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FROM
CUBA
Police confiscate satellite receivers
HAVANA, Cuba - April 26 (Richard Roselló
/ www.cubanet.org) - Police raided two homes
early on April 17 in the San Miguel del
Padrón municipality of Havana and
confiscated equipment that enabled the reception
of satellite TV signals.
Possession of the equipment is forbidden
in Cuba to private citizens, but people
nevertheless take the risk of owning it.
"It's the only alternative Cubans
have of watching anything of quality on
TV," said one man who chose to remain
unidentified.
Sonia Beltrán, a housewife, and
Aurelio Estévez, a seaman, not only
lost the equipment, but each received fines
in excess of 5000 pesos.
The raid was carried out jointly by a patrol
of the local police, a vehicle from the
Cuban telephone company, and a car from
the Technical Investigative Department of
the Interior Ministry. They zeroed in on
the two homes, presumably acting on prior
information, and searched them, confiscating
the equipment which has a street value of
about 700 dollars, or 17,500 pesos, due
to the relative difficulty of obtaining
it. Typically, it can be brought in by the
relatively few Cubans who travel abroad,
such as professionals or technical personnel,
or seamen, or it can be home built.
Versión
original en español
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