Texans upbeat as trade mission ends

A Texas trade delegation voiced optimism as it ended its four-day mission to Cuba on Saturday. "Thus far, the trip has exceeded our expectations and our goals," Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples told The Dallas Morning News. He said he sensed "a sincere desire" among Cuban importers "to do business with Texans" and added that possible deals were in the works much earlier than expected. The delegation included representatives from all sectors of Texas agriculture, including soybeans, wheat, cotton, beans, rice and cattle. Michael Parmly, chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, cautioned the visitors to "look for business opportunities, but don't do anything yet. I wouldn't spend a dime on any sector. Yet the potential in this country is enormous." To learn more about the tour, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Little Leaguers try baseball diplomacy

A preteen baseball team from Vermont and New Hampshire will play at least 12 games in Cuba, Aug. 8-18, The Rutland (Vt.) Herald reported Saturday. Getting a travel permit from the U.S. Treasury Department took 20 months of negotiation and the active involvement of Vermont's entire Congressional delegation and state authorities, said Ted Levin the team's coach. Levin also credited Florida businessman John Parke Wright IV with helping convince the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control to OK the project. Funding for the trip (about $45,000) is being raised by the young players themselves, who are soliciting donations from individuals and corporations. The only other trip by Little Leaguers since the U.S. imposed its embargo in 1961 was by a California team in 2000. For details, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Dissident will return to resume struggle

Dissident and former political prisoner Héctor Palacios wants to return to Cuba in July, the Agence France-Presse reported Friday. "Great changes begin with small gestures," he told the French news agency, alluding to the socioeconomic changes instituted by Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Palacios, 66, is one of the 75 dissidents arrested in March 2003 during a major crackdown on the opposition; he was released in December 2006 because of heart problems and spent six months in Spain undergoing medical treatment. In Washington this week, he told the AFP that he believes "the struggle for the people of Cuba must be waged inside and outside [the island], but what's most important is that the changes will occur inside." Asked if he is afraid to return, he answered yes, "but my duty toward my country exceeds [my fear] and gives me the energy needed to return." Palacios told the AFP that he favors dialogue between Washington and Havana and called for the lifting of U.S.-imposed curbs on travel and money remittances. "Without dialogue, there is no peaceful change," he said, adding that Cubans living in the U.S. "should travel to their homeland any time they wish and send to their families as much [money] as they wish to send." For more of the AFP interview (in Spanish), click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Diplomat gets instant rebuttal

The Canadian newspaper National Post on Friday took the unusual step of responding editorially to an op-ed article it published the same day, written by Cuba's ambassador to Canada, Ernesto Senti Darias. In his article, Senti Darias criticized the designation by the Bush administration of May 21 as a "Day of Solidarity with the Cuban People." In its instant retort, National Post called the diplomat's article "a classic example of communist agitprop." Among other things, Senti Darias "ticks off showpiece Cuban foreign aid stunts in other nations," a technique that is "a mainstay of communist public relations," the editorial said. His criticism of flaws in the United States' electoral system "is laughable coming [...] from a nation where [...] free elections are nonexistent." "Let us not be deceived by any lectures on the subject of 'solidarity' offered by Cuba's wardens," the editorial snapped. To read Senti Darias' article, click here. To read the Post's riposte, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Texas trade mission hailed by daily

The Dallas Morning News applauded Texas' current trade mission to Cuba, led by Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, as a project that "could pay off big." Texas sells about $25 million worth of farm products to the island every year, including wheat, cotton, beans, rice and cattle. The mission (May 27-31) will try to increase that amount.  "Cuba and Texas are logical business partners: Cuba is a big agricultural buyer; Texas a big seller," a Morning News editorial said Thursday. "Political and economic changes are taking place there [...] Eventually, the day will come when Fidel Castro's influence and the embargo fade into history. Texas farmers and ranchers are wise to prepare for that historic moment." To read the entire editorial, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Plaintiffs foiled as travel case opens

In Burlington, Vt., Judge William Sessions opened hearings on a lawsuit by four residents to lift federal restrictions on travel to Cuba. The plaintiffs contend that the restrictions violate their constitutional rights and discriminate against people of Cuban descent. At the hearing Wednesday, the judge denied a request for a temporary injunction that would have allowed three of the plaintiffs, who are Cuban-born, to travel to their native country. The presentation of arguments from both parties is expected to take at least one month.  According to Sessions, "This is not something that's going to be expeditiously resolved." [Photo shows: Armando Vilaseca, one of the plaintiffs, visiting his aunt, Gladys Casdelo, during a trip to Cuba last year. Last month, she died of cancer.] For details on the hearing, click here. For a feature story, click here. ---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Ladies in White: We Come in Peace

The dissident group “Ladies in White” warns that the Cuban government is gearing up a wave of repression against them, similar to the Mach 23 sweep that jailed 75 people.
In a statement to the media Wednesday, the group – made up mostly of wives, daughters and mothers of political prisoners – said they are peaceful and innocent.
“We are peaceful defenseless women. We do not portend to topple the government. We are not at the service of any foreign power.”
The group has been in hot water since last week, when the Cuban government released documents showing some members have gotten financial assistance from a foundation in Hialeah founded by Santiago Alvarez, who is Luis Posada Carriles’ benefactor. The women said they need help to pay for things like transportation for the long trips to visit their family members in farflung prisons.
- Frances Robles

