Posted on 11/21/2002 1:48:49 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
HAVANA (AP) - President Fidel Castro led tens of thousands of people in a rally outside the American mission Monday to protest the U.S. government's decision to free eight Cubans who left the island last week on a stolen crop-duster plane.
Mon Nov 18, 9:43 PM ET Cubans wave Cuban flags during a rally in front of the US Interests Section, Monday, Nov. 18, 2002 in Havana. President Fidel Castro led tens of thousands of people in a rally outside the American mission to protest the U.S. government's decision to free eight Cubans who left the island last week on a stolen crop-duster plane. (AP Photo/Jose Goitia)
Students in school uniforms, army cadets and workers of varying ages cheered and waved red, white and blue Cuban flags as Castro arrived at the plaza outside the U.S. Interests Section.
Dressed in his olive green uniform and cap, Castro stood in the front row of the crowd facing the stage, but did not address the gathering.
Also there the paternal grandparents of Elian Gonzalez, the little Cuban castaway at the center of an international custody battle in 2000 after he survived the capsize of a U.S.-bound boat that was that filled with Cubans trying to emigrate.
"We're here fighting against terrorism, against the lies of the U.S. government and against the Cuban Adjustment Act," 18-year-old education student Yeniset Sanchez Cuevas told a reporter, referring to a 1966 U.S. law that gives preferential treatment to Cuban migrants who reach American soil
"They must be returned to Cuba," Sanchez Cuevas said of pilot Nemencio Carlos Alonso Guerra and his seven passengers who flew to Key West, Fla., on Nov. 11 from the western Cuban province of Pinar del Rio. "If the United States returns people from other countries, they have to do the same for Cuba."
With the mix of music and dance and fiery speeches that have characterized such government-organized rallies in the past, speaker after speaker criticized American immigration policies they blamed for the deaths of countless Cubans who took their chances on the risky trip by sea or air to Florida.
Castro's government last week demanded that the U.S. government return the pilot and his passengers to Cuba, along with the Soviet-built biplane.
After lengthy questioning, U.S. immigration authorities decided to let the eight stay in the United States and released them from custody on Friday.
Cuba has described the flight as a "hijacking."
Why would you expect communism to leave when Castro does? BTW these "boat people" saved us from Al Gore. They define the meaning of By the People. Too many homegrown Americans have no idea of what it means to participate or even care about the process to keep our country free.
Where are Bubba, Reno, and that mango tree lawyer Greg Craig when Castro needs them?
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