CUBA NEWS
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US boaters could face 15 years in jail
for organizing sailboat races to Cuba
MIAMI, 12 (AFP) - Federal prosecutors
have charged organizers of several sailboat
races from Florida to Cuba with violating
the US trade embargo on the communist-run
country, officials said.
Peter Goldsmith, 55, and Michele Geslin,
56, were charged Thursday and could face
as many as 15 years in prison each for allegedly
acting as "travel service providers"
without securing a license from the US Department
of Treasury, which regulates the 42-year-old
sanctions regime.
Though the Office of Foreign Assets Control
in charge of enforcing the embargo has levied
civil penalties on US tourists and others
who have illegally spent money in Cuba,
criminal prosecutions have been rare.
The two organized and ran the races between
Key West and Cuba in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002
and 2003, according to a two-count indictment
released Thursday.
"National security laws like the Trading
With The Enemy Act are in place to protect
the people of the US, while hindering the
endeavors of communist or oppressive regimes
that threaten the freedom-starved people
of those countries," said Molly Millerwise,
a Treasury Department (news - web sites)
spokeswoman.
US President George W. Bush last month
announced measures aimed at speeding the
departure from power of Cuban President
Fidel Castro (news - web sites). The United
States will tighten restrictions on Cuban-Americans'
cash remittances to relatives on the island
and limit family visits between the United
States and Cuba to one every three years.
And US funds will be used to spread information
worldwide about Washington's accusations
that Havana harbors terrorists, foments
subversion in Latin America and has at least
a limited developmental offensive biological
weapons research capability, according to
the US report.
Also, US military planes will broadcast
pro-democracy messages into Cuba as part
of the nearly 60-million-dollar plan.
Florida, home to some 800,000 mostly anti-Castro
Cuban-Americans, is seen as a key political
battleground in the US presidential race
ahead of the November 2 vote.
Cuban Radio Addresses Reagan Editorial
Fri Jun 11, 2:17 PM ET
HAVANA - Cuba clarified its position on
former President Ronald Reagan, saying Friday
that a harsh editorial aired on state radio
after his death was not the government's
official opinion.
"News media around the world have
echoed said comments, presenting them as
an official declaration by Cuban authorities,"
read a statement published Friday in the
Communist Party daily Granma. The Associated
Press reported on the radio editorial and
described it as government reaction.
State-run Radio Reloj on Monday repeatedly
broadcast its editorial commenting on Reagan's
death, saying he "never should have
been born." It lambasted his military
policies, especially the "Star Wars"
anti-missile program.
Reagan, a staunch foe of communism, died
June 5 at age 93. His funeral was held Friday
in Washington.
"The Foreign Ministry has been instructed
by the Revolution's leadership to clarify
that the comments made by that radio station
do not constitute an official declaration
by Cuban authorities, nor do they express
their positions," the statement published
in Granma said.
"President Ronald Reagan was a tenacious
adversary of the Cuban Revolution, but the
sense of ethics and honor of Cuban revolutionaries
cannot be reconciled with the idea of emitting
critical judgments or attacks in such moments
of profound pain for their families,"
it said.
"That is the way Cuban leaders and
the Cuban people have and always will conduct
themselves," it concluded.
Contreras cool under pressure
By ANTHONY Mccarron, Daily
News sports writer. New York Daily, Fri
Jun 11.
Even teammates watch Jose Contreras' starts
and wonder what on earth is going to happen
next. The Cuban righthander is either poetry
in motion or a car wreck that no one can
look away from.
With the Yankee rotation a pinstriped question
mark thanks to Kevin Brown's back injury,
the Yankees needed Contreras to provide
some comfort yesterday. There were flashes
of the old Contreras - he gave up three
home runs and blew an early three-run lead
- but the Yankees saw enough good things
to pronounce the afternoon a success as
Contreras relaxed and delivered seven effective
innings in a 10-4 victory over the Rockies
at the Stadium, completing a three-game
sweep.
Bernie Williams was 3-for-3, including
the 2,000th hit of his career, and his RBI
triple knocked in the game's first run.
Backup catcher John Flaherty tied a career
high with five RBI, including his third
grand slam, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield
each drove in two runs and Derek Jeter and
Williams each scored twice.
Contreras (3-2) allowed four runs and five
hits in seven innings with two walks and
six strikeouts, retiring the final 11 batters
he faced after giving up back-to-back homers
in the fourth. After the homers by light-hitting
Luis Gonzalez and Choo Freeman, most of
the 41,586 booed Contreras heartily. But
the righthander shook off the jeers and
was dominant the rest of the way.
"The biggest part of it is that he
had the lead, lost it and settled down,"
Joe Torre said. "Before, you'd see
him unravel. Forty thousand people in the
stands and he didn't come apart. That was
big for me.
"The one thing he hasn't been able
to do was pitch himself out of trouble and
today he did."
The Yankees continued to take control of
the American League. They have won four
straight games, 14 of 16 and 30 of 39 since
being swept by the Red Sox in late April.
So far on a 12-game home stand, the Yanks
are 8-1 and seemingly never out of any game
because of their ability to score almost
at will - with new stars developing daily.
Yesterday, it was a mix of old and new
as Williams and Flaherty led the attack.
Williams became only the seventh Yankee
to reach 2,000 hits, joining Lou Gehrig,
Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio,
Don Mattingly and Yogi Berra. Williams got
a standing ovation after he singled down
the right-field line in the fourth and doffed
his batting helmet to fans while standing
on first.
Flaherty got a curtain call of his own
when he homered, a blast in the sixth that
gave the Yanks a 10-4 lead.
However, the Rockies' three homers were
the ones making all the noise early on.
Todd Helton hit a two-run shot in the third,
which preceded solo shots by Gonzalez and
Freeman in the fourth. Freeman's homer,
which bounced into Monument Park, was the
first of his career.
The Yankees did not warm up a reliever
after the third homer, with Torre preferring
that Contreras get out of the mess himself.
A-Rod, Flaherty and Mel Stottlemyre all
came to the mound, and Rodriguez spoke to
Contreras in Spanish, which calmed the pitcher.
"I talked to him in Spanish, which
helps," Rodriguez said. "He needs
to know how good he is. Sometimes, there
are little reminders. He said, 'If you've
got anything to say, please tell me.' I
told him how good he was."
Maybe Contreras, who has struggled with
sagging confidence, will finally believe
it. His teammates seem to. Flaherty said
he can see a time when each of Contreras'
starts will no longer be a big deal. But
the pitcher still has a long way to go before
he has proven he won't succumb in difficult
moments.
"I think that's a few starts away,"
Flaherty said. "It's at the point now,
and I'm guilty of doing it, too, where when
things are going wrong, you're waiting to
see what happens. Once we get past that,
we'll be good."
Full
story at New York Daily News
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