Mail is inviolate -- with exceptions

The inviolability of correspondence is one of "the fundamental rights, duties and guarantees established by the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba," the official daily Granma reminded its readers Wednesday. "The same principle applies to cable, telegraphic and telephonic communications." However, the article said, seizure and examination of correspondence "can be ordered when there are sufficient indications that such action could lead to the discovery or confirmation of a criminal act under investigation or circumstances that are important to [that crime.]" The article, which ostensibly was in response to a reader's query, may be a public justification for the interception of e-mails between dissidents in the island -- notably Martha Beatriz Roque -- and correspondents in the United States. Granma's editor, Lázaro Barredo, this week asked for sanctions for "individuals who receive money from a foreign power to subvert the domestic order," an allusion to Roque and other oppositionists, whom the government sees as "mercenaries." To read the Granma article (in Spanish), click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Court case on travel curbs begins

The lawsuit brought by four Vermont residents against the federal government to end the limitations on family travel to Cuba will begin Wednesday (May 28) with a court hearing in Burlington, Vt., The Boston Globe reports. The plaintiffs allege that the 4-year-old restrictions violate their constitutional rights and discriminate against people of Cuban descent. Cuban-Americans can travel to their native country only once every three years. The Justice Department says that the lawsuit interferes with foreign policy and that the plaintiffs have no constitutional right to travel abroad. For more on the lawsuit, click here. Also, see our blog posting "Cuba travel restrictions emerge as exile issue," May 22.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Dissidents are targeted in the Assembly

The Cuban Prosecutor General's Office should consider revising the Penal Code to provide for punishment for "individuals who receive money from a foreign power to subvert the domestic order," the official daily Granma reported Tuesday. The proposal comes in the wake of repeated accusations by the government that dissident groups and individuals are "mercenaries on the payroll of the United States." It was raised Monday, during a meeting of the National Assembly's newly created commission on foreign relations, by deputy Lázaro Barredo Medina, editor-in-chief of Granma. Barredo also asked that extradition be sought for several Cubans living abroad, whom he described as terrorists. They include Santiago Álvarez Fernández Magriñá and Carlos Alberto Montaner, a columnist whose articles appear in The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald. To read the entire article (in Spanish), click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Colorado weighs trade with Cuba

Some businesses and government officials in Colorado are intrigued by the possibility of exporting state-produced goods to Cuba and may try to enlist Gov. Bill Ritter to join a trade delegation to the island, The Rocky Mountain News reported Monday. Pam Reichert, international trade director in the state's economic development office, said her office will begin researching Colorado's trade potential with Cuba. Right now, the state sells nothing to Cuba, but trade expert Jim Reis told The News that "if Colorado does strengthen its business ties with Cuba, agricultural and maybe some medical exports from the state could reach $5 million to $10 million in two to five years." According to the newspaper, the state that sells the most to Cuba is Louisiana: $173 million last year. Second is Texas, with $57.7 million. To read the entire article, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Letters differ on travel, money curbs

Some might call it a rift; others, a plurality of opinion. The fact is that the letter sent Thursday to Barack Obama by Ladies-in-White co-founder Miriam Leiva and her husband, former prisoner Oscar Espinosa Chepe, differed in emphasis from a letter sent the same day to the Democratic candidate by the dissident group as a whole.
While the group's letter asked Obama to "contribute to the immediate and unconditional release" of political prisoners in Cuba, Leiva's letter went farther, praising Obama for his "responsible initiatives to eliminate the [U.S.-imposed] limitations on the travel of Cuban-Americans and their remittances of economic aid to relatives and friends. Also, we hope that the other prohibitions may be gradually suspended," her letter said. "We trust that your election as President next November will begin an era of political realism toward Cuba, through increased contact in all spheres and with all representatives of [Cuban] society, including the rulers and the ruled. A creative policy [...] would give excellent results and, although we Cubans are first and foremost responsible for the changes in Cuba, [such a policy] would be an important aid to the transit toward democracy."
The Ladies' letter did not touch on the subject of restricted travel and limited remittances. Nor did it mention contacts between an Obama administration and the Cuban government. The difference in stress between the two messages was eye-catching.
To read the Ladies' letter (in Spanish), click here; for Leiva's letter, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Fidel on Obama's speech: Ho-hum

Fidel Castro apparently was not impressed by Barack Obama's speech Friday to the Cuban American National Foundation. In an article published Monday in the official daily Granma, Castro said he had "no reservations about criticizing him and about expressing my points of view on his words frankly. [...] Obama's speech may be formulated as follows: hunger for the nation, remittances as charitable handouts, and visits to Cuba as propaganda for consumerism and the unsustainable way of life behind it." To read the entire article, translated into English by Granma, click here. For Herald coverage, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Clinton sets conditions for talks

If she became President of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton would not meet with Cuba's leaders until at least three conditions were met, the Democratic candidate said Sunday in Puerto Rico. The conditions are: "Release political prisoners, permit free assembly, and host open and competitive elections." She pooh-poohed recent economic reforms on the island, calling them "first steps [that] are minor, compared with the giant leaps that must be taken in order to achieve genuine political reform in Cuba." Her comments appear to be a response to contender Barack Obama, who has said he's willing to meet with Cuba's leaders "without preconditions" but after diplomatic "preparation" at lower levels.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Del Toro gets Cannes prize for 'Che'

