Fidel Castro

White House Wants Carter to Push Democracy in Cuba *** "This would be a very good opportunity for former President Carter to remind President Castro of the need to bring freedom and opportunity and democracy to the people of Cuba, who have been oppressed," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. "This would be very helpful in sending that signal that freedom and democracy are important in Cuba, and Cuba is one of the last nations left on this earth that has such an abysmal human rights record," he told reporters at his daily briefing. ***

Chris Dodd's vendetta***Why, then, are Dodd and his allies in Congress elevating Chavez, who as an army officer once bungled a left-wing coup himself, as a symbol of Latin American democracy? Dodd, who appears to be gearing up for an investigation of Reich's performance and is reported to be contemplating a trip to Venezuela, never seemed exercised about Chavez trampling democratic practices in trying to model himself after Fidel Castro. Nor do Reich's critics mention that Chavez's brief fall from power came after his troops opened fire on unarmed demonstrators.

Dodd may be less interested in protecting democracy in Venezuela than in settling old scores with Reich. That seems out of character for the easy-going, politically ambitious Connecticut senator. But Dodd's longtime adviser on Latin American affairs, Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer Janice O'Connell, has not forgiven Reich for his aggressive support for Nicaraguan Contras. She also sees the Cuban-born Reich as an obstacle to warm relations with Castro's Cuba. O'Connell impresses on State Department officials that she represents the permanent government whose word must be heeded by temporary presidential appointees. When Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage went to Capitol Hill to confer with Dodd last week, O'Connell was at the senator's side.****

U.S. Brazil watchers doubt leftist candidate will win*** Despite the latest polls showing that Brazil's leftist candidate Luiz Inacio ''Lula'' da Silva is widening his lead for the October presidential elections, the majority view in U.S. business and diplomatic circles is that he will not win and that predictions of a dramatic shift to the left in Latin America's biggest country are premature. Is it wishful thinking on the part of Wall Street economists who fear a massive economic downturn for Brazil if da Silva's Workers Party wins the election? Or is da Silva, who has already failed in three previous runs for the presidency, incapable of surpassing the threshold of the estimated 35 percent of Brazilians who traditionally vote for the left?***

Castro to Free Vladimiro Roca on Sunday - Gift to Carter ***Roca, along with three other prominent dissidents who had urged political reform on the Caribbean island, was arrested in 1997, convicted of inciting sedition in 1999, and sentenced to five years behind bars including time served. The other three -- economist Martha Beatriz Roque, lawyer Rene Gomez Manzano and academic Felix Bonne -- were sentenced to 3-1/2- to 4-year terms, and released in 2000. Roca, who is his late 50s and is the son of a founding father of Cuban communism, Blas Roca, had been due to complete his sentence and be released in 70 days, de Armas said. The early release appeared aimed at smoothing the way for Carter's May 12-17 visit to Cuba. ***

Official: Cuba May Help Rogue States with biological expertise- [Full Text] WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration said Monday it believes Cuba "has at least a limited offensive biological warfare" program and may be transferring its expertise to other countries hostile to the United States. "We are concerned that such technology could support biological warfare programs in those states," said Undersecretary of State John Bolton. Bolton did not identify these nations but noted that Cuban President Fidel Castro visited Iraq, Syria and Libya last year, all of which, like Cuba, are on the State Department list of state sponsors of terrorism. Bolton said all are attempting to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Bolton, the State Department's top nonproliferation official, called on Cuba to cease transfers of biological weapons technology to "rogue states and to fully comply with all of its obligations under the Biological Weapons Convention." His remarks were prepared for delivery to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group. Bolton said that despite Cuba's membership on the terrorism list, that nation's threat to American security has been underplayed.

"For four decades Cuba has maintained a well-developed and sophisticated biomedical industry, supported until 1990 by the Soviet Union," Bolton said. "This industry is one of the most advanced in Latin America, and leads in the production of pharmaceuticals and vaccines that are sold worldwide. Analysts and Cuban defectors have long cast suspicion on the activities conducted in these biomedical facilities," he said. He noted an official U.S. government report in 1998 concluded that Cuba did not represent a significant military threat to the United States or the region.

