The editor called it a "very sorry and dirty affair, a terrible thing. Nobody believed us." The Cuban-American community was talking about all of the things covered in this memo, he said. "We were kicked in the face," the editor said. "The major media and the Clinton administration presented it as though we deserved [the outcome]."
Chris Farrell of Judicial Watch believes the core issues largely were ignored because the events surrounding Elian were chaotic and "all a blur." "People went for the easy, quick no-brainer story, as opposed to addressing the deeper issues of policy decision-making and analysis," he said. Farrell recalls there was no shortage of stories covering the "emotionalism" of "people waving their arms in front of the home," but the most important issues largely were ignored.***
The administration of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is among few in the hemisphere expected to side with Cuba and vote against the measure. Cuba backed Chavez's return to power on Sunday after a two-day military coup. "The government of the United States - using its preferred weapons of pressure and blackmail and with the humiliating servility of some governments in the region - seeks tomorrow in Geneva to execute a new maneuver against Cuba," the Communist Party daily Granma said Thursday.***