Benicio del Toro won the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday for his performance as Ernesto Che Guevara in the film Che. The nine-judge vote was unanimous. "I'd like to dedicate this to the man himself, Che Guevara, as well as to [director Steven] Soderbergh," the Puerto Rican actor said, after accepting the award. "I wouldn't be here without Che Guevara, and through all the awards the movie gets you'll have to pay your respects to the man." Miamians will have to wait a while before they can see the 4½-hour film; so far, it has attracted no distributors in the U.S. For Herald coverage of the Cannes awards, click here. [UPDATE: In Vienna last week, Guevara's son Camilo told the French news agency AFP that he hoped a Cuban director might also one day make a film about his father. Click here.]
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Official says dual-peso system will end

Cuba plans to eliminate its two-tier currency system, merging the national peso and the convertible peso, said Osvaldo Martínez, chairman of the Economic Commission of the Cuban National Assembly, in an interview Sunday with the Spanish newspaper El País. But first "we need a minimum of monetary reserves to go into a normal rate of exchange, a reform in prices and wages, and greater economic efficiency," he said. Other comments:
• The expansion of private property "is one of the topics we are examining."
• What if some private entrepreneurs are more successful than others? "We shouldn't worry because those who produce more earn more. [...] If that becomes extreme, our tax policy could correct the difficulties."
• The ration book will likely be eliminated because it "has several drawbacks. It represents a heavy investment for the state -- $980 million a year just to buy foodstuffs -- and is distributed in an egalitarian way, without considering the differences in income that exist within the Cuban population. Those distortions must be eliminated."
• More foreign investment will be welcomed, "but the rules for that process are still pending."
To read the entire interview, in Spanish, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Central Army gets new chief

Corps Gen. Joaquín Quintas Solá, commander of the Central Army, was promoted to Vice Minister of the Armed Forces, the official daily Granma reported Saturday. Quintas, who will be 70 in September, was replaced by Division Gen. Raúl Rodríguez Lobaina. Although Granma's account was lavish in its description of Quintas' accomplishments in the 21 years he has led the Central Army, it said nothing about Rodríguez, whom it described only as a man "with an outstanding track in his service of more than 40 years." Rodríguez appears to be in his late 50s or early 60s, which suggests a rejuvenation of the Central Army command. (The CA covers the provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus.) Granma did not say if Rodríguez, a two-star general, would be promoted to Quintas' rank of three stars. [Photo shows: Raúl Castro presenting Quintas with medal at ceremony Friday.]
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Exiles cheer Obama at Cuban American National Foundation luncheon in Miami

   When Barack Obama on Friday addressed the annual Cuban American National Foundation Cuban Independence Day luncheon he probably expected his audience to consist largely of longtime Cuban exiles who fled after Fidel Castro’s revolution triumphed 49 years ago. (The photo shows Obama with Cuban American National Foundation chairman Jorge Mas Santos before the senator's speech).

   But among the estimated 900 guests at the cavernous soft-lit ballroom of the downtown Miami hotel where Obama spoke were about a dozen recently-released political prisoners or recently-arrived former Cuban dissidents.

  They are examples of the very people on the island who are now at the center of exile debate about possible change in Cuba and the ones who would be affected the most by any change of American policy toward the island.

   Among the newly-arrived Cubans who sat at the “dissidents’’ table was former political prisoner Hector Palacios who arrived in Miami only last month for a short stay.

   Palacios has said he plans to return to Cuba in a few weeks to rejoin the dissident movement that peacefully seeks democracy on the island. (Photo shows Palacios meeting with Obama after the speech in Miami Friday).

   Palacios, 64, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being arrested during a government crackdown against dissidents in 2003. He was released from prison on Dec. 6, 2006 for medical reasons. He was allowed to travel to Madrid, Spain, and then Miami in October.

   In an interview with The Miami Herald seconds after Obama finished speaking at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami, Palacios said he welcomed the Democratic Party presidential candidate’s remarks on Cuba.

   “He spoke about Cuba and that for me has been very important,’’ Palacios said, adding: “And what Obama intends to do about Cuba includes many things that I share. This is not the moment to fence in the people of Cuba. This is the moment to open the doors so Cubans and Americans can go there. We cannot subject the people of Cuba, after 50 years of war, to one more war and we cannot continue killing each other. Changes in Cuba are taking place and people have not realized this. Fidel Castro is no longer there but the people are and the people are stronger than ever.’’

   Many Cuban exiles are critical of Obama because they reject his prior statements that he would meet with Raul Castro.

   In his speech, Obama said he would not meet Castro “for tea’’ but to discuss substantive policy differences between the two countries.

   “There will be careful preparation,’’ Obama said. “We will set a clear agenda. And as president, I would be willing to lead that diplomacy at a time and place of my choosing, but only when we have an opportunity to advance the interests of the United States, and to advance the cause of freedom for the Cuban people.’’

   When he arrived and left, Obama received a standing ovation and was repeatedly interrupted by applause and cheers.

