipartisan agenda for the Americas,'' he
said.
Asked about the Bush refugee policy, which has
come under attack from Cuban exiles who say Washington
should stop repatriating would-be refugees following
the execution in Cuba of three people who had
hijacked a vessel to flee the island this spring,
Noriega stressed that "we remain committed
to safe, orderly and legal migration with Cuba.''
''Any decision on our part that would lead to
a dramatic outflow of people from Cuba, that would
lead people to believe that we are somehow suspending
our immigration laws, would invite a real tragedy,''
he said. "Cubans would conceivably try extraordinarily
dangerous crossings.''
But Noriega qualified that statement by saying
that while the Bush administration does not contemplate
changing the so-called dry foot/wet foot policy,
under which only Cubans stopped at sea are repatriated
"in light of the conduct of the Cuban dictatorship,
it is not unfair to ask some of the questions
that [exiles] are asking.''
''I am not signaling any significant change in
the policy, but we are constantly evaluating these
issues,'' he said.
On other Cuba issues, Noriega said he intends
to ''modernize'' the U.S. Radio and TV Martí
broadcasts to Cuba through new ways of overcoming
the Cuban government's jamming, and to find ways
of sending videotapes and publications to the
island.
On Wednesday, several top Bush administration
officials -- including President Bush's Special
Envoy to the Americas Otto J. Reich and State
Department Cuba specialist Dan Fisk -- were in
Miami consulting with Cuban exile leaders about
ways of speeding the flow of information into
the island, Noriega said.
''We have already undertaken steps to modernize
the Martí broadcasting system,'' he said,
adding that the State Department is evaluating
the effectiveness of an aircraft that was used
to broadcast a message from Bush to the island
on May 20. "But there is more than one way
to get audio and videos and printed material to
the island -- including using regular mail.''
Noriega said he plans to make his trip to Argentina
in the third week of August. From there, he will
go to Uruguay and Paraguay on his way back home,
he said.
''It's very important for the United States to
underscore our commitment to working with Argentines
for the political and economic renewal of that
country,'' Noriega said. "President [Néstor]
Kirchner has made impressive progress working
toward that agenda.''
Many Argentines feel defrauded by the country's
2002 economic collapse after more than a decade
of following U.S.-backed policies.
Kirchner capitalized on this sentiment by refusing
to meet with the U.S. ambassador to Argentina
during his electoral campaign earlier this year.
Grammy visas for Cubans unlikely
Too little time, officials say
By Alfonso Chardy. Achardy@Herald.Com
At least three Cuban nominees for the fourth
annual Latin Grammy Awards next month in Miami
will likely be unable to attend because the U.S.
State Department will not be able to process their
visas in time.
The three, Ibrahim Ferrer, one of the stars of
the Buena Vista Social Club, Los Van Van and Chucho
Valdés, live in Cuba and would need U.S.
visas to travel here.
But some of the other nine Cuban nominees live
in Europe and have European passports, allowing
them to enter the United States without a visa.
Because Cuba is classified by the U.S. government
as a state sponsor of terrorism, more extensive
background checks are required for its visa applicants,
a State Department official said Wednesday.
As a result, visa requests can take anywhere
from two to three months to process, said the
official who asked not to be identified. Even
if a visa application were filed this month, it
likely will not be completed until late September
or late October.
The Grammy nominees were announced July 22. The
awards will be given out Sept. 3 at AmericanAirlines
Arena in downtown Miami. A report Wednesday from
Cuba by the Spanish news agency EFE indicated
that the Cuban government has just now begun the
process of seeking visas .
''With less than a month to go, it is very possible
that the procedures would not be completed in
time for them to get a visa,'' said the State
Department official.
The presence of Cuban artists at the awards has
drawn the ire of several Cuban exile groups organizing
a protest the day of the ceremonies. Two years
ago, controversy over Cuban artists caused the
relocation of the awards ceremony to Los Angeles.
This time, Cuban activists said they will push
ahead with protest plans until the Bush administration
says publicly that no Cuban performer will attend
the awards ceremony.
''We will not stop organizing until we see this
official declaration,'' said Emilio Izquierdo,
a spokesman for Cuban exile groups organizing
the demonstration.
Latin Grammy officials declined to comment.
''The position of the academy is that issuing
visas for Cuban artists in order for them to attend
. . . is an issue that pertains exclusively to
the United States State Department,'' Gabriel
Abaroa, president of the Latin Academy of Recording
Arts & Sciences, said in a written statement.
It could not be determined Wednesday exactly
how many of the six artists living outside Cuba
live in Europe and would need only a passport
to attend the awards ceremony. A Latin Academy
official in Miami who asked not to be identified
said he believed all six live in Europe but was
not certain.
Visa applicants from Cuba and six other countries
classified as state sponsors of terrorism must
provide more information than regular applicants,
and the information must be checked by multiple
federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Those agencies then must advise the State Department
that they have no objection to a visa being issued
because no disqualifying information was uncovered.
Two years ago, the Grammys were moved to Los
Angeles after exile groups refused to back down
from their demand that they be allowed to stage
protests as close as possible to the event site
at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Gladys Gutíerrez Menoyo arrives in
Miami, says husband's decision to stay in Cuba
was a surprise
By Luisa Yanez. Lyanez@Herald.Com
It wasn't until they got to the airport in Havana
Thursday morning that Eloy Gutíerrez Menoyo
told his wife he wouldn't be returning to Miami
with her and their three sons, but would remain
in Cuba to operate an opposition movement.
''You bet I was surprised,'' said Gladys Gutíerrez
Menoyo, who arrived at Miami International Airport
around noon, "but I support his decision
100 percent.''
She said she was already making arrangement to
move back to Cuba and rejoin her husband. "I
hope the separation won't be long.''
Gutíerrez Menoyo, one of Fidel Castro's
rebel commanders who later served 22 years in
a Cuban prison, has been living in Miami with
his family, where he runs a moderate dissident
group. Over the years, he has made several non-political
trips to Cuba.
At the end of what was to have been a three-week
family vacation, though, Gutíerrez Menoyo
told his family -- then the news media -- that
he would stay on the island.
His wife told reporters in Miami that he had
said goodbye "with a hug and a kiss''
She refused to comment on how Castro had influenced
Gutíerrez Menoyo's decision or to answer
other political questions. ''Ask him,'' is all
she would say before several supporters whisked
her and her sons away from the airport.
|