Bolton said the Clinton administration may have overlooked Cuba as a potential threat because of the influence of what he called the country's aggressive intelligence operations in the United States. He said this included recruiting the Defense Intelligence Agency's senior Cuba analyst, Ana Belen Montes, to spy for Cuba. "Montes not only had a hand in drafting the 1998 Cuba report but also passed some of our most sensitive information about Cuba back to Havana," he said. Montes was arrested last fall and pleaded guilty to espionage on March 19. [End]

Havana pursues biological warfare *** In a speech titled "Beyond the Axis of Evil," John Bolton, undersecretary of state for international security and arms control, named Cuba, Libya and Syria as "states intent on acquiring weapons of mass destruction" against which the United States would take action to prevent such arms from reaching terrorists. President Bush included Iran, Iraq and North Korea in an "axis of evil" in his State of the Union address to Congress in January.

"The United States believes that Cuba has at least a limited offensive biological warfare research and development effort," Mr. Bolton said at the Heritage Foundation. "Cuba has provided dual-use biotechnology to other rogue states. We are concerned that such technology could support [bioweapons] programs in those states." In a later interview, a senior administration official said Washington has gathered "broad and deep" evidence of Cuba's pursuit of such weapons but is "constrained" in what it can disclose publicly.***

Freed Cuban Dissident Blasts System *** Roca is well known here because his late father, Blas Roca, was a founding member of the Communist Party of Cuba and remains a revered figure. Vladimiro Roca also has roots in the communist government: he was a military pilot who broke with the system in the early 1990s. Expelled from his state job working with foreign investment, Roca hooked up with three other Cuban professionals who favored change, engineer Felix Bonne Carcasses, attorney Rene Gomez Manzano and economist Marta Beatriz Roque.

They formed the "Group of Four" and in 1997 published the document that landed them in jail, "The Homeland is for All." Their statement criticized a draft document issued by the Communist Party before its national congress that year, saying it focused on the glories of the revolution but offered no pragmatic proposals to the nation's economic ills. The four were convicted behind closed doors in 1999. Bonne, Gomez and Roque received sentences ranging from 3 to four years, and were freed in early 2000.***

Terrorists active in U.S. 'backyard': Latin America hotbed for both al-Qaida, Hezbollah***Both al-Qaida and Hezbollah are active in the common border area of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, according to an earlier statement of Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in hearings before the Foreign Appropriations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, cited in a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The activities of the Irish Republican Army, Iran, Cuba and various international terrorist networks operating in Colombia may turn that Latin American nation into a "breeding ground for international terror equaled perhaps only by Afghanistan," according to the committee report.

Further to the south in Latin America, Hezbollah and the terrorist Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) are operating in the tri-border region of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The suspected activities of these groups include counterfeiting U.S. currency and drug smuggling, with the area in which they function described as a "haven for Islamic extremists" by the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Asa Hutchinson, in testimony before the House International Relations Committee. "The situation in the tri-border area [of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil] highlights the ease with which terrorist organizations can infiltrate and assimilate in other countries and go relatively undetected for an extended period of time," Hutchinson stated.

The linkage among various terrorist groups and nations associated with support of terrorism in Latin America combines considerable financial resources and technological expertise. In addition to the vast oil wealth of Iran, the South American terrorist network can rely upon South American drug money to finance its activities. Colombia alone produces 90 percent of the cocaine and "at least" 70 percent of the heroin sold in the U.S., according to estimates of the House International Relations Committee.***

Cuba poses bio-threat, U.S. warns-- Some analysts don't think Cuba is developing bio-weapons. By Paul Richter | Washington Bureau

*** Michael Powers, an analyst at the Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute in Washington, said weapons experts usually have included Cuba on lists of countries with germ-warfare capability. But "it was never clear that they were using their biomedical infrastructure to produce agents or to try to turn them into weapons," Powers said. There is disagreement on how much proof exists that Cuba is developing a dangerous germ-weapons capability. Stephen Johnson, a specialist on Latin American affairs at Heritage Foundation, said some Cuban emigrants have pointed to dangers. He said Jose de la Fuenta, an emigre scientist who formerly worked at the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Havana, has reported that Cuba sold Iran technology to produce the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine. The equipment could also be used to produce germ-warfare agents, he said. Johnson said U.S. officials' suspicions have been aroused by the fact that Cuba has spent millions on sophisticated biomedical gear, even though it often has shortages of basic medical products. Some analysts scoffed at the suggestion Cuba is trying to develop such weapons.

Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington research center on Latin American affairs, said there has been scant evidence that Cuba was developing such a program. "This is just nuts," he said. "If [Bolton] has any evidence . . . he ought to make it public. Otherwise it's just a smear tactic." Julia E. Sweig, deputy director for Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based research center, speculated that the U.S. government had debriefed many Cuban exiles in search of information on the program but had come up with little. She said the remarks suggest the Bush administration, under pressure from anti-Castro Cuban Americans to support for their cause, is looking for a way to make its Cuba policy more distinctive from the Clinton administration's.***

Talk of germ weapons in Cuba jolts Congress***Some voiced contentment that their long-standing concerns about Cuba have been given credence. ''I am happy to see that the administration has finally come forth with an acknowledgement of Cuba's capabilities,'' said Rep. Bob Menendez, a Cuban-American Democrat from New Jersey. ``Cuba's biotechnology industry is not just for medical reasons. . . . I think they could be making a variety of things, from anthrax to smallpox to other agents.'' Advocates of relaxing tensions with Cuba scoffed at Bolton's charges. ''Where's the evidence?'' asked William Delahunt, D-Mass., who is a leader of the Cuban Working Group, an informal congressional bloc opposed to the embargo. ``Accepting what they have to say as fact is high risk.''***

Libya lashes out at what it sees as American allegations that it exchanged biotechnology with Cuba***TRIPOLI, Libya, May 08, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- The Libyan government denounced what it said are American charges that Cuba shared bioweapons technology with the north African country, saying that such "empty allegations" constitute terrorism. "This is no more than the usual ways that America uses to wage campaigns against people, by resorting to threat, terrorism and extortion," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassouna al-Shawish said Tuesday. His remarks were carried by Libya's official newsagency, JANA.***

Wall Street Journal Bush's Cuba Pickle Castro is evil, but the embargo is foolish. *** It's true that easing the embargo might benefit Fidel in the short term, by releasing some of the pent-up discontent with his failures. And we sympathize with principled anti-Communists like Mr. Reich. But we yield to no one in our loathing of Fidel's island gulag. And lifting the embargo would, as we wrote in these columns back in 1994, "help precisely those forces that are most likely to liberate Cuba's economic and political power structure."***

Jeff Jacoby: Cuba's jailed heroes*** Chaviano refused to be intimidated. Government goons broke into his home and beat him up. Still he persisted in speaking out. Early in the morning of May 7, 1994, a man he didn't know came to his door, delivered a sheaf of papers, and left. Moments later, the security police raided the house. They made a great show of finding the planted document, which they seized as ''evidence.'' Chaviano was arrested and held for nearly a year before learning that he would be charged with ''revealing state secrets'' and ''illicit enrichment.''

His trial was a farce. It was closed to the public, but the courtroom was packed with state security agents. Chaviano was not allowed to see the evidence against him or to call witnesses in his own defense. His conviction was a foregone conclusion; his sentence was 15 years. That was eight years ago. Today he is locked in the maximum-security Combinado del Este prison; his wife is permitted to visit him once every two months. His health has deteriorated - he suffers from an ulcer and respiratory problems - but his ideals remain intact. ''His spirit is strong,'' his wife told me recently. ''He gives me strength.''***

Cuba Readies Reply to 'Vile' U.S. Bio-Weapons Charge *** Cuba has technical cooperation programs and joint ventures in the biotechnology field with numerous countries, including South Africa, Brazil, China, Canada, and some European Union nations. Since 1996, Cuba and Iran have been building a joint venture pharmaceutical research, development and production facility in Karaj, Iran, just outside the Iranian capital of Tehran, valued at $60 million.

