| CUBA
NEWS
The
Miami Herald
Cuban exiles prep post-Castro plan
Several Cuban exile groups
that have had differing agendas have come
together to lay out a transition plan for
Cuba after Castro.
By Nicole White, nwhite@herald.com.
Posted on Tue, Apr. 19, 2005.
A group of Cuban exiles -- known to have
to vastly divergent political and ideological
views -- have set aside their differences
to craft an 18-point blueprint of how the
island should be governed after Cuban President
Fidel Castro.
Representatives from 16 groups, including
the Cuban American National Foundation,
Agenda Cuba, the Cuba Study Group and members
of the clergy, spent months working up the
template called "Pillars for a Cuban
Consensus.''
''This is extremely important,'' said Jorge
Mas Santos, chairman of the Cuban American
National Foundation.
"This sends a message that we are
united and a very direct message to the
international community that the Cuban community
has the ability to dictate our own future.''
Among the ideals set forth by the group:
the right of all Cubans -- both on the island
and abroad -- to participate in the island's
political future; the elimination of the
death penalty and the release of all political
prisoners; amnesty for political crimes
''within the boundaries established by international
law''; and unrestricted travel for Cubans
to and from the island.
The groups also advocate the signing over
of titles of residential properties confiscated
by the government to current tenants, and
they support allowing former owners or descendants
to claim compensation for those properties
from the state.
The seed to craft a formal transition plan
was planted during a Cuba conference in
Rome in October.
While a broad range of political ideals
were represented, the most conservative
-- and arguably among the most influential
-- groups did not participate, including
the Cuban Liberty Council and Cuba Democracy
Advocates.
There is an ongoing effort to reach out
to those groups, said Alfredo Mesa, executive
director of the Cuban American National
Foundation.
Despite the absence of the most conservative
voices, the meetings often were fraught
with tension.
''Lucky for us there were some priests
to participate as facilitators,'' said Carlos
Saladrigas, co-chair of the Cuba Study Group.
''The beautiful thing about the process
is that it was almost like a little group-therapy
session where everyone's points of views
were aired in a healthy way,'' Saladrigas
said.
And that's the point, Saladrigas said.
''The true essence of a democracy is the
ability to debate issues without fear of
retribution,'' Saladrigas said. "I
think this plan sends a clear message of
hope and vision for the people of Cuba.''
Herald staff writer Oscar Corral contributed
to this report.
Wife: Detainee on hunger strike was
force-fed
A Cuban spy suspect on
a hunger strike was temporarily given a
saline solution intravenously at a hospital
-- against his will, his wife said.
By Alfonso Chardy, achardy@herald.com.
Posted on Mon, Apr. 18, 2005.
Juan Emilio Aboy, a Cuban spy suspect hospitalized
while on a hunger strike, was given an intravenous
saline solution for several days, his wife
said Sunday.
Alina Aboy told The Herald the intravenous
line was inserted despite her husband's
objections after he was taken to Miami's
Jackson Memorial Hospital Wednesday from
the Krome detention center in West Miami-Dade
County. She said the line was removed Saturday.
Alina Aboy's comments were the first confirmation
that medical authorities complied with a
federal judge's temporary order April 8
empowering immigration officials to insert
either a nasal or intravenous line to temporarily
force-feed Aboy.
Aboy has been on a hunger strike for 37
days, demanding release so he can pursue
appeals in freedom.
Immigration officials declined to confirm
Sunday whether the intravenous line was
inserted and removed.
Nina Pruneda, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, said: "The
decision not to eat was his choice. A court
order was issued allowing the U.S. Public
Health Service to take any necessary precautions
in the interests of his health.''
Aboy, 44, has said he will not eat again
until released. He is fighting a deportation
order that can't be carried out because
Cuba generally refuses to take back exiles.
Aboy has been linked by investigators to
the Wasp Network of more than a dozen Cuban
government operatives in the late 1990s.
Aboy has denied the allegations, and investigators
have not produced specific evidence other
than to indicate the information came from
Wasp Network members who were government
informants.
Aboy was arrested in May 2002 but has never
been charged criminally. Instead, he was
put in deportation proceedings.
U.S. District Judge Paul Huck has set a
tentative hearing for Friday to hear from
Aboy about his intentions and decide whether
the government has authority to force-feed
him.
Alina Aboy said her husband plans to tell
the judge he wants to continue the hunger
strike until federal authorities "resolve
his situation.''
It's unclear why Aboy remains in immigration
custody. In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court
prohibited detention of undeportable foreign
nationals with final deportation orders
beyond six months -- unless they are deemed
national security risks, terrorists or extreme
dangers to the community.
Federal officials have not said how they
view Aboy's detention and have not explained
when they consider a deportation order final.
Miami attorney Ira Kurzban, who is considered
an authority in immigration law, says that
in his experience, immigration authorities
in South Florida do not deem a removal order
final until all litigation has ended.
Aboy began his hunger strike after the
11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected
his appeal of a final deportation order
in February. He is considering requesting
that the entire appeals court review the
case.
|
