CUBA NEWS
The Miami Herald

Rice: Cuba an 'outpost of tyranny,' Venezuela a 'negative force'

Condoleezza Rice had harsh words for Cuba and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez as she sketched out her Latin America policy at her Senate confirmation hearing.

By Pablo Bachelet, pbachelet@herald.com. Posted on Wed, Jan. 19, 2005.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of state-designate Condoleezza Rice said President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela was a regional troublemaker and called Cuba an ''outpost of tyranny'' during testimony Tuesday before Congress, during which she sketched out her plans for Latin America.

Rice made only passing mention of the region during her opening statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, whose proceedings were mostly dominated by Iraq and the Middle East.

She said she would focus on pursuing economic and political freedom in her Latin America policy, and would work with Mexico, Canada and others in the region to "realize the vision of a fully democratic hemisphere bound by common values and free trade.''

When queried by, among others, Florida's Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez and Connecticut's Christopher Dodd, Rice said she planned to use free trade and efforts to boost democracy as tools to tackle problems like weak democratic governments and economic inequality, essentially continuing the policy of the first Bush administration.

MORE FORCEFUL

But Rice, who is widely expected to be confirmed by the Senate to replace Colin Powell, also suggested that the administration would be more forceful in dealing with governments that take an undemocratic turn.

''To be sure, in our world there remain outposts of tyranny, and America stands with oppressed people on every continent: in Cuba and Burma and North Korea and Iran and Belarus and Zimbabwe,'' she said.

Rice said she would support U.S. efforts to bypass Cuban government jamming of Radio and TV Marti to Cuba and would pay ''very close attention to the implementation'' of tougher sanctions against the communist government announced by the Bush administration last year.

She singled out Venezuela, a country she said was once a U.S. ally and had become what she called a ''negative force in the region,'' citing Chávez's meddling in neighbors' affairs, cracking down on domestic dissent and muzzling the media -- all criticisms denied by Chávez.

''I think it's extremely unfortunate that the Chávez government has not been constructive,'' she said. "And we do have to be vigilant and to demonstrate that we know the difficulties that that government is causing for its neighbors, its close association with Fidel Castro in Cuba.''

She said the United States would work with other countries in the region and the Organization of American States to ensure that ''leaders who do not govern democratically, even if they are democratically elected'' are held accountable.

However, some senators criticized Rice for taking such a hard line on Chávez. ''Repeating these statements over and over again only digs the hole deeper and deeper,'' Dodd said. And Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., said her comments were ''disrespectful of the Venezuelan people'' who in August ratified Chávez by a broad margin in a referendum.

TRAIN HAITAN POLICE

On Haiti, Rice said the number of U.N. peacekeeping troops there was ''adequate'' to stabilize the nation but added that she wants to focus more on training the local police force.

She declined to back HERO, a bill that would give Haiti special privileges to export more textiles to the United States, saying the country could take advantage of economic pacts already available like the Caribbean Basin Initiative.

''At this point we think we have the right tools; we just have to make it work,'' she said.

Even Cuba to restrict smoking

Posted on Wed, Jan. 19, 2005.

HAVANA - (AP) -- Cuba, known for its world-famous cigars, will soon ask smokers of those fine stogies, and the island's unfiltered tobacco cigarettes, to step outside.

Starting Feb. 7, smoking will be prohibited in theaters, stores, buses, taxis and other enclosed public areas under a new resolution published in Cuba's most recent National Gazette by the Commerce Ministry.

Smoking also will be banned in closed restaurants and cafeterias, except in specially designated smoking areas.

The resolution said the move was "taking into account the damage to human health caused by the consumption of cigarettes and cigars, with the objective of contributing to a change in the attitudes of our population.''

People employed in education and health jobs will no longer be allowed to smoke at work, and other government employees will have to go outside the buildings where they work to light up.

According to government statistics, four of every 10 Cubans smoke, and 30 percent of 15,000 deaths from preventable cancers each year can be linked to smoking.