Iran was branded by President Bush this year as part of an "axis of evil" bent on promoting terrorism. Some Cuban exile organizations in the United States have charged the Karaj complex is a front for biological weapons development. Cuba says the Iranian plant will produce vaccines, interferon, and other pharmaceuticals it has developed, for sale in Iran and to neighboring countries.***

MRC Special Report. "Megaphone for a Dictator: CNN's Coverage of Castro's Cuba, 1997-2002."*** CNN's Havana bureau now has a five-year track record that can be evaluated, and the results are not good. Media Research Center analysts reviewed all 212 stories about the Cuban government or Cuban life that were presented on CNN's prime time news programs from March 17, 1997, the date the Havana bureau was established, through March 17, 2002. MRC's analysis found that instead of exposing the totalitarian regime that runs Cuba, CNN has allowed itself to become just another component of Fidel Castro's propaganda machine. ***

Leader of unprecedented petition drive expected to meet with Jimmy Carter during Cuba visit *** Vicky Huddleston, chief of the U.S. Interests Section here, said the sheer number of signatures gathered demonstrate a change is under way. "There is hope that President Carter's visit will have an impact on Project Varela," Huddleston said. "I think Oswaldo Paya is right, that people have begun to lose their fear."

Named for the Rev. Felix Varela, a Cuban independence hero, the petition drive differs greatly from Paya's first one, which simply called for a national dialogue between the government and its opponents. During that effort in 1991 Paya gathered signatures only in Havana, from his home. Although Paya's group first talked about Project Varela in 1996, it wasn't until the last year that volunteers begin collecting signatures in earnest.***

Central America cleans house***While corruption, and impunity for those who commit it, has long existed in the region, it was eclipsed by massive violations of human rights and suppression of personal liberties. But as these countries get past these issues and more democratic institutions are developed, citizens are becoming increasingly aware that in a true democracy, no one is above the law. Additionally, many here expect democracy to bring better economic conditions. Although economic hardships continue to plague the region, citizens are more incensed with misuse of state resources, especially in a region where sales taxes have been steadily on the rise. The new anticorruption movement has also been buoyed by increasing international pressure, especially from the United States.

…. "There is an advance in the sense that this issue is now on the agenda in Central America," says Miguel Angel Sandoval, a Guatemalan political analyst, who is part of the signature-collecting campaign. "People are saying that this can't go on. We are heading in the right direction."***

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"We fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We fight against poverty because opportunity is a fundamental right to human dignity. We fight against poverty because faith requires it and conscience demands it. And we fight against poverty with a growing conviction that major progress is within our reach." President George W. Bush, March 22, 2002.

President Bush's Visit to Latin America, March 22-24, 2002

Cuban Activists Deliver Petitions Demanding Referendum on Reforms***The petitions propose a referendum that would ask voters if they favor civil liberties like free speech, an amnesty for political prisoners, the right to start their own businesses. Cuba's constitution says the National Assembly should schedule a national referendum if it receives the verified signatures of 10,000 legal voters.

There was no immediate response from Castro's government to the move. Asked by reporters in April about the campaign, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said he doubted it will succeed and he accused its organizers of being on the U.S. government payroll. Campaign coordinator Oswaldo Paya of the Christian Liberation Movement and two other men, identified as Antonio Villa Sanchez and Andres Regis Iglesias, entered the offices of the National Assembly shortly before 11 a.m. with two white boxes filled with the petitions. The words "Citizen Petition" could be seen on the side of the boxes.

Paya, who says the project has received no money from any government or group outside Cuba, has said state security agents have harassed the petition drive, particularly as the campaign was near its goal. He said agents had confiscated several thousand signatures, but volunteers had gone out and collected more. Carter, who arrives Sunday at Castro's invitation, plans to meet with Cuban activists to discuss human rights and religious matters next Thursday, his staff has said. A visit with the organizers of Project Varela is considered likely.***

Carter, Castro to seek common ground *** Mr. Carter, 77, also will do something no current or former U.S. politician has done since at least 1959: He will address Cubans live on national television. Vicki Huddleston, the top American diplomat in Havana, said she hopes Mr. Carter tells Cubans about the Varela Project, a petition drive aimed at bringing democracy to the country. Cuban officials dismiss the project and say it has no support. But others call it the most important opposition campaign they've seen in more than 40 years.

"Already it is a success because over 10,000 Cuban citizens have risked their futures by signing a petition that calls for free speech ... private enterprise, release of political prisoners and an opening to democracy," Ms. Huddleston said. "Unfortunately the government has already begun to try to discredit the project by falsely claiming its organizers are paid by the U.S. government. This is untrue. Project Varela is a homegrown project born of frustration with the present and hope for the future." ***

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