CUBA NEWS
The Miami Herald

Castro still a problem, Powell says

By Warren P. Strobel, Knight Ridder News Service. Posted on Fri, Oct. 08, 2004.

WASHINGTON - Seeking to contain a minor political storm over his recent remarks on Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that Castro has ''never stopped being a troublemaker'' in Latin America and that the region will be better off when he's gone.

Powell spoke in an interview with Knight Ridder a day after Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry seized on earlier remarks in which the Powell suggested that Castro was a problem for Cubans, but not for the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

Traveling to Brazil on Monday, Powell was asked about complaints in Latin America that the United States views the region's problems through the lens of Cuba.

''We don't see everything through the lens of Fidel Castro,'' Powell said. "Castro is a problem for the Cuban people. I don't view him as that much of a problem for the rest of the hemisphere, certainly not the way he was when I was [President Reagan's] national security advisor 15 years ago.''

Kerry then said in a statement that it's "shocking that the Bush administration is telling the world that Fidel Castro no longer poses a problem for this hemisphere.''

In the interview, Powell suggested his remarks had been twisted. He said his point was that Cuba doesn't present the same sort of regional threat it did when Castro had the military and political backing of the Soviet Union.

''Castro is an anachronism. He is causing his own people to suffer greatly. He is a troublemaker in the rest of the region. He is a troublemaker in Venezuela. He's a troublemaker in Colombia. He's never stopped being a troublemaker. But he is not the kind of threat he was when he had the Soviet Union backing him,'' he said.

Anti-Castro group leader dies

Andrés Nazario Sargén, called the father of Alpha 66, a paramilitary group that opposed Fidel Castro, is dead at 88.

By Elaine De Valle, edevalle@herald.com. Posted on Fri, Oct. 08, 2004.

Cuban flags were at half-staff in Little Havana's Plaza de la Cubanidad to honor of one of the staunchest anti-Castro exiles -- the ''father'' of a paramilitary group that claims several dozen clandestine operations in Cuba -- who died without seeing his dream of democracy on the communist island.

Andrés Nazario Sargén, leader of the paramilitary group Alpha 66, died late Wednesday of colon cancer. He was 88.

Diagnosed 18 months ago, he worked at Alpha headquarters until about three weeks ago.

His family was at his side when he died, said his daughter, Olguita Nazario.

'He told everyone, 'I'm fine. I'm fine.' He was so convinced. He never thought he would die,'' she said. "He convened a meeting for this Saturday at the office.''

Born in the town of Zaza del Medio in central Cuba, Nazario and brother Aurelio joined a nascent democratic process that emerged after the demise of the Machado dictatorship.

The brothers founded the Tobacco Growers Association to guarantee fair prices for workers' crops.

They helped found the Orthodox party, a reformist party that fought corruption.

In 1948, Andrés Nazario ran his brother's successful campaign for a seat in Cuba's House of Representatives.

During the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, Andrés Nazario led underground activity in the Sancti-Spiritus region before heading in 1958 with his wife, Olga, and elder son Jorge, for the Escambray Mountains to join guerrillas operating independently of Fidel Castro's movement.

When Castro came to power Jan. 1, 1959, Comandante Nazario Sargén and other independent guerrilla leaders faced execution. A handful left Cuba by boat in 1961.

Arriving in Miami in June 1961, the group joined with other Cuban exiles to form Alpha 66 -- named for its 66 original members -- which is today the oldest anti-Castro group in Miami and still advocates an armed civil uprising in the quest to overthrow Castro.

All who knew him say he was well-liked and respected, even by those who disagreed with his views on the armed struggle.

Hundreds of friends -- including dozens of Alpha delegates from around the country -- are expected at his funeral at 5 p.m. today at Rivero Funeral Home, 3344 SW 8th St.

On Saturday morning, Nazario's casket will be brought to Alpha headquarters, 1714 W, Flagler St., for a memorial ceremony.

In addition to his daughter and wife, Nazario is survived by his son Andrés.

In lieu of flowers, his widow asks that donations be made in his name to La Liga Contra El Cancer or an organization of their choice.

Otspoken Chávez foe seeks asylum in Miami

Robert Alonso, who advocated disobedience against Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, has surfaced in Miami seeking asylum.

By Alfonso Chardy, achardy@herald.com. Posted on Fri, Oct. 08, 2004.

A Venezuelan ranch owner and strident opponent of President Hugo Chávez says he had nothing to do with dozens of Colombians who supposedly received paramilitary training at his farm near Caracas.

Robert Alonso said the fighters likely were never on his property and that last spring's incident was a government plot to discredit him and Venezuela's opposition.

''It was payback for my tactics,'' Alonso said, referring to his systematic calls for aggressive civil disobedience against Chávez.

In his first wide-ranging interview with a U.S. newspaper since going into hiding months ago, Alonso told The Herald he plans to stay in the United States by seeking haven under the Cuban Adjustment Act, which allows Cuban refugees who reach U.S. soil to stay.

Sitting at a Starbucks on Kendall Drive near Dadeland Mall, the 54-year-old Alonso said he believes the so-called wet-foot/dry-foot policy applies to him because he still has his Cuban birth certificate.

Alonso and his sister, María Conchita Alonso, the Hollywood actress, were born in Cuba and became Venezuelans when their parents fled to the South American country after Fidel Castro seized power.

Venezuelan authorities sought to arrest Alonso after the incident near his farm in May.

DETENTION PENDING

In Washington, Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez said that once it is confirmed Alonso is in the United States, he will ask the U.S. government to detain him for possible extradition. Alvarez said a warrant for Alonso's arrest, issued by a military prosecutor, is pending in Venezuela.

Reached at her home in California, María Conchita Alonso said she loved and admired her brother but declined to speak at length, citing concerns about the security of her family. Her parents and another brother still are in Venezuela.

''Anyone who fights for his beliefs you have to admire,'' she said. "Especially when you are truly outspoken against the power and your life may be in danger.''

She added: "I'm very anti-communist and I don't want another Cuba in Venezuela. I just don't believe in Chávez policies. There is more poverty, more hunger and less security for people there than before.''

The story behind the arrests of about 80 alleged Colombian mercenaries began to unfold the night of May 8 when a woman called the Caracas Metropolitan Police to report the hijacking of two buses near El Hatillo, a tourist town near Venezuela's capital.

In an interview with The Herald three days after the incident, Metropolitan Police Cmdr. Luis Hernández Valera said three police cars responded to a thickly wooded suburb where officers found the buses packed with young men in military uniforms.

A man in a flak jacket emerged from one bus, armed with a 9mm pistol and claiming to be a Venezuelan military officer. Hernández Valera said he was not convinced because the man spoke with a Colombian accent.

The police called military and national security forces, who detained the suspects.

The government claimed that the ''paramilitaries'' had been training at Alonso's farm -- Finca Daktari -- in a plot to kill Chávez.

Local police, however, did not link them to Daktari, although the incident occurred on a road leading to Alonso's farm.

A STAUNCH DENIAL

Alonso said Wednesday that he is certain the paramilitaries were not on his property -- even though he says he has not been back to the 24-acre ranch since Feb. 28, when he went underground.

''When I left Daktari, there were no paramilitaries on my property, and I doubt very seriously that any were ever there,'' Alonso said. "Also, how is it possible for me, living clandestinely, to have put a contingent of paramilitaries on my property?''

FLEEING AUTHORITIES

In July, a former Venezuelan immigration official told the Caracas newspaper El Universal that the alleged mercenaries entered Venezuela from Colombia on April 23 with visas arranged by the Chávez government so they could attend a pro-Chávez rally in Caracas.

Alonso said the only people he left behind at Daktari were the property caretakers -- a family with children -- who never mentioned the mercenaries.

Alonso said he fled his farm because government sources told him Chávez had ordered his arrest because his opposition tactics had disrupted Caracas in late February.

Through his website, www.robertalonso.com.ve, Alonso has promoted aggressive civil disobedience which he credits for street blockades in Caracas in February.

After leaving Daktari, Alonso said, he lived in friends' homes or slept in public squares or in vehicles.

Alonso said he managed to cross into Colombia on April 27. Later he traveled to the United States.

Rare clips revive Bay of Pigs

By Marta Barber, mbarber@herald.com. Posted on Fri, Oct. 08, 2004.