But tolerance for the habit has been waning. Even President Fidel Castro gave up smoking cigars years ago.

Castro, however, has acknowledged the economic importance of cigar exports, which generate about $200 million annually.

''We historically have been producers of tobacco and we cannot renounce that,'' Castro said in 2003. ''When we give a box of cigars to a friend, we say: 'You can smoke them, or you can give them to a friend who smokes,'' Castro said then. "But the best thing to do is give them to your enemy.''

Migrants stopped at sea most in 10 years

The largest number of migrants intercepted at sea in 2004 came from the Dominican Republic -- but there were also large numbers from Haiti, Cuba and Ecuador.

By Alfonso Chardy, achardy@herald.com. Posted on Wed, Jan. 19, 2005.

Newly released figures show that 10,696 undocumented migrants were stopped at sea last year, the highest number since the Cuban rafter exodus in 1994.

The biggest number intercepted in 2004 -- Dominicans, followed by Haitians, Cubans and Ecuadoreans, according to figures released by the U.S. Coast Guard.

More than 4,500 Dominicans were interdicted, compared to almost 1,500 Cubans.

In contrast, the agency picked up 63,000 migrants in 1994, most of them Cubans. The 1980 Mariel boatlift brought 125,000 Cubans.

While figures show a migrant flow increase, the Coast Guard says they also reflect continued effectiveness in stopping large boatloads of foreign migrants.

No major boatload of migrants has evaded Coast Guard dragnets since a boat carrying more than 200 Haitians ran aground near Key Biscayne in October 2002.

But smaller boats still manage to evade detection and regularly deposit small numbers of Haitian, Cuban and other foreign migrants along South Florida coasts.

Lt. Tony Russell, Miami U.S. Coast Guard spokesman, said a significant number of migrants intercepted in recent times have arranged their voyage through smugglers.

Federal immigration officials say illegal migrants are increasingly turning to smugglers because of tougher post-9/11 border and visa controls.

Russell said economic conditions likely triggered the largest migrant flow from the Dominican Republic.

Most of them, Russell said, were stopped in the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

Russell said that voyage is deadly.

''In 2004, we know that 110 migrants died in the Mona Passage compared to 59 for the previous four years combined, almost a doubling of deaths,'' Russell said. "One of our primary reasons to be out there is the safety of life at sea.''

NO MASS EXODUS

While the number of intercepted Cubans was the highest since the rafter exodus, the figure does not seem to portend a new mass migrantion from Cuba. Cuban interceptions in 2004 were only slightly higher than in 2003 and almost the same as in 1999.

The large number of Ecuadoreans were largely intercepted in the Pacific.

Other migrants intercepted included Chinese, Mexicans, Guyanese, Bahamians and Jamaicans.

Coast Guard officials said the increased number of migrants is a result of multiple factors.

But they noted that larger numbers are being stopped because federal agencies have been coordinating efforts better since they were taken over by the new Homeland Security department.

''Obviously, the flow numbers are much larger, but we are much better at finding them and being able to interdict,'' Russell said.

Citing an example, Russell said that when civil strife swept Haiti last year federal authorities responded by setting up a Homeland Security task force.

''For the first time,'' Russell said, "we prevented a mass migration from Haiti because we had a task force in place, the Homeland Security Task Force Southeast.''

Russell said the group operated a command center in a building in downtown Miami's Brickell Avenue financial district with officers from several Homeland Security agencies including Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

''We picked up about a dozen boats in a three-day period and in a very timely fashion repatriated these migrants,'' Russell said.

"The importance of repatriations was to send a clear deterrance message to any potential migrants which, in our opinion, saved lives.''

NO CHANCE

Immigrant rights activists said Haitian migrants are being denied a chance to properly plead for asylum.

''We continue to be concerned that interdicted Haitians are being summarily returned and don't have a meaningful opportunity to make their case for asylum,'' said Cheryl Little, executive director of Miami-based Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center.

