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CUBA
NEWS
The
Miami Herald
U.S. antidrug report gets Cuban backlash
Cuba does little to combat drug smugglers,
and its cooperation with the U.S. Coast
Guard ranges from harassing to helpful,
a U.S. report says.
By Frank Davies. fdavies@herald.com. Posted
on Wed, Mar. 24, 2004
WASHINGTON - Cuba on Tuesday blasted a
U.S. State Department report that alleges
the island's government ''chose'' not to
devote sufficient resources to its war on
drugs as "vulgar and infamous.''
''If the previous annual reports by the
Department of State . . . had been tendentious
and manipulative in their references to
Cuba, the one announced March 1 in Washington
is vulgar and infamous,'' the official Granma
newspaper reported.
The latest report by the department's Bureau
of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs, issued to little notice, said Cuba
is doing little to stop drug smuggling and
that its cooperation with U.S. efforts is
sporadic and limited.
''Cuban authorities have chosen not to
provide an effective use-of-force policy
and adequate resources to counternarcotics
authorities to give them more than a limited
ability to interdict go-fast vessels or
aircraft,'' the report said.
The report added that Cuba's actions last
year illustrated how its cooperation with
U.S. officials "ebbs and flows based
on the regime's political priorities.''
A U.S. Coast Guard drug interdiction specialist,
based at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana,
was ''subjected to diplomatically unacceptable
harassment,'' the report said.
But after U.S. officials complained, Cuba
cooperated on several cases.
The report said Cuban antidrug authorities
last year gave information to the Drug Enforcement
Administration that resulted in dismantling
a New York-based heroin smuggling ring.
The Cuban Border Guard also ''provided
timely information'' to the Coast Guard
on suspicious boats and planes at least
35 times in 2003.
U.S. to bar Cubans who aided dissident
'show trials'
By Nancy San Martin, , nsanmartin@herald.com.
Posted on Fri, Mar. 19, 2004
Some 300 Cuban judges, lawyers, police
and witnesses who participated in ''show
trials'' that landed 75 government opponents
in Cuban jails a year ago will be barred
from entry into the United States should
they apply for visas, officials in Washington
said Friday.
The ban, which takes effect immediately,
is intended as punishment for anyone who
helped condemn independent Cuban journalists,
human rights activists and other peaceful
dissidents to prison terms up to 28 years.
The trials followed an island-wide crackdown
ordered by President Fidel Castro to crush
the island's dissident movement. In trials
that lasted no more than a day, the 75 dissidents
were accused of being mercenaries in league
with U.S. diplomats in Havana to undermine
Castro's government. '
Cuban defector pursues dream
By Kevin Baxter, kbaxter@herald.com.
Posted on Wed, Mar. 24, 2004 in The Miami
Herald.
On a map, the distance between Cuba and
South Florida doesn't seem all that far.
But it took Yolexandry Reina 30 months to
cover it -- including unplanned detours
through Canada and Costa Rica and more than
a little trouble with Canadian immigration
officials.
But when he pulled on a blue Marlins jersey
for the first time earlier this month, it
all seemed worth it.
''Finally, I'm here,'' he said Tuesday
after allowing a run in two innings in a
minor-league game in his second appearance
as a professional. "Finally, I get
to see a spring training camp.''
Reina defected off a Cuban national junior
team in Edmonton, Alberta, in August 2001,
then resurfaced months later in Costa Rica,
where his agent hoped to negotiate a lucrative
free agent contract. But no major-league
team would touch him until the agent cleared
up Reina's immigration status -- was he
claiming Cuban, Canadian or Costa Rican
citizenship? -- so the agent quickly abandoned
the pitcher in San Jose.
Reina, a 21-year-old right-hander, eventually
found his way back to Canada, only to be
arrested for illegal entry, setting off
an 18-month legal adventure that didn't
end until the Miami firm of Zumpano, Patricios
and Winker, in concert with the Marlins,
got him approved for a U.S. visa in January.
''I could never have realized my dream
of playing professional baseball in Cuba,''
Reina said.
Reina, who admits to being about 15 pounds
overweight, will participate in an extended
spring training camp next month before being
assigned to the Marlins' Single A team in
either Jamestown, N.Y., or Jupiter.
''We're going to take our time with him,''
said Marc DelPiano, the Marlins' director
of player development. "He's a good-looking
kid. He's got possibilities.''
PITCHING ISSUES
With opening day less than two weeks away,
manager Jack McKeon's pitching staff remains
unsettled. So left-handed reliever Tommy
Phelps will start tonight's exhibition against
the St. Louis Cardinals to give the team
a chance to evaluate him against big-league
hitters. Dontrelle Willis, who normally
would have started, will pitch in a minor-league
game at the team's Jupiter spring training
complex.
BREAKS OF THE GAME
Hee Seop Choi broke bats on consecutive
pitches in the third inning of Tuesday's
game, the first time he can remember seeing
that happen. On the second pitch, the barrel
of the bat landed between first and second
while the ball rocketed far enough into
the right-field corner to give Choi a triple.
''Sometimes the bats break because the
pitch moves so much when it gets to the
plate. And sometimes I just hit the ball
hard,'' Choi said.
VALDEZ SHINES
McKeon has been impressed with the play
of rookie infielder Wilson Valdez, who has
made several spectacular fielding plays
while hitting .300 in 30 at-bats.
''He's got a chance to be an outstanding
prospect,'' McKeon said. "He's an outstanding
defensive player right now. He's got great
tools.''
But Valdez, 25, isn't likely to displace
shortstop Alex Gonzalez, so the Marlins
are likely to send him back to Triple A
Albuquerque for more seasoning.
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