-- Alfonso Chardy

A peculiar description

"I saw him looking thin, but very lucid" is how Bolivian President Evo Morales described Fidel Castro on Friday, as he told about visiting the Cuban leader in Havana the previous day. An odd word to use, since the dictionary defines "lucid" as "denoting intervals of sanity between periods of insanity or dementia." Castro, 81, has not been seen in official photographs since Jan. 15, more than four months ago, when he was host to Brazilian President Lula da Silva. Lest we forget what Castro looked like at the time, here's a snapshot that Lula himself took during the meeting.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Arroz con pollo from Texas

In an editorial Friday, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram supports next week's visit to Cuba of a Texas trade delegation led by Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. The trip "comes at a time of increasing president of President Raúl Castro -- not only from the U.S. and other countries but also internally -- for more access to products, services and freedoms," the newspaper says.
"Since [2000], agriculture products shipped from Texas and through Texas ports have been increasing steadily -- more than $90 million in goods in 2007. Those familiar with Texas-Cuba trade believe that $100 million to $150 million in shipments annually is plausible. [...] Given the political, social and economic pressures that Castro is feeling [...] the Texas trip to Cuba comes at a good time. It has been said that once someone gets the taste of freedom, they want more. Wouldn't it be delicious if more and more of that arroz con pollo that Cubans will be eating came straight from the Lone Star State?"
To read the entire editorial, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

'Che' opens to mixed reviews

Steven Soderbergh's movie "Che," with Benicio del Toro in the title role, opened Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival. Here are some of the early reactions.
• The Guardian (Britain) describes it as "virile, muscular film-making, with a charismatic performance by Benicio del Toro," but cautions that it is a "flawed masterpiece: enthralling but structurally fractured." Still, the reviewer adds, "Che" is "big, bold, ambitious [...] never boring and often gripping."
• The Telegraph (Britain) sees it as "a brave and gorgeously photographed film whose seriousness and captivating story offer a cinematic experience beyond the extraordinary."
• The Edmonton Sun (Canada) calls the 4½-hour film "a thrilling spectacle."
• The Toronto Star (Canada) disagrees, saying it "reeks of authenticity but also of self-indulgence." It "goes over like a lead piñata," the critic sniffs.
• The Hollywood Reporter considers it an "earnest" biopic that "lacks cinematic flair." Still, it "will inform and [...] excite viewers everywhere."
• The New York Times points out that Ernesto Che Guevara's "brutal role in turning a revolutionary movement into a dictatorship goes virtually unmentioned," and that Del Toro's "soulful and charismatic performance" presents an image "at best naive and incomplete, at worst sentimental and dishonest."
• "An incredibly ambitious, highly detailed mess," quibbles Roger Friedman of Fox News.
• An account of the making of "Che" can be found in The Globe & Mail (Canada).
So far, the film has no distributors in the United States. To read other reviews, call up Google News and use the search words CHE BENICIO.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Cuba travel restrictions surge as exile issue

    Travel restrictions that limit the ability of U.S. citizens and residents to visit family members in Cuba have become a controversial issue in Miami’s Cuban exile community.

   Under the restrictions, citizens and residents can travel to Cuba to visit close relatives once every three years. Prior to 2004 they could travel once a year. Tourist travel to Cuba from the United States is prohibited under the Cuba trade embargo.

   On Thursday, the Democracy Movement and the American Civil Liberties Union Florida affiliate held a news conference to press the issue. It will come to a head next week with a hearing in Burlington, Vermont federal court. The ACLU last week joined a lawsuit in Vermont challenging the travel restrictions. (The photo shows the scene at the news conference Thursday at Democracy Movement headquarters in Miami).

   Democracy Movement leader Ramon Saul Sanchez, who hosted the news conference with the ACLU, conceded that the issue will spark major divisions among Cuban exiles.

   “The majority of the exile community has supported the [trade] embargo [against Cuba], but many, many people do not support these [travel] sanctions,’’ Sanchez told the news conference. “I know a debate will open with this issue here in our community. It is already out there and it will happen and we welcome that.We want to defend this as a matter of principle, not politics. It’s a matter of civil rights.’’

   It’s also a campaign issue in South Florida.

   The three principal Democratic Party challengers -- Annette Taddeo, Raul Martinez and Joe Garcia -- to the incumbent Republican Cuban American federal lawmakers – Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and brothers Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart -- favor a liberalization of travel restrictions. Ros-Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balart brothers – favor the travel restrictions.

-- Alfonso Chardy

So what do you really mean, sir?

From Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque's press conference Thursday:  "About Bush's speech, and all that spectacle [Wednesday] at the White House, I must say that it was a decadent show. An irrelevant and cynical speech. An act of propaganda both ridiculous and in bad taste. [...] President Bush is a worn-out leader, a president on his way out, packing his luggage to go to his ranch in Texas. He has been discredited. He's a politician who has been overwhelmingly rejected in his own country. President Bush is less popular today than President Nixon in the midst of the Watergate scandal, just before he quit the presidency. [He] embarrasses the American people. The Republican candidates and their partisans don't want to be seen in public with him. They don't want his support because it damages their electoral aspirations. He is a pariah, a man people flee from. That's the reality. [...] What is his inheritance? What does he leave behind as a legacy? [...] He is irrelevant. Everybody looks at him with a mixture of contempt and repugnance. That's the truth. That's the man we face. He stands there, threatens Cuba, says four incoherent phrases, attempts to say three phrases in Spanish. That's the decadent and mediocre show we saw. That's what we think about his words."

---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

A day of exile solidarity with Cuba

    Cuban exiles and their allies marked a day of solidarity with Cuba.

   From President Bush on down, those who support a hard line against the Cuban government expressed solidarity with Cuba – by offering support for those who oppose the Cuban regime.

   It was the first Day of Solidarity with Cuba, promoted by activists opposed to the Cuban government as a way to bring worldwide support for political prisoners in Cuba and anti-government opponents within the island.

   The Day of Solidarity with Cuba stems from a gathering earlier this year at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, said Marcibel Loo, spokeswoman for the Cuban Democratic Directorate.

   At that meeting, Loo added, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez met with exiles and activists who favor the replacement of the Raul Castro regime with democracy and agreed with the idea of a solidarity day.

