Cuba spy cited as a reason for upholding the travel ban gets life in prison

Thirty years of spying for Cuba will send a retired State Department official to prison for life after he and his wife pleaded guilty Friday to sending secrets to the United States' longtime antagonist.

Walter Kendall Myers, 72 -- known to his Cuban handlers as ``Agent 202'' -- agreed to a life sentence without parole and to cooperate with the federal government in a deal with prosecutors that offered a much lighter sentence for his wife.

Gwendolyn Steingraber Myers, 71 -- known as ``Agent 123'' and ``Agent E-634'' -- had faced as long as 20 years in prison. Under the plea deal, she now could serve between 6 and 7 ½ years. She, too, agreed to cooperate fully with investigators.

The case comes as President Barack Obama has sought to improve relations with Havana and lawmakers have pushed to open up the island to U.S. tourists. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen invoked Kendall Myers' name Thursday as she criticized a congressional effort aimed at lifting the ban on travel to Cuba.

"Given the success of Cuban intelligence in recruiting'' spies like Myers, the Miami Republican said, "`why would we want to facilitate such potential espionage activities by allowing unfettered travel to Cuba?''

House foreign affairs chief says no harm, no foul on Ros-Lehtinen's military snub

California Democrat Howard Berman said he's not particularly exercised over the spat between the ranking Republican on his House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting and retired Gen. Barry McCaffery.

McCaffrey took exception to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's aggressive questioning and suggested she not only questioned his national security creds -- he's the former commander of the U.S. Southern Command and a former U.S. drug czar -- but also denigrated him by calling him "Mr." and not "General."

Asked whether "anyone went too far," at the hearing, Berman at first said he'd refrain from stepping into the mix.

"I'd advise myself to not comment," the commitee chairman said, adding that "By and large, I err on the side of letting it all hang out there. So, I don't think anyone should be hauled to the Ethics Committee for anything that was said today. And the General gave back as well as he took."

Ros-Lehtinen said it was also pointed out to her that she neglected to call James Cason -- the former chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana -- "Ambassador Cason." Cason, of course, sides with Ros-Lehtinen and says lifting the ban on travel to Cuba would "amount to giving away future leverage for nothing in return."

President Obama responds to Cuban blogger as members of Congress cite her name in effort to lift travel ban

Cuba's celebrated and increasingly brassy blogger Yoani Sánchez is emerging as a player in U.S.-Cuba relations, scoring a lengthy reply from President Barack Obama to her questions and playing a starring role in a congressional hearing on efforts to let American tourists visit Cuba.

Sánchez's blog, Generación Y, posted Obama's responses to seven pointed questions she asked him in what she describes as a foray into "popular diplomacy.'' She also queried Cuban leader Raúl Castro -- but he hadn't replied as of late Thursday. Obama broke little new ground in his responses, largely reiterating his administration's stance on Cuba: a desire for more contact between the two governments and its peoples, while insisting that Cuba improve its human rights record.

In Congress, as critics and supporters of the decades-old travel ban used Sánchez's recent beating, presumably at the hands of Cuban security forces, to criticize the Castro regime and make their case, House Foreign Affairs chairman Howard Berman read an essay Sánchez wrote in support of lifting the ban.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen argued against easing sanctions, noting that Europeans and tourists "from around the world'' have been going to Cuba "for rum, music, sex, cigars and sun for years.''

"Have they brought about democratic reform and change?'' Ros-Lehtinen asked.

Ros-Lehtinen enlivens Cuba hearing with a dustup with a retired military general

Today's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing was a highly-charged event -- but the real sparks flew when Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen tussled with retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey.

McCaffrey raised the Miami Republican's hackles with his testimony that Cuba represents no risk to national security and the travel ban should be scrapped since it hurts longtime U.S. interests.

But during questioning, he took exception to Ros-Lehtinen, whom he said appeared to question his national security credentials and called him "Mr. McCaffrey,'' rather than "General.''

"To refute the argument that I had offered to the committee, she seemed to be implying my lack of commitment to U.S. national security, which is a silly thing for her to do,'' McCaffrey told reporters after the hearing. "She stated a very carefully chosen way to denigrate my military credentials, which she is not authorized to do.''

Ros-Lehtinen -- who often notes she has family members in the service -- said she disagreed with McCaffrey's stance on Cuba, but "did not mean in any way to not respect his service by calling him Mr. and not General.''

She said she had written down the questions she wanted to pose to McCaffrey and that "General'' appears in her handwritten notes.

Top House Dem: "Let's travel to Cuba"

Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, says in an op-ed in today's Herald that the U.S. should allow Americans to travel to Cuba.

"U.S. law lets American citizens travel to any country on earth, friend or foe -- with one exception: Cuba. It's time for us to scrap this anachronistic ban, imposed during one of the chilliest periods of the Cold War," he and Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote.

The op-ed comes as Berman on Thursday convenes a hearing on House legislation to lift the ban, which the pair says has "prevented contact between Cubans and ordinary Americans, who serve as ambassadors for the democratic values we hold dear. Such contact would help break Havana's chokehold on information about the outside world."

Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is planning a counter offensive to the hearing. She's holding a briefing Wednesday for House members to discuss "how U.S. national security interests continue to be directly targeted and threatened by the sinister Cuban regime."

She says easing travel restrictions won't "bring freedom to the island, but will only perpetuate the dictatorship's hold on power and its ability to go after the U.S."

Dems to target Ros-Lehtinen on the radio

FromCNN: "The Democratic National Committee is targeting 32 House Republicans in a new radio ad campaign that criticizes them for voting against health care reform legislation earlier this month.

"The commercials will begin running Tuesday and are aimed at Republicans in congressional districts that voted for President Obama in the 2008 election.

" 'Republicans have read this wrong politically,' said DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan. 'They think the political peril is in voting for reform. The political peril is in voting against reform and siding with big insurance companies instead of their neighbors.' "

Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is among the 32. Listen to the ad here.

Report: Campaign contributions influence Cuba policy

Supporters of the U.S. embargo against Cuba have contributed almost $11 million to members of Congress since 2004 in a largely successful effort to block efforts to weaken sanctions against the island, a new report shows.

In several cases, according to the report by the nonpartisan group Public Campaign, members of Congress who had supported easing sanctions against Cuba changed their positions -- and then got donations from the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Political Action Committee and its donors.

All told, the political action committee that champions the embargo and its contributors have given $10.77 million nationwide to almost 400 candidates and members of Congress, the report says.

Hello Ileana? It's the Democrats

The Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America is asking its volunteers to "drop by" the offices of 32 House Republicans who voted against the health care bill Saturday -- but who represent districts won President Obama in 2008.

That includes Miami's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. A press release says OFA volunteers are being asked to drop by the offices "to remind these members that voters in their districts voted for change last year and urge them to reconsider their position when the House votes again on a final bill later this year."

"Just one year ago, Americans in these congressional districts voted to send President Obama to the White House and these Republican Representatives to Congress," OFA Director Mitch Stewart said. " The message was clear in these districts: Americans want change, and they expect their Representatives to work with President Obama and reach across the aisle to help deliver it."

Ros-Lehtinen's unlikely to be too worked up: she won the district 58 percent to 42 percent. Obama won it 51 percent to 49 percent.

Dems press Republicans in Obama-friendly districts -- including Ros-Lehtinen -- to vote for the health care bill

Organizing for America is targeting 33 Republican congressional districts whose constituents voted for President Obama in 2008. E-mails to members encourage them to call the Republicans and "remind them that their constituents voted for change and urge their representative to do the same for health insurance reform as they move towards a vote today."

The targeted reps include Miami's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and St. Petersburg's Bill Young. "Make sure (name of Rep) hears from you and gets a reminder that their district voted for change just 12 months ago," the e-mail says. "With the big vote happening in as little as a few hours, there's not a moment to lose."

No Republicans are expected to vote for the House bill -- and two Florida Dems -- Orlando's Suzanne Kosmas and Monticello's Allen Boyd -- have said they'll vote against it.

And don't bother calling Ros-Lehtinen, she's already said she will vote against the bill.

Organizing for America is targeting 33 Republican congressional districts whose constituents voted for President Obama in 2008. E-mails to members encourage them to call the Republicans and "remind them that their constituents voted for change and urge their representative to do the same for health insurance reform as they move towards a vote today."

The targeted reps include Miami's Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and St. Petersburg's Bill Young. "Make sure (name of Rep) hears from you and gets a reminder that their district voted for change just 12 months ago," the e-mail says. "With the big vote happening in as little as a few hours, there's not a moment to lose."

No Republicans are expected to vote for the House bill -- and two Florida Dems -- Orlando's Suzanne Kosmas and Monticello's Allen Boyd -- have said they'll vote against it.

And don't bother calling Ros-Lehtinen, she's already said she will vote against the bill.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart warns Obama: No military action in Honduras, we are watching

Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart warned the Obama administration Thursday against blocking next month's elections in Honduras -- suggesting the White House might consider military action against the Central American country.

"The only thing that could stop those elections is a military action ordered by President Obama. We are watching," Diaz-Balart said at a press conference where congressional Republicans called for an investigation into what they suggested were U.S. State Department improprieties related to the crisis. "Each day, there are more and more members of Congress and more people within the nation aware of this nation aware of this issue and supportive of the right of the people of Honduras to have elections. It would be unconscionable if President Obama ordered a military action to prevent an election, to impose a crony of Chavez, Castro, Ortega, et al. Congress is watching."

Asked by reporters to clarify, Diaz-Balart said he wasn't saying it was going to happen, "I'm saying if that happened...I certainly hope that will not happen because the people of Honduras deserve to have their elections."

Looks like much of the dispute may be moot. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton suggests a deal has been struck to resolve the dispute. But not without the critics of Obama's policy in Honduras winning won one of the battles: Congress' in-house Law Library rebuffed calls from the chairmen of the House and Senate foreign relations committees to retract a report on the military-backed coup in Honduras that the chairmen charge is flawed and "has contributed to the political crisis that still wracks'' the country.