Gala snubs Cuban foundation

A dispute emerged over a presidential inauguration party to fete Hispanics in politics when the Cuban American National Foundation was rejected as a sponsor.

By Lesley Clark. lclark@herald.com. Posted on Tue, Jan. 18, 2005.

WASHINGTON - More than a thousand miles from Miami, President Bush's inauguration and the related festivities are exposing an ongoing rift in Cuban exile politics.

The Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute, which is hosting an inaugural eve function in the capital Wednesday to celebrate the growing influence of Hispanics in politics, has rejected an offer from the Cuban American National Foundation to be a sponsor of the event, signaling an interest in distancing itself from the prominent Cuban advocacy group.

Foundation Director Alfredo Mesa, who last week said his group was cosponsoring the event, said Monday that he was later told that the foundation's money would not be accepted because the Hispanic institute doesn't accept contributions from nonprofit groups. Sponsors of the event include corporations such as Altria Group, BellSouth, Carnival, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors.

But Miami Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, whose brother, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, chairs the Hispanic institute, said its board of directors declined to accept the foundation's money or its involvement. The $25,000 contribution would have purchased a table for foundation members and entitled the group to be listed in the program as a sponsor.

''The bottom line is their money was not taken and it's not because they were a nonprofit, it's because they're not welcome,'' Díaz-Balart said.

Lincoln Díaz-Balart was unavailable for comment, but his chief of staff said the foundation's interest in publicizing its involvement confirmed the board's decision not to accept the money.

''This is not the appropriate venue to try to acquire public relations or to try to correct mistakes, it's an event to celebrate Hispanics in the U.S.,'' Ana Carbonell said.

The snub comes as the foundation, long a leading voice for Cuban exiles, tries to rebuild its relationship with Florida's Republican-dominated congressional delegation and the Bush administration. Foundation officials, who two weeks ago jetted to Washington to witness U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez's swearing in, said the sponsorship offer was part of an effort to mend fences.

Critics said the foundation in recent years has fallen out of favor with the GOP, amid accusations that it has softened its traditionally hard-line approach. The foundation has also been perceived as politicizing its work, a charge magnified when its former executive director left the post in August to campaign against Bush.

Mesa, who came on board in November, said he was not told that CANF members were not welcome, and said several of the foundation's board members planned to attend the gala with individual tickets.

''At the end of the day we all believe in the same cause and that has to be the focus, ridding Cuba of Fidel and Raul Castro,'' Mesa said. "We will do everything we can to work with all who share that goal.''

The Grand Hispanic Gala at the Willard InterContinental Hotel will be co-chaired by Bush's nephew, George P. Bush, and music producer Emilio Estefan, among others.

EU split over Cuba policy proposal

Europeans are working to resolve internal differences over a new Cuba policy promoted by Spain's Socialist government.

By Pablo Bachelet, pbachelet@herald.com. Posted on Sat, Jan. 15, 2005.

WASHINGTON - The European Union is split over a proposal to review its Cuba policy, with Eastern Europeans objecting to any friendly moves toward a communist system that represses dissent, European diplomats and Cuban-American activists say.

EU officials hope to establish the new policy before a Jan. 31 meeting of foreign ministers that would include expanded contacts with dissidents. But Poland, the Czech Republic and other former communist countries are balking at a Spanish proposal to lift the sanctions imposed on Havana after the arrests of 75 dissidents in 2003.

''We would be sure that the right message is sent to Cuba, that the first message is to free political prisoners and respect human rights,'' said Martin Palous, the Czech ambassador to Washington, adding if the new policy only appears to reestablish relations with Cuba and forget the dissidents then "we don't think it is the right thing to do.''

The EU discussions come as Cuban-American activists have started to weigh in on the EU discussions on policy toward Havana.

Jorge Mas Santos, chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation, traveled Friday to Madrid for meetings with Spanish officials, and Frank Calzón, the executive director of the Washington-based Center for a Free Cuba was traveling to Prague to meet with officials there.

