CUBA NEWS
The Miami Herald

U.S. says Cuba not trying to halt migrants

Cuba refuses to engage in dialogue over the 1995 migration accords, the U.S. State Department said, claiming the Castro regime uses the accords 'for political gain.'

By Oscar Corral, ocorral@herald.com. Posted on Thu, Sep. 29, 2005.

At a time when interceptions of Cuban migrants have doubled, the United States has accused Cuba's government of refusing to comply with 1995 migration accords designed to prevent another exodus to Florida.

Cuba doesn't try to stop migrants on vessels while they are still in Cuban territorial waters, and it refuses to issue exit permits to many citizens who receive U.S. travel documents allowed by the accords, according to a recent U.S. State Department report.

More than 500 potential migrants awarded one of the 20,000 entry visas the U.S. grants each year haven't been allowed out. Among them: 171 doctors.

Cuban officials, for their part, have accused Washington of dragging its feet on visas, trying to deliberately spark an exodus in an effort to topple the Castro government.

''The Castro regime's repeated allegations about purported U.S. designs to precipitate a mass migration crisis are patently false,'' James C. Cason, the top U.S. diplomat in Havana, said in a statement earlier this month as he prepared to leave his post.

"Cubans who don't have a choice to leave legally are risking their lives, in the greatest numbers we have seen since 1994, on dangerously inadequate watercraft.''

The State Department report comes at a time when the U.S. Coast Guard is seeing a major increase in the number of Cuban migrants trying to cross the Florida straits, a situation widely blamed on deteriorating economic conditions on the island.

Cuba, the State Department report said, "has cynically chosen to manipulate [the accords] for political gain in an effort to continue to prevent the Cuban people's desire to live in freedom.''

The report reveals Washington's constant worry that another mass migration is a possibility.

'The government of Cuba remains unwilling to move forward on a substantive agenda and instead characterizes the U.S. government action as a political maneuver for which there will be 'very serious consequences,' '' the report warns.

U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez is calling for the United States to reevaluate its position regarding the accords, citing Cuba's tendency to unleash mass migrations whenever the political situation on the island gets too hot.

''The Castro regime continues to use the accords as a tool of continued oppression and has furthermore used it as an escape valve to send his operatives to the United States,'' Martinez said in a written statement.

The 1995 accords were established by the Clinton administration in the wake of an exodus of an estimated 40,000 rafters and boaters from Cuba that overwhelmed the Coast Guard.

According to the document, Cuba's biggest impediments to ''safe, legal and orderly migration'' include:

Its refusal to issue exit permits to qualified migrants; 533 were denied this year.

o Its refusal to permit a new registration for the annual U.S. visa lottery, which allows as many as 20,000 Cubans to emigrate to the United States every year; the last signup for the lottery was in 1998;

o Its refusal to accept the return of Cuban criminals deemed excludable from the United States.

The State Department has accused Cuba of these actions since at least 2003.

Calls and emails to Lazaro Herrera, the spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, were not immediately returned.

The accords also established the controversial U.S. wet-foot, dry-foot policy, which generally allows Cubans who reach U.S. shores to stay, but repatriates most migrants picked up at sea.

Last week, 10 Cubans were stopped by U.S. authorities within sight of Miami-Dade's Haulover Beach. Television crews broadcast the scene of Coast Guard and Customs agents hosing down the migrants and slamming their vessel, briefly knocking several of them into the water.

The United States has yet to decide the status of the 10.

Since Oct. 1, 2004, 2,617 Cubans have been intercepted before reaching U.S. soil. That's more than double the number for the previous 12 months. The report blames the uptick on bad economic conditions in Cuba -- as well as Cuba's unwillingness to do much about migration.

Still, one Cuba expert, Unversity of Miami professor Jaime Suchlicki, doesn't think a mass migration from Cuba like the 1980 Mariel boatlift will happen anytime soon.

''A mass migration can only happen if the Cuban government looks the other way, and if the U.S. government doesn't react,'' Suchlicki said. "Fidel is concerned about a crisis that would lead to military confrontation with the Bush administration.''

Cuban American congressional representatives condemned the wet-foot, dry-foot policy after last week's drama and called on the Bush administration to tighten the U.S. embargo of Cuba.

The Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation on Monday sent letters to Cuban American legislators and to President Bush to ask that wet-foot, dry-foot be terminated.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said she was not surprised that Cuba is not complying with the migration accords.

''This is a corrupt regime that lies, cheats, manipulates, obfuscates and is therefore not to be trusted to live up to its obligations,'' Ros-Lehtinen said in a written statement.

Jan Edmonson, a State Department spokeswoman, said the department issues reports on Cuban migration twice a year, as required by law.

The United States and Cuba had regular migration talks until December 2003, when Washington canceled a scheduled meeting because it said Cuba was unwilling to cooperate. Since then, there has been little communication between Washington and Havana on the migration issue.

Herald staff writer Frances Robles contributed to this report

Feds oppose spy case decision

By Jay Weaver. jweaver@herald.com. Posted on Thu, Sep. 29, 2005.

Miami federal prosecutors on Wednesday formally challenged last month's stunning appellate court decision that overturned the 2001 trial convictions of five accused Cuban spies.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that pretrial publicity -- from the community's anti-Castro views to the heavy media coverage to the hangover from the Elián González custody battle -- made it impossible for the defendants, known as the Cuban Five, to receive a fair jury trial in Miami.

In his petition, Acting U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta asked all 12 members of the appellate court to review the three-judge panel's ruling. Such requests are rarely granted.

This case is no exception. Legal experts said the panel cited so much overwhelming evidence -- including a court-approved, pretrial survey showing widespread community prejudice toward the five Cuban defendants -- that there is nothing factually for prosecutors to challenge.

Acosta disagreed, saying the panel's ruling runs contrary to precedents in that court and the Supreme Court.

If Acosta's legal challenge fails, the five accused Cuban spies will be retried in another Florida city or outside the state. If it succeeds, the convictions would be reinstated.

Venezuela criticizes court ruling on Posada

Saying, 'They're the ones who torture,' Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez blasted a U.S. immigration judge's decision to prohibit Luis Posada Carriles' deportation to Venezuela.

By Ian James, Associated Press. Posted on Thu, Sep. 29, 2005.

CARACAS - Venezuela condemned a U.S. court ruling that blocks the deportation of Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles, wanted here for a 1976 airliner bombing, and strongly denied claims that he could be tortured if handed over.

President Hugo Chávez said Wednesday the decision by an immigration judge in Texas in the case of Posada protects a terrorist and shows the ''cynicism of the Empire,'' a term he often uses for President Bush's government.

''In Guantánamo they torture people. They're the ones who torture,'' Chávez said, also recalling abuses by U.S. troops at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. "They murder, they bomb, they kill children -- and now a judge over there says he [Posada] can't go to Venezuela because he runs the risk of being tortured here.''

JUDGE'S DECISION

In his ruling Monday, U.S. Immigration Judge William Abbott cited conventions against sending Posada, who is a naturalized Venezuelan citizen, to the South American country because he could face torture there -- a claim made by the 77-year-old Posada.

Venezuelan Vice President José Vicente Rangel called the ruling ''vile and just as sinister as the very act of terrorism,'' a reference to the 1976 bombing of a Cubana Airlines jetliner that killed 73 people.

''I would like for them to present just one piece of evidence that Venezuela tortures people when our constitution clearly establishes the prohibition of torture,'' María del Pilar Hernández, Venezuela's top diplomat for North America, told state television.

Posada, a one-time CIA operative who is an avowed enemy of Fidel Castro, is accused of masterminding the bombing from Caracas but has denied involvement.

The Venezuelan government insisted the United States is still bound by international law to hand over Posada.

Venezuela's extradition request ''remains in effect more than ever,'' government lawyer José Pertierra told state television. He noted Venezuela and the United States have an extradition treaty that should be respected.

Chávez and Castro have called the Cuban-born Posada the top terrorist in the Americas and have accused the United States of hypocrisy for not turning him over.

Reaction in Cuba was also harsh.

''With this disgraceful decision, the U.S. justice system showed the double standard of its politics,'' Cuba's Communist Party daily Granma said.

A Venezuelan military court acquitted Posada of charges in the bombing, but the decision was later thrown out. He escaped from a Venezuelan prison in 1985 before a civilian trial was completed.

