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CUBA
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U.S. Seeks Ideas to Promote Cuba Change
WASHINGTON, 8 (AP) - Ruling out tighter sanctions
against Cuba, the Bush administration is pushing
for a democratic transition on the island through
increased international pressure and more robust
support for Cuba's dissidents.
The administration dispatched three officials
to Miami this week in hopes of coming up with
fresh ideas for bringing about a democratic Cuba.
They have been consulting with elected leaders
of the Cuban-American community.
Roger Noriega, newly installed as assistant secretary
of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, said
in an interview with The Associated Press that
the administration's evolving policy on Cuba will
feature a "plan with concrete measures and
with a timetable."
He said a tightening of sanctions against the
island is not an option.
Noriega said it was a "great tragedy"
that the debate over Cuba in recent years "has
been all about U.S. policy toward Cuba and not
about anything remotely relevant to the island."
Other officials said existing restrictions on
travel to Cuba and other economic measures will
remain in place as long as there is no progress
toward democratic rule.
Noriega said the international community has
been unwilling to support the American policy
of economic denial over the years - a point demonstrated
annually in the virtually unanimous U.N. General
Assembly votes in opposition to the U.S. embargo
against Cuba.
He said the U.S. goal of "reaching out in
solidarity to dissidents" will be a lot more
effective if it has the support of the international
community.
European and Latin American governments have
signaled support for this approach in recent months,
he said.
Noriega, a former ambassador to the Organization
of American States and a one-time aide to former
Sen. Jesse Helms (news, bio, voting record), R-N.C.,
said the administration will seek ways of overcoming
Cuba's jamming U.S. government television and
radio broadcasts tailored for Cuban audiences.
Another key goal, he said, is to increase support
for independent libraries and human rights groups
on the island which have persisted despite a major
anti-dissident crackdown last March and April.
Seventy-five dissidents were rounded up and sentenced
to long prison terms for alleged ties to the U.S.
diplomatic mission in Cuba.
To the extent that independent libraries and
rights groups continue to exist, Noriega said
they need U.S. and other international support
"so that they have a little more reach, so
they can get the word out about what's happening
on the island."
Wayne Smith, a former U.S. diplomat who has long
favored a U.S. accommodation with Cuba, said Noriega's
ideas could undermine the dissidents.
"The more the United States talks about
backing the internal dissidents, the more it undercuts
their position by making them appear to be agents
of the U.S," Smith said.
The U.S. delegation dispatched to Miami consists
of Otto Reich, White House special envoy for Latin
America; Dan Fisk, a top State Department Cuba
specialist; and Adolfo Franco, an assistant administrator
at the Agency for International Development.
Franco oversees AID's Cuba program, which provides
assistance to 12 U.S. non-governmental organizations
that help Cuba's human rights groups, independent
journalists and autonomous pro-civil society organizations.
Frank Calzon, director of the Center for a Free
Cuba, said he strongly supports the appointment
of Noriega but that he has doubts about the bureaucratic
will to carry out Bush's policies.
Calzon urged the administration to employ tough
measures that, he said, have been available for
years. He cited the absence of an indictment of
the Cubans responsible for the deaths of four
Cuban-Americans in 1996.
They were aboard two Miami-based private plane
that were shot down north of Cuba by MiG jet fighters.
US says Cubans have not applied for visas
to attend Latin Grammys
MIAMI, 7 (AFP) - US authorities said they had
not received visa applications from Latin Grammy
nominees from Cuba, and the Miami Herald said
the Cuba-based musicians probably won't be able
to attend next month's award ceremony.
"We have not received any visa applications
from Cuban citizen Grammy nominees in connection
with the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony," said
Tara Rigler, a State Department spokeswoman.
The Herald said at least three Cuban nominees
who live on the communist-run island won't be
able to attend the September 3 ceremony in Miami
because their applications cannot be processed
in time.
"Visa applications received from award nominees
to attend the Latin Grammy Awards are adjudicated
in compliance with all relevant laws and regulations
governing the issuance of non-immigrant visas,"
said Rigler.
The Herald named the affected nominees as Ibrahim
Ferrer, of Buena Vista Social Club fame, Afro-Cuban
jazz star Chucho Valdez and the salsa band Los
Van Van.
Cuban exiles who advocate a total boycott of
Cuba have said they would stage protests if Cuba-based
musicians attend the event.
Last year's awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles
after organizers objected to a decision by Miami
authorities to allow Cuban exiles to protest performances
by Cuban-based musicians.
The organizers said they do not object to protests
being staged this year as long as they do not
put participants at risk.
Miami is home to some 700,000 Cuban-Americans.
Largest Shipment of U.S.-Bred Cattle Departs
for Cuba; First Cattle Shipments from Florida
in over 40 Years
Friday August 8, 12:28 pm ET
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- A
shipment of 148 head of dairy cattle departs for
Cuba on Saturday, the largest significant herd
of U.S.-bred cattle to be sold there since the
U.S. began its trade embargo against the country
in 1962.
This shipment represents the second load of
cattle from Florida to Cuba by J.P. Wright &
Company of Naples, Florida. The first cattle departed
from Port Everglades, Florida and arrived in Cuba
July 31st at the Port of Havana.
Last week's shipment contained 128 cattle of
which there were 92 Jersey- bred heifers from
Pennsylvania and 36 New York State Holstein heifers
meant to help bolster the dairy industry in Cuba.
The cattle exported to Cuba were quarantined at
the Florida Department of Agriculture Export Center
in South Florida and were approved for export
by the United States Department of Agriculture
through a country-to-country agreement with the
Cuban Veterinary Institute.
J.P. Wright & Company CEO Parke Wright became
the first businessman from Florida to make a sale
of cattle to the island since the embargo has
been in place. Wright has been working under a
license from the U.S. Treasury Department to develop
and market agricultural exports to Cuba since
1999.
The cattle will depart this weekend from Jacksonville,
Florida and arrive at the Port of Havana early
Monday morning. They will be shipped on Crowley
Liner Services. A.R. Savage & Son, Inc. of
Tampa, Florida, is advising J.P. Wright &
Company, Inc. concerning shipping, letters of
credit and payment.
Arthur Savage's great, great grandfather was
Capt. James McKay who pioneered the shipment of
cattle from Florida to Cuba in 1858. Wright's
great, great grandfather, Dr. H.T. Lykes, married
Capt. McKay's daughter Almeria McKay and by 1879
the two of them were exporting 100,000 head of
beef cattle annually from Tampa Bay and Florida's
west coast to Cuba.
To complete the deal, two specialists from Cuba's
Ministry of Agriculture and Veterinary Institute
traveled to Florida on 45 day visas to meet Mr.
Wright and other suppliers to select the cattle.
A total of 435 head of cattle were selected from
the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maine and
Minnesota.
Source: J.P. Wright & Company
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