Calzón, who has been in contact with diplomats in Washington involved in Cuban issues, said that the Eastern Europeans, once ruled by communist governments, feel strongly about Cuba and want the EU to continue to take a hard line with the Castro government.

''What I've heard from other governments is that Poland, the Czech Republic are very strong in their opposition to anything that will be perceived by the dissidents inside Cuba as less of a support for them,'' he told The Herald.

France, Italy, England and European powers have bowed to Spain's initiative, given Madrid's historic ties with Latin America, but the EU was still seeking a compromise to satisfy the Eastern Europeans, Calzón added.

Following the crackdown of 2003, the EU suspended high-level bilateral visits to Cuba and later started inviting dissidents to coctail parties at its embassies in Havana, prompting Cuban officials to refuse to meet with EU diplomats in the so-called "cocktail wars.''

Last month, Spain's socialist government of José Luis Zapatero initiated a EU revision of that policy, arguing that the isolation of its diplomats was counterproductive to advancing Europe's stated objectives of promoting human rights and a democratic transition in Cuba. In response, Cuba announced it was lifting its own sanctions on the EU.

Freed dissidents look forward to time outside Cuba

Paroled but still under the watchful eye of the government, Cuban dissidents are hopeful about a respite, however brief, from their homeland.

By Pablo Bachelet, pbachelet@herald.com. Posted on Fri, Jan. 14, 2005.

WASHINGTON - Leading Cuban dissident Raúl Rivero and two others recently freed from prison hope to leave the island soon to at least temporarily escape Havana's tight security controls, friends said Thursday.

Rivero, an internationally recognized poet and journalist, plans to move his family to Spain and return to Havana after a year, said Ricardo Trotti, a friend and director of the Free Press Department of the Miami-based Inter American Press Association.

Rivero was one of 75 dissidents arrested in a crackdown in March of 2003 and sentenced to long jail terms after mostly one-day trials, accused of collaborating with the United States to undermine Fidel Castro's communist system. Rivero was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He and 13 other dissidents were paroled for ''health reasons'' last year, but not before they were warned by government security agents that they could be sent back to jail at any moment if they did or said the wrong thing.

Two other freed dissidents, Manuel Vázquez Portal and Jorge Olivera, also are expected to leave soon and several others are mulling the option, according to fellow dissidents on the island interviewed by phone.

Trotti said he had spoken to Rivero on Wednesday. ''He is optimistic . . . that he will be allowed to leave Cuba at the beginning of February, I think under the condition that he return after one year,'' he told The Herald.

A longtime reporter for Cuba's government media monopoly, Rivero publicly broke with the government after signing a letter in 1991 calling for the release of political prisoners. He has a standing invitation from Granada, Spain, to spend a year there to finish two books. The invitation includes a stipend, a home and visas for his immediate family members, including his ailing mother, Trotti said.

But Rivero and his family have yet to obtain their Cuban passports, Spanish visas and, more importantly, the Cuban government's permit to leave the island.

''If I request to leave permanently, then the Cuban government will be very happy,'' said Marta Beatriz Roque, another of 14 dissidents freed. "But I don't think I should be the one leaving the country. The one who should leave is Fidel Castro, who has ruined the life of Cubans.''

23 men who occupied Mexican Embassy in 2002 go on trial

Posted on Thu, Jan. 13, 2005.

HAVANA - (AP) -- A government prosecutor was seeking prison terms of up to 12 years as 23 men went on trial Wednesday in the violent occupation of the Mexican Embassy in Cuba in 2002.

A group of stole a bus and crashed it through the gates of the mission in February 2002 amid speculation that the embassy was issuing visas to all Cubans who showed up.

Members of the group demanded visas and refused to leave before they were arrested less than two days later by Cuban police.

After a full day of testimony Wednesday, a second day of proceedings was scheduled for today, the defendants' relatives said. No details were provided to international journalists, who were barred from the session.

The prosecution has recommended 12-year prison terms for 12 of the defendants, 10-year sentences for another six defendants and five years for the remainder.

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