Two Venezuelans who worked for Posada in his private security firm in Caracas, Hernán Ricardo and Freddy Lugo, were convicted of placing the bomb and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Another co-defendant, Orlando Bosch, was eventually cleared by Venezuelan courts; he moved to Miami. He was later pardoned by former U.S. President George Bush for other alleged violent acts.

This week's ruling is in the same vein, Rangel said. ''This is a decision of the Bush family,'' he said.

Though Chávez is a friend and ally of Castro, Chávez's government has insisted Posada would not be turned over to Cuba but would be tried for murder and treason. Cuba has said it would not seek Posada's extradition.

CASTRO'S CHARGES

Castro has publicly accused Posada of leading a plot to kill him at a summit in Panama in 2000. Cuba also accuses Posada of overseeing hotel and nightclub bombings in 1997 that killed one Italian tourist.

Posada is accused of illegally entering the United States from Mexico in March. He was arrested in May and is being held in a detention center in El Paso, Texas, pending a 90-day review of the case by immigration authorities.

Judge: Posada to stay in U.S. for now

The U.S. government won't deport accused terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela or Cuba, an immigration judge has ruled.

By Oscar Corral, ocorral@herald.com. Posted on Wed, Sep. 28, 2005.

Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles won't be deported to Cuba or Venezuela, where he is wanted for alleged terrorist crimes, a U.S. immigration judge decided -- but the judge left open the possibility that Posada could be sent to another country.

Posada's case has put Washington in the uncomfortable position of being accused of harboring an accused terrorist even as it wages a global war on terrorism. The judge's decision, meanwhile, is sure to aggravate already strained U.S. ties with Venezuela.

Posada will remain in indefinite detention in El Paso while his lawyers and supporters mount a legal and political campaign to free him.

Immigration judge William Abbott ruled that Posada will not be deported to Venezuela because Abbott believes Venezuela would likely torture him -- a claim Venezuela has vehemently denied.

In a ruling released Tuesday, Abbott granted Posada deferral from deportation under the Convention Against Torture act, which prohibits the United States from deporting someone to a country where they could be tortured.

Posada, who was detained in South Florida May 17, gained Venezuelan citizenship in the early 1970s when he was a top officer in the Venezuelan state police, DISIP. Venezuela is asking that he be extradited for trial on charges of masterminding the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner that killed 73 people.

Posada had been acquitted by a Venezuelan court of charges in the bombing but escaped from a Venezuelan prison while awaiting a prosecution appeal.

Cuba accuses Posada of organizing bomb attacks on hotels and restaurants in Cuba in 1997 and conspiring to assassinate Fidel Castro in Panama in 2000.

During Posada's immigration trial, which ended Monday, Abbott dismissed Cuba as a destination amid fears Posada could be executed there. Posada's backers argued that the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a close Castro ally and a frequent critic of the United States, could hand Posada over to Cuba if he were deported to Venezuela.

Chávez has threatened to ''reconsider our diplomatic ties'' with the United States if Washington didn't extradite Posada.

Posada's case seemingly fascinated Abbott.

In his decision on the case, the judge wrote that Posada was like ''a character from one of Robert Ludlum's espionage thrillers, with all the plot twists and turns Ludlum is famous for.'' Abbott issued the ruling just hours after the government rested its case against Posada Monday. "The most heinous terrorist or mass murderer would qualify for deferral of removal if he or she could establish . . . the probability of torture in the future.''

Venezuela condemned the decision. Jose Pertierra, a lawyer who represents Venezuela on the Posada case, ripped prosecutors from the Department of Homeland Security for what he perceived to be undue leniency. He declined to comment on whether Venezuela would take any diplomatic action.

''DHS gave this decision to the judge on a silver platter,'' Pertierra said. "We feel very deceived with the conduct of the prosecutors and DHS, which didn't litigate this case in good faith.''

But Posada is still not home free. In a written statement Tuesday, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security's office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the government is still deciding how to proceed with the Posada case.

''The judge's decision did not rule out the removal of Mr. Posada to another country,'' said ICE spokesman Dean Boyd. "We are carefully reviewing the decision to determine how we will proceed in compliance with this ruling.''

Boyd declined to elaborate. The government has not publicly suggested alternative countries where it could send Posada, and several Latin American countries have indicated that they don't want him.

