"If the Cubans were so intent on punishing those people, why have they let eight of them go," said Reich, who spoke in Miami on the sidelines of a conference about Cuba.
After executing the last hijackers this was a bit of a give-away.
Posted on 08/09/2003 2:06:34 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
MIAMI (AFP) - A senior White House official claimed Friday Cuban President Fidel Castro may have ordered a recent boat hijacking in a successful bid to sow discord between the Cuban-American community and the US administration.
"Look at the impact on the Cuban (American) community: he's got Cuban groups fighting against each other, he's got the Cuban community criticizing the administration," said Otto Reich, President George W. Bush's chief advisor on Latin America.
"This was a million-dollar operation; you cannot buy that kind of discord," Reich told AFP.
The administration has come under criticism from prominent Cuban-American leaders for sending back to Cuba a dozen people intercepted at sea after allegedly hijacking a Cuban government boat in a bid to flee the communist-run island last month.
"I feel some of the incidents recently do not pass the smell test of being genuine," Reich told AFP, largely in reference to the apparent hijacking. "I think that the Cuban (American) community is the target of Castro."
He expressed doubts over Cuba's claims its fast boats were unable to catch the slow-moving research vessel and that its border agents lacked the weapons needed to intercept the alleged hijackers.
After the US Coast Guard detained the vessel, none of the Cubans claimed they risked persecution if sent home, even though this could have enabled them to request political asylum, said Reich.
And, in a highly unusual move, Cuban authorities sent a message to Washington pledging the alleged hijackers would not face sentences of more than 10 years in jail if returned to the island, Reich said. He insisted the US administration did not negotiate with Havana and that the Cubans volunteered the message.
The Cuban-born official also pointed out that most of the alleged hijackers have since been set free by Cuban authorities.
"If the Cubans were so intent on punishing those people, why have they let eight of them go," said Reich, who spoke in Miami on the sidelines of a conference about Cuba.
He also said Castro may have used "instigators" to stir up Cuban-Americans, though he admitted the White House was well-aware of discontent among that community.
But he sharply rejected claims that Bush had reneged on promises to adopt more aggressive policies toward Cuba than his predecessor Bill Clinton.
"We're increasing the pressure for change," said Reich.
He notably listed US support for opposition groups within Cuba and its efforts to get the international community to step up the pressure for democratic reforms.
Reich stressed the administration also remained firm in its determination to enforce a four-decade old trade embargo with Cuba, despite pressure from some lobby groups to drop the sanctions.
"If the Cubans were so intent on punishing those people, why have they let eight of them go," said Reich, who spoke in Miami on the sidelines of a conference about Cuba.
After executing the last hijackers this was a bit of a give-away.
Similar acts of harassment are being reported by organizers of Project Varela, a recent petition drive calling for free speech and free elections in the single-party communist state, according to news reports from the island. The memo obtained by The Washington Times lists three pages of "officially sanctioned provocation," including the "leaving of not so subtle messages behind, (including unwelcome calling cards like urine or feces)."
A declassified version of the memo was distributed on Capitol Hill last month. "Harassment comes in many forms including: Petty theft, unlocking doors and windows, leaving doors and windows open and air conditioners running when USINT personnel are away," according to the memo. The memo describes U.S. diplomats as being subjected to "campaigns of 'sexual advances' ... when their spouses are out of the country."***
''Look at the result, at the impact that has caused this community,'' Otto Reich, U.S. special envoy to the Western hemisphere, said in an interview.
In the wake of last month's hijacking of the Gaviota, a Cuban government-owned boat, Cuban Americans heaped blame on the Bush administration and Cuban-American legislators for returning the would-be immigrants to the island.
''This was a million-dollar operation -- you couldn't buy that kind of discord,'' Reich said.
Reich, who was born in Cuba, was in Miami this week meeting with Cuban-American leaders to soothe bitterness over the incident.
Meanwhile, the Cuban American National Foundation -- which, in a role that is rare, is the main group criticizing the Bush administration -- didn't buy Reich's story, and said his accusations were made to deflect criticism, spokesman Joe Garcia said.
''Show me the proof,'' Garcia said.
The Gaviota, which left from eastern Camaguey province, posed problems to U.S. immigration policy the moment it was discovered off the Cuban coast. Earlier this spring, the Cuban government shot to death by firing squad three hijackers who tried to spirit a ferry out of Havana Harbor, and some feared it would do the same with others.
The United States intercepted the boat and returned 12 people to the island after the Cuban government promised it would not sentence them to death -- prompting criticism that Washington had negotiated with Fidel Castro's government.
Reich denied that Friday, saying the Cuban Interests Section had called the U.S. State Department to pledge it would not execute the hijackers. The State Department only asked that the Cuban government make assurances in writing, and broadcast on Cuban radio and television, Reich clarified.
But the fact the phone call was made seemed odd to Reich.
He said other parts of the voyage point to a setup:
The boat was stolen with three Cuban guards aboard, after the hijackers managed to wrestle an AK-47 from a guard.
Also, the boat was moving at 7 mph, yet was not stopped by the Cuban coast guard, and, when questioned by U.S. immigration inspectors, none of the 12 would-be immigrants said they feared being prosecuted upon return to the island, even though that could mean a chance at political asylum in the United States. [End]
Can't believe Clinton didn't detect Monica "Che-beret" Lewinsky for the Castro employee she was. The poor man was obviously just another victim of a Cuban intel service plot.
Interesting...Otto Reich's right...first time I ever heard of Cuban immigrants NOT saying they would be persecuted if returned to Cuba.
Did Castro want us to harbor "terrorist hijackers" in an attempt to discredit US in the eyes of the world? But would the side effect be to have us start accepting "wet feet" defectors? I don't think he has thought this all through.
What say you, Luis?
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