CUBA: THE 40 YEARS WAR ****½

After 45 years of constant migration from Cuba to South Florida, including several mass exoduses, one thing is certain: Cuban Americans are no longer one bloc. Things are very different for the immigrants of the '90s than they were for those in the early '60s. As the community has grown more diverse, some people, even those of a more rigid stance, have dared to change their minds about issues that at one time were considered sacrosanct.

Such is the case of five men who left Miami in 1961 to fight against the Cubans in the debacle known as Bay of Pigs. Against many odds, they return to Cuba in 2001 to attend a conference on the anniversary of that event. For them, the trip symbolized Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits making amends among themselves.

Cuba: The 40 Years War, a documentary by Peter Melaragno and James Burroughs, follows two of those veterans, Alfredo Durán and Mario Cabello. Their journey to Cuba to meet with their one-time adversaries is personal, a means to make peace with themselves.

Rare clips of the invasion become poignant reminders of friends and relatives lost or maimed in those short days of April 1961. But at 52 minutes, it is not long enough to give this complicated subject the depth it deserves; its message gets muddled. It also doesn't offer any new information.

Narrated by Martin Sheen, whose mispronunciation of Spanish words becomes distracting, the film dramatically announces ''the monolith had broken down'' and the National Security Archive in Washington, D.C., would release sealed CIA documents pertaining to what was known as Operation Mongoose.

The one-sided Cuba: The 40 Years War makes it clear that Operation Mongoose was not only a failure, but stupid. The Kennedy-era officials who attended the conference suggest the whole thing was a mess, a question of the right arm of the government not knowing what the left was doing. Some things in Washington never change.

But questions are never asked of Cuban officials, and the film's editing appears as if ''censored'' by the Cuban government. It is also unclear how interesting this film would be to those too young to remember or even people not interested in that period of history.

What is clear is where Durán and Cabello stood in 2001 at the time of the conference. Theirs are profiles in courage.

Written and directed by Peter Melaragno and Jim Burroughs. Running time: 52 minutes. Playing at 7 p.m. Thursday at Cosford Cinema.

Marlins like prized Cuban defector, if they can afford him

By Kevin Baxter, kbaxter@herald.com. Posted on Thu, Oct. 07, 2004.

The Marlins are among a number of teams interested in signing Cuban defector Kendry Morales, although the 21-year-old switch-hitter might not fit into the team's 2005 budget.

Fred Ferreira, a senior vice president and the team's director of international operations, saw Morales perform in a closed workout in the Dominican Republic last week and came away impressed.

''He's a legitimate hitter,'' said Ferreira, a savvy talent evaluator who has signed 39 major-leaguers, including Anaheim's Vladimir Guerrero and the Yankees' Bernie Williams. "He's not ready [for the majors] immediately, but he's not far. He's a guy that you can look into and say that he will play in the major leagues.''

Less certain is whether the Marlins can afford him. Morales' agent, David Valdes, a former star at Miami Westminster Christian, denied reports that he was seeking nearly $15 million for his client but said he expects nearly a dozen teams to make offers. He hopes to have a contract before the free agent signing period begins early next month.

Morales, who defected to Miami by boat in June, could be the best position player to come out of Cuba in more than four decades. Projected as a first baseman/outfielder, he hit .324 and set seven rookie records, including marks for homers (21), hits (114) and RBI (82) in his last full season in the Cuban league two years ago. He hit .361 with 12 doubles, two homers and 17 RBI in half a season before being suspended by Cuban authorities last winter.

Even without Morales, however, the Marlins figure to have some talented international newcomers in camp next spring. Third baseman Norbe Batista, a 21-year-old from Panama, made the Dominican Summer League's All-Star team, and right-hander Carlos Faria and infielder Gary Roche, both 21-year-old Venezuelans, made the Venezuelan League squad.

Batista hit .325 with 29 RBI in 55 games for Cibao, the Marlins' DSL affiliate. Roche hit .305 with five homers and 32 RBI in 61 games for Universidad in Venezuela and ranked among the league's top 10 in virtually every offensive category. Teammate Faria went 7-3 with a 3.54 ERA and a league-leading 84 innings.

PRINTER FRIENDLY