Posada's lawyer, Matthew Archambeault, said the government has expressed interest in sending Posada to a third country since Posada was detained in Miami in May but hasn't found a willing recipient.

Archambeault said after a standard 90-day waiting period, he planned to take the case for Posada's freedom to federal court.

''In the meantime, hopefully we can have a fruitful conversation with the government to get his release, perhaps under conditions they can impose,'' Archambeault said. "We are pleased. This is what we envisioned as going to happen from the beginning.''

Miami developer Santiago Alvarez, Posada's friend and benefactor, said he will mount a lobbying campaign to free Posada.

''He is 77 years old, and he should be allowed to join his family in Miami,'' Alvarez said.

"We will keep fighting until he is given freedom.''

The judge hinged his decision on testimony from Posada and Venezuelan lawyer Joaquin Chaffardet, an old friend of Posada's who told Abbott that Venezuela would surely torture Posada. Abbott also took into account Venezuela's relationship with Cuba.

''The United States government is concerned that the growing economic and political ties between Cuba and Venezuela might persuade President Chávez to allow Cuban agents to come to Venezuela where the respondent could possibly suffer torture,'' Abbott wrote.

Abbott noted that DHS did not present a clear case for sending Posada to Venezuela.

Even after the judge stated that Posada and his lawyers had presented a strong case for him to be granted deferral, DHS did not call any witnesses against him.

10 Cubans remain in U.S. custody

The 10 Cuban migrants whose interception with border authorities was captured on live TV remain on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

By Elaine De Valle, edevalle@herald.com. Posted on Tue, Sep. 27, 2005.

The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated more than 100 Cubans to the island nation during the weekend -- but none of the 10 men caught just off Haulover Beach on Friday were among them.

The 10 Cuban men, whose struggle with border authorities was shown on live television, are still aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and being interviewed by immigration officials, said Petty Officer Sandi Bartlett. Those interviews should determine if there is any credible fear of persecution if the men are returned.

Current U.S. policy calls for the repatriation of most Cubans who do not reach U.S. soil unless they can prove they are eligible for political asylum.

But U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart says the 10 men have requested political asylum and that two, in particular, could face dire consequences if returned.

After relatives contacted his office, Díaz-Balart wrote a letter Monday to Robert Devine, acting director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services -- which handles on-board interviews -- and urged him to take the entire group to the U.S. Navy base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

The congressman told Devine about brothers Nilber and Norberto Alvarez Quevedo, whose father -- a high-ranking state security officer who recently resigned because of his sons' opposition to the ruling Communist party -- was harassed over the weekend by state agents.

Ana Carbonell, chief of staff for the Cuban-American legislator, said the agents indicated that they knew the brothers would be repatriated.

''This visit,'' Díaz-Balart wrote in his letter to Devine, "is indicative of the fact that the Cuban regime will seek to persecute the brothers as well as the other men on the boat.

"Given the seriousness of the case, I request that US CIS take the 10 men to Guantánamo Bay for further evaluation of their claims for asylum.''

One of the brothers -- who are both in their 20s -- had a pending refugee petition at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, which Carbonell said further indicates that they likely meet the criteria for credible fear.

According to other relatives who have spoken to The Herald, brothers Carlos and Antonio Carralero were also aboard the makeshift vessel. Francisco Carralero, their cousin, said Carlos could also face harsh repercussions upon returning because he was once a soldier with the Cuban military.

The 107 Cubans repatriated were caught in nine groups over the course of 10 days, Bartlett said.

Hunger strikers

Posted on Sat, Sep. 24, 2005.

The dissidents on hunger strikes are:

o José Daniel Ferrer: Sentenced to 25 years for his role in promoting the Varela Project. A member of the Christian Liberation Movement, he served three months of solitary confinement last year.

o Víctor Rolando Arroyo: Had one of the largest independent libraries in Cuba. A member of the Union of Independent Cuban Journalists and Writers, he was also deputy coordinator for the group Forum for Reform and was once jailed for six months for distributing toys on Three Kings Day.

o Félix Navarro: A former high school principal and physics teacher who leads the Pedro Luis Boitel Movement, named after a dissident who died in 1972 after a 50-day hunger strike. He was charged with receiving money from the U.S. government to support subversion. A native of Matanzas, he is a leader of Project Varela.

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