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NUEVA GERONA, February 17 (Carlos Serpa Maceira, UPECI / www.cubanet.org) -
Private videotape rental facilities here have burrowed deeper underground in
fear of being discovered during recently intensified government raids.
The raids, involving premises searches and arrests, were initially perceived
by people to be directed at drug dealers. As details of a recently promulgated
law have filtered down, people realized the government has extended the scope of
the raids to encompass also "acts of corruption and other illicit behavior."
Law 232 provides, among other measures, for the "confiscation of houses
or other premises being used as clandestine videotape rental facilities."
Since most people renting tapes did so out of a corner of their living
rooms, they have elected to shut down in fear of losing their homes.
The business of renting videotapes never was strictly legal, but usually
operated by word-of-mouth in local neighborhoods. Typically, renters charge 5
pesos (less than 20 cents U. S.) for a day's rental. Tapes are a popular
alternative to programming that's heavily-laden with ideological content in the
government TV broadcasts.
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