   Bush picked up the idea and on Wednesday told officials and supporters gathered in the East Room of the White House that he embraced the concept of a solidarity day with Cuba.

   “This is the first Day of Solidarity with the Cuban people,’’ Bush said, adding: “and the United States must keep observing such days until Cuba’s freedom [arrives].''

   It was during his solidarity day remarks that Bush announced his initiative to allow the shipment of cell phones to Cuban exiles’ family members.

   The AP photo above shows President Bush kissing Yamile Llanes Labrada, wife of Cuban political prisoner Jose Luis Garcia Paneque, after Bush spoke. At right is singer Willy Chirino.

   Locally, the office of City of Miami Commissioner Joe Sanchez said he plans to present a resolution Thursday stating that the City of Miami will stand in "solidarity with the people of Cuba seeking political freedom and basic human rights.''

   The solidarity day is part of a series of events scheduled in connection with the 106^th anniversary of Cuban independence.

   These events culminate Sunday with a mass in memory of Pedro Luis Boitel, a Cuban political prisoner who died after more than 50 days on a hunger strike in 1972.

   The mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Church of San Juan Bosco, 1328 NW Third Ave., in Miami.

-- Alfonso Chardy

Cuban exiles mark Cuban independence day

                                                      It’s Cuban independence day. On May 20, 1902, the first president of Cuba – Tomas Estrada Palma – took control of the island from the last U.S. military governor.

   U.S. forces had previously landed in Cuba and helped put an end to Spanish colonial rule in 1898. Cuban rebels had been fighting against Spain since 1868 when a rebellion broke out led by Carlos Manuel de Cespedes.

   Cuban exiles are marking the 106^th anniversary of Cuban independence throughout the week.

   On Tuesday, Republican Party presidential candidate John McCain spoke to exiles at independence day events in Miami-Dade. Photo shows McCain at the Sheraton Miami Mart hotel.

   Barack Obama, who is seeking the Democratic Party presidential nomination, will address the annual Cuban American National Foundation Cuban Independence Day luncheon Friday at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Miami.

   The two candidates are split on their policies toward Cuba.

   Obama has said he favors bringing democratic reforms to the island by talking to the Cuban government now led by Raul Castro, younger brother of Fidel Castro who retired in February. McCain favors continuing the Bush administration’s hard line on Cuba.

-- Alfonso Chardy

Laying the groundwork?

Col. Adalberto Rabeiro, chief of the Interior Ministry's Department of Criminal Investigation, speaking on Mesa Redonda on Monday: "[Our investigation] allowed us to establish the veracity of this financial supply from this terrorist abroad [Santiago Álvarez Fernández Magriñá], to this counter-revolutionary ringleader, Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello. It also allowed us to establish the means, modus operandi, the amounts, the regularity of those remittances, the use of covert terms as precautionary measures, to keep other people from understanding them because of the gravity of this type of action against our country and their involvement in it." The investigation "allowed us to demonstrate categorically the connection between this citizen, Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, and that fellow [Santiago Álvarez], that computer, that electronic correspondence [...] her identification through the passwords, cards, her address, her e-mail. [...] It also allowed us to appreciate and analyze the contents of a series of messages, statements of account, aspects related to the supply of money, the amounts, the manner in which she communicated with her contacts abroad, as well as the senders, among whom was this terrorist, Santiago Álvarez, with his personal address." Sounds like the government is building a case of sedition against Roque. But why now? Your conjectures are welcome.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Cuba: USINT slips cash to dissidents

Cuban officials on Sunday told The Associated Press they have proof that U.S. diplomatic officials on the island are delivering private funds to political dissidents. The officials -- one from the Foreign Ministry, the other from State Security -- gave the AP a very limited preview of accusations they promised to make at a press conference Monday morning. They said the money comes from "a noted terrorist of Cuban origin living in U.S. territory" but did not give his name or the amount of money he allegedly funneled to the dissidents via the diplomats. Nor did they name the diplomats in question. They told the AP that some of the documented evidence will be revealed at the press conference. The U.S. Interests Section in Havana has always denied that it gives cash to dissidents, whom the Cuban government calls "mercenaries." An official at the USINT told the AP the top diplomats could not comment until they read the details of the accusation. [For a Herald update on the press conference, click here.]
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Famed store exhibit evokes memories for exiles

    When people walked into the leading department store in pre-Fidel Castro Cuba, many would exclaim: esto es un encanto – roughly this is enchanting in Spanish.

   It was a fitting reaction given the name of the high-end outlet: El Encanto, the enchantment.

   The fashionable Havana store was in the headlines again this past weekend -- in Miami.

   Thousands of people flocked to El Encanto exhibit at the Cuba Nostalgia show at the Fair Expo-Center in west Miami Dade where former store employees offered a life-size realistic replica of a store display window as well as photos of what the department store looked like in the 1950s.

   Founded 120 years ago as a small store near the corner of Galiano and San Rafael streets in old Havana, El Encanto grew by the 1950s into one of the world's most fashionable department stores. In its time it was comparable to today’s Bloomingdale’s or Nordstrom in the United States, Printemps in France or Liverpool in Mexico.

   Rosa Roque was one of the longtime El Encanto employees who turned up at the Cuba Nostalgia show Friday, when the three-day fair opened near the corner of Southwest 24^th Street and 112^th Avenue.

    “I’m this young woman in the picture during my bridal shower with fellow store employees,’’ said Roque, pointing to one of two dozen young women around a table in a black and white picture. Roque is sitting, fifth from right, at the 1946 event.

   Roque met her husband Carlos at El Encanto. It was an office romance. She worked in the fine stockings department. He in gentlemen’s clothing.

   They got married. Soon they had two sons: Rogelio and Alejandro. Later came daughter Ana.

   In between, Fidel Castro’s Cuban revolution triumphed and socialism came to Cuba – much to the horror and dismay of the Roques and hundreds of thousands of other Cubans.

   Fearful that their children would grow up under communism, the Roques made a fateful decision.

   They sent Alejandro and Rogelio to Miami via Pedro Pan, a secret program under which thousands of Cuban parents shipped their children to U.S. exile.

   By the time Alejandro and Rogelio were in the United States, their sister Ana was born in Cuba. She and her parents joined the brothers in exile in 1966.

   Rosa is now 81 and a proud former El Encanto employee.

   Alejandro is now pastor at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Miramar, Broward County – and an amateur photographer.

   He took the pictures of his mother Rosa at Cuba Nostalgia above in front of El Encanto exhibit and on the giant Havana floor map where Rosa found the street where she grew up – Cuarteles, near the Capitol building.

-- Alfonso Chardy

Cuban migrant interdictions approaching 1,000 mark

    Cuban migrant interdictions in the Florida Straits so far this year is approaching the 1,000 mark.

   According to the latest interdiction figures posted by the U.S. Coast Guard on its website, http://www.d7publicaffairs.com/, at least 909 Cuban migrants have been stopped at sea between Jan. 1 and Tuesday. Only last month interdictions stood at slightly more than 700.

   The number of Cuban migrants leaving the island without papers for the United States has increased steadily since Fidel Castro took ill in July 2006.

   Last year, for example, at least 3,197 Cuban migrants were stopped at sea – the largest number of Cuban migrants interdicted in a single year since the 1994 rafter exodus when 37,191 Cuban migrants were spotted in the Florida Straits.

   At the current pace, interdictions this year could match or exceed the number of interdictions last year.

   Under the wet-foot/dry-foot policy, undocumented Cuban migrants who make it ashore are allowed to stay and those stopped at sea are generally returned to Cuba.

   This week, the Coast Guard repatriated at least 42 Cuban migrants, according to a press statement issued Wednesday.

-- Alfonso Chardy

Obama to Headline CANF event

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama will headline this year's Cuban American National Foundation annual luncheon, the group announced today.

He'll speak May 20th at the Intercontinental Hotel at 100 Chopin Plaza.

His appearance ironically enough marks the 25th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's presence at CANF's May 20th celebration, the group said. All three candidates were invited, according to the press release heralding Obama's speech.

"While the Cuban American National Foundation does not endorse any political campaign, it is delighted that Senator Obama will accept the opportunity to meet with the community and address its concerns, and welcomes the participation of the other candidates," organizers said.

Or in the 1982 words of founder Jorge Mas Canosa: "The Cuban American National Foundation is not partisan, it is patriotic.  The Foundation is not Republican, nor Democrat; the Foundation was conceived for the purpose of defending the highest ideals of Cuba and the United States."

- Frances Robles

"Freed" dissident still jailed

Back in February when four dissidents were sent to forced exile in Spain, rumors ran rampant that the next to be released would be Dr. José Luis García Paneque.

García Paneque, a plastic surgeon from Las Tunas, was director of the independent news agency Libertad and a member of the Journalists' Society, both unofficial groups. García, sentenced to 24 years in the crackdown on dissidence five years ago, also was a Varela Project activist and directed a private library, according to Amnesty International.

Word on the street three months ago had him all but free. But now reports from Cuba say most recent visits to him in the Las Mangas prison confirm that he remains behind bars, and in bad shape.

A report from the Coalition of Cuban Women says Garcia's mom, Moralinda Paneque, returned home from a May 5 visit to her son "distressed."

"I anticipated an improvement in his health, but that wasn’t at all what I witnessed," she was quoted saying in a press release. "My son resembles a skeleton…He barely has any fat under his skin…He has stick-like thighs; his backbone protrudes as he bends over…He is emaciated to the point that his stomach is almost touching his backbone…His skin color is very strange to me…I would describe it as grayish blue."

According to the report, the 42-year old Cuban prisoner of conscience who weighs a little over 100 pounds told his family that he continues bleeding daily through the rectum, a complication related to the malabsorption syndrome he suffers from, an illness that he developed in prison and which does not allow the food he ingests to nourish his body.

His wife and four kids left Cuba in March and sought political asylum

- Frances Robles

Directorio Strikes Back

The Cuban Democratic Directorate has issued a scathing rebuttal to the Cuban American National Foundation's report this week about U.S. aid to dissidents.

The Democratic Directorate caught flak over some of its spending of U.S. Aid funds, and did not take lightly that some people suggested money was wasted. CANF's report, the group said, was "self-serving." Calling the CANF report a "smear," the group also known as "Directorio" says the report has three big lies.

"We are profoundly disappointed and dismayed that CANF has chosen this time in history to attack and lie about a fellow Cuban pro-democracy organization," Orlando Gutierrez, National Secretary of the Directorate said in a press release. "We need to be united against the regime; not telling lies about each other.  In the name of all Cubans, we call upon CANF to cease this divisive smear campaign, which surely the Cuban dictatorship must enjoy. "

His rebuttal to the CANF report:

"Lie #1:  Directorio spent funds destined by AID for on island work in Cuba outside of the island and mostly for US-based activities.

The Truth:  (1) The Directorio’s grant program with AID was for the promotion of an international network of support for the pro democracy movement in Cuba, NOT for work directly on the island. This program was highly successful as it has generated support for the pro democracy movement inside the island throughout the world.

Lie # 2: The Directorio misdirected funds destined by USAID for the pro democratic forces in Cuba on 'salaries, employee benefits and office overhead.'

The Truth:  The CANF report grossly distorts numbers and fabricates categories that have nothing to do with the IRS reports on which it is supposedly based. It presents funds used for Directorio international activities as utilized for Directorio 'office overhead,' resulting in inflated figures that do not reflect the reality of our work. As an example, more than 70% of the $451,397 presented as Directorio 'office overhead' by CANF are actually international activities carried out in direct support of the pro democracy movement in Cuba.

Lie #3: The CANF report is an objective report aimed at improving the AID Cuba program.

The Truth:  It is a self serving report designed to besmirch the name of other Cuban exile pro democracy organizations. Most pointedly: the CANF report singles out the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba as one of two Cuban exile organizations deserving of praise for its work inside Cuba, yet the report egregiously fails to disclose that the 'Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba,' is an institution fully controlled by the Cuban American National Foundation, which operates out of the CANF office and uses the canf.org email.''

"Directorio is proud of its 18 years of struggle against the Communist suppression of democracy in Cuba," Gutierrez said. "Directorio is a force for democratic change in Cuba.” 
-Frances Robles

12 Days of Solidarity

Exile groups are lining up events for what's being dubbed "Twelve Days of World Solidarity for Cuba: Toward the Republic," a campaign to support political activism in Cuba.

The events are part of the "Non cooperation with the dictatatorship" campaign, an effort that began last year to get Cubans on the island to resist the government. The events honor Pedro Luis Boitel, a former political prisoner. Here's a partial listing of events planned so far:

Saturday, May 17, 2008:
9:30 a.m.: "Twelve Days of Solidarity with Cuba: Toward the Republic" Breakfast hosted by (M.A.R. por Cuba).
Location: Big Five Club, 600 SW 92 Ave.

2:00 p.m.: Presentation of a book by former Cuban political prisoner Ernesto Díaz Rodríguez
Location: Koubek Center, 2705 SW 3 Street.

Sunday, May 18, 2008:

10:30 a.m.: Rosary prayer gathering and Procession in support of the Ladies in White and Cuban political prisoners (M.A.R. por Cuba)
Location: Ermita de la Caridad, 3609 S. Miami Avenue

7:00 p.m.: "Martí Should Not Have Died:" A Patriotic Evening sponsored by Cuban Unity.
Location: Artime Theater, 900 SW 1st St , # 100

Monday, May 19, 2008:
10:30 a.m.: Memorial to José Martí: Pilgrimage and floral offering
Location: Cuban Martyrs Mausoleum, Woodlawn Park Cementary, 3260 SW 8 Street

Tuesday, May 20, 2008
6:00 p.m.:  "Toward the Republic" Forum
Location: Tower Theater, 1508 SW 8 Street

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Cuba Solidarity Day
6:00 pm  Weekly rosary prayer gathering
(M.A.R. por Cuba)
Place: Ermita de la Caridad

8:00 pm Vigil and candle-lit procession for the freedom of Cuban political prisoners (Plantados)
Location: Versailles Restaurant, 3555 SW 8 Street

Saturday, May 24, 2008

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Distribution of information on the Non-Cooperation with the Dictatorship Campaign and "Twelve Days of World Solidarity with Cuba: Toward the Republic." (Various organizations)
Location: SW 8th Street and 27th Avenue

Sunday, May 25,  2008

10:00 a.m.: Mass for the repose of Pedro Luis Boitel - Closing of "Twelve Days of World Solidarity for Cuba: Toward the Republic"
Location: St. Juan Bosco Church, 1328 NW 3 Avenue

For more information call 1-877-303-YONO or check out their web site.

- Frances Robles

Luis Posada Carriles extradition pressed

A group called A.N.S.W.E.R. has begun a campaign to persuade the public to write letters to their congressman or congresswoman so they can pressure the Bush administration to extradite to Venezuela Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles.

   The group is sending emails across the country seeking support for the letter writing drive under the title "Extradite or prosecute the terrorist Posada, Free the Cuban Five anti-terrorists."

   The reference to the Cuban five is to five men that a Miami federal jury in 2001 convicted of infiltrating exile groups and seeking U.S. military secrets following the discovery and dismantling of the Cuban spy ring known as Wasp Network. The five are now serving prison sentences while the Cuban government and its supporters demand their immediate release.

   Posada is considered a terrorist by the Cuban and Venezuelan governments. Caracas has demanded Posada’s extradition so he can be prosecuted for allegedly being implicated in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed 73 people. Posada has denied the allegation.

   A.N.S.W.E.R., which stands for Act Now To Stop War and End Racism, says Posada has become more of a threat because of his fiery speech May 2 at a dinner in his honor organized by the group Municipalities of Cuba in Exile. (Photo above shows Posada arriving at the dinner held at the Big Five Club in west Miami-Dade).

   “Posada made a brazen statement at the May 2 Miami dinner, evoking a call to terrorism once again,’’ the group’s statement says.

   Here’s what Posada, in part, said: “We must recall the words of [Cuban independence hero] General Antonio Maceo ‘liberty is not something we must beg for. It is conquered with the sharp edge of the machete. We ask God to sharpen our machetes because difficult times are arriving.’’

-- Alfonso Chardy

Machado, not Raúl, at Lima summit

José Ramón Machado Ventura, First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, left Havana for Lima to head the Cuban delegation at the summit of Latin American, Caribbean and European nations being held this week in Peru, the Cuban media announced Thursday. The announcement ended speculation over whether Raúl Castro would represent Cuba at the summit. This is Machado's first international outing in his new post, which he assumed on Feb. 24. Machado, 77, will participate in two round-table sessions and hold "bilateral meetings with other dignitaries at the summit," the daily Granma said. Others in the delegation are Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque and Fernando Remírez de Estenoz, chief of the Communist Party's International Relations Department. In Lima at noon, they were welcomed by Production Minister Rafael Rey.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

End embargo, start dialogue, panel urges

The United States should repeal its embargo on Cuba and dialogue with Havana, recommends the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent think tank based in Washington. In a 76-page report released Wednesday ("U.S.-Latin America Relations: A New Direction for a New Reality") the Council concedes that Cuba is "an authoritarian state guilty of serious human rights violations," but points out that positive changes have occurred under Raúl Castro and more may follow. Among the CFR's recommendations to the incoming U.S. administration:
• Repeal the restrictions placed on Cuban-American family travel and remittances in 2004.
• Reinstate the 13 categories of “purposeful travel” for other Americans, which include humanitarian and religious travel.
• Hold talks with Havana on issues of mutual concern, such as migration, human smuggling, drug trafficking, and the future of the Guantánamo naval base.
• Work with nations in the Americas and Europe to press Cuba for more reforms leading to democracy and improved human rights.
• Assure Cubans that the U.S. will pursue a respectful arm’s-length relationship with a democratic Cuba. Repeal the 1996 Helms-Burton law.
• Permit Congress to pass laws designed to liberalize trade with (and travel to) the island.
To read the entire report, click here. For an overview, click here.

---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Fidel's 'hood

Want to take a virtual tour of Fidel Castro's neighborhood?

Using Google Earth's satellite photos, the web site Secretos de Cuba has put together a "flyover" video of Castro's compound west of Havana, known as Punto Cero. Key places, such as the homes of his brother Ramon and of Carlos Lage, are marked, in Spanish.

Fidel's own house is not marked on the video, but it is pretty reliably reported to be the house with pool that appears toward the end of the video.

Click here to see the video

The eyes of Texas are upon trade

The state of Texas will send a 24-member trade delegation to Cuba, May 27-31, The Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday. It will be the first official visit from the Lone Star State in more than 45 years and one that, organizers hope, will lead to broader trade in the future. Led by Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples (photo), the group will include representatives from all sectors of Texas agriculture, including soybeans, wheat, cotton, beans, rice and cattle. Makers of packaged food will also be in the group. "I view [Cuba] as a market that is in our backyard," Staples told The American-Statesman. "And in this economy, we need to make certain that our producers have every opportunity that they can to sell Texas products." Other prospects include airlines, oil, technology and tourism, sectors now banned under the U.S. trade embargo, reported The Dallas Morning News. "Texas and Cuba used to have very strong commercial ties before the embargo," Cynthia Thomas, a Dallas business consultant, told The News. "This trip is intended to lay the foundation for renewing strong ties between our two economies." For details, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarro.

Miami seminar on Raul Castro

   What’s Raul Castro Up To?

   That’s the title of an upcoming seminar at the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies.

   The event, aimed at analyzing the first few months of the Raul Castro regime in Havana, is scheduled to take place Tuesday May 20 – the 106^th anniversary of Cuban independence.

   The seminar will feature five experts on Cuba. They are: Jaime Suchlicki, institute director and Emilio Bacardi Moreau professor of history at the University of Miami; Antonio Jorge, senior institute research scholar and senior academic advisor to UM’s Cuba Transition Project; Brian Latell, senior institute research associate and former CIA analyst on Cuba and Latin America; Andy Gomez, assistant UM provost and senior institute fellow and Jose Azel, senior institute research associate.

  Raul Castro formally became Cuba’s new leader in February when the National Assembly in Havana chose him as president of the ruling council of state, only days after his older brother Fidel resigned.

   Fidel had informally ceded power to Raul in July 2006 when he took ill.

   Raul had been the designated successor since shortly after the Cuban revolution's triumph in 1959. But the choice was not widely known until a 1985 Fidel interview with Playboy magazine.

-- Alfonso Chardy

Veto sought for travel-restrictive bill

In an editorial Wednesday, The Tampa Tribune urged Gov. Charlie Crist to veto a bill that "would have Florida regulating the few travel agencies licensed by the U.S. State Department to provide travel services to Cuba." The bill's author, Rep. David Rivera of Miami, "says the regulations will fight terrorism but, absent proof of a problem, the only people he's hurting are the families who hope to see their relatives," the editorial said. It then asked Crist to "see the legislation for what it is -- an unnecessary regulation of business" and to veto it. The Tribune sided with Rep. Michael Scionti of Tampa, who "argued that the people who will pay the trickle-down price for this regulation are working-class families who can barely afford to travel to Cuba as it is now -- trips that the U.S. government already limits to once every three years." The editorial concluded by saying that "no one begrudges the effort of Miami's Cuban-American community to fight the island's repressive regime. But in this case, lawmakers would penalize the wrong people." To read the entire editorial, click here.
---Renato